Vuelta a España Vuelta a España 2021: Stage 14 (Don Benito - Pico Villuercas, 165.7 km)

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I think a lot of mountain ranges in Spain are kinda limited to what sort of mountain stages they can provide, especially when talking about passes.

They could have easily made it epic by swapping the climbs of today - finishing in Villuercas but via Ballesteros wall and putting a more regular Villuercas climb variant in the middle of the stage.
 
Is Holmes that good or does he just know he won't be one of the best climbers so he's showing himself now. Weird move.

He probably knows he isn't one of the best climbers, which is why wanted to get a gap on them before the climb.
And we've seen many times that the early moves can be decisive, even if supposedly better riders are in the group behind.
It didn't work out for him here though.