The Vuelta itself is being recalibrated around the conditions — stage 15 slashed from 189.7km to 110.2km because of Andalusian temperatures. Gall has managed heat this way before: at the Giro d'Italia earlier this year he cited both heat and missing leg strength for settling into his own pace rather than attacking. Second overall, 4 seconds clear of Roglič, looks like progress on paper. On the road it reads like a rider rationing effort against conditions that are shortening the race for everyone.