With 20 kilometres to go on the category two climb, the Slovenian surged out of the pack of GC favourites in a blazing show of climbing strength as his rivals struggled to react accordingly.
Looking for all money to be carving out a huge time gap, Roglič paid the price for the risky move as he was brought down on the descent, his bike sliding out from under him on a corner as he was sent into the gravel by the side of the road.
Fortunately any potential injuries seemed minor as the defending champion quickly recovered and was back on the bike, managing to finish the stage in 37th place whilst slipping to third on GC as breakaway rider Odd Christian Eiking (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert) took over in the maillot rojo, now with a 58 second advantage at the top.
Regardless of the crash, the move had still done significant damage to rival INEOS Grenadiers duo Egan Bernal and Adam Yates, who slipped a further near-40 seconds behind Roglič in another challenging day for the Colombian and Brit.
Losing the overall leader's jersey for the second time, many would have expected Roglič to be disappointed, but his demeanour at the finish was anything but as he joked with reporters and teammates and appeared unbothered by the day's events.
“It would be even better without the crash, eh?,” the Slovenian said after the finish.
“It’s not too bad, there was some action.”
The crash didn't appear to have disturbed him either, as he said, “It’s fine, it’s racing, if there’s no risk - you don’t win, eh?"
"I was just going too fast, it was super slippery, and I went a little too fast. But it’s not too bad. I mostly slid.”
With another mountain stage looming at the tail-end of the week, the rest of the GC field are sure to be a lot more nervous after witnessing such a powerful show of strength from Roglič on a day that was supposed to be a calm affair in the overall battle.
And barring another, more serious crash, the race looks to still be the Slovenian's to win if he can take back his red jersey with ease in the next few stages with the help of his Jumbo-Visma teammates.
La Vuelta continues with a hilly 133.6 kilometre stage 11 from Antequera to Valdepeñas de Jaén that has all the ingredients for a breakaway. Watch the action live from 11pm AEST on SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand and 10:50pm AEST on the SBS SKODA Tour Tracker.
