‘Van Aert actually scared me’: Buitrago admits late Vuelta KOM scare

Buitrago started stage 20 with a healthy advantage in the classification, yet Van Aert steadily chipped away at that margin from the breakaway. The Belgian collected 22 mountain points during the day and briefly brought himself back into contention for the jersey.

That was despite Van Aert having played down his chances only two days earlier. After Thursday's time trial, he said he no longer considered the mountains jersey a realistic target and preferred to focus on Sunday's final stage.

For Buitrago, who was still feeling the effects of his efforts in Friday's stage, it made for an uncomfortable afternoon.

"It was a gruelling day," Buitrago said in the flash interview after the finish. "Right from the start of the stage, I had no idea how the race was going. Everything was in tatters. Today, I was completely drained by the finish."

The Bahrain Victorious rider had spent much of the previous stage in the breakaway and remained in contention for the victory deep into the finale, only for Eddie Dunbar to overhaul him in the final kilometre.

Less than 24 hours later, he found himself dealing with another demanding day in the mountains, this time with Van Aert applying pressure to his lead in the classification.

Buitrago was also asked to help teammate Jakob Omrzel when the young Slovenian came under pressure in the general classification battle.

"We also had Jakob, who had stayed with Onley, and they made me stop," Buitrago explained. "It was a very crazy race, a very tough stage. I couldn't wait to reach the finish line."

While Van Aert never made the mountains classification his main objective on Saturday, his presence at the front was enough to keep Buitrago alert.

"Without a doubt, Wout was a threat," Buitrago said. "If anyone could take the jersey off me, it was him. That's why I always said that the points were never enough. Today, it actually scared me."

Van Aert's challenge eventually faded on the penultimate climb, when the breakaway began to fragment and Mikel Landa of Soudal Quick-Step, Tobias Halland Johannessen of Uno-X Mobility and Ramses Debruyne of Alpecin-Premier Tech rode clear.

With another 30 mountain points still available on the Puerto de El Duque and the Collado del Alguacil, Van Aert was not mathematically out of contention. In reality, though, his chances were rapidly disappearing. The leading trio was already up the road, while several other riders were also climbing more comfortably than the Belgian.

At that point, Van Aert changed his focus and committed himself to Sepp Kuss, who was increasingly distancing several of his rivals in the general classification battle.

Van Aert emptied himself in support of the American, helping Kuss climb to fifth overall. In doing so, he collected no further mountain points and Buitrago's lead was finally safe.

The Colombian will take a 16 point advantage over Van Aert into Sunday's final stage, where there are no more mountain points on offer.