The peloton finished 29 seconds behind winner Jesus Herrada (Cofidis), who led a five-man breakaway to the line ahead of Fred Wright (Bahrain-Victorious), Samuele Battistella (Astana Qazaqstan), Jimmy Janssens (Alpecin-Deceuninck), and Harry Sweeny (Lotto-Soudal).
While the aforementioned quintet were able to distance themselves from the peloton on both the Puerto de San Glorio and undulating run-in to the finish, Durbridge believes his attempts to lead the peloton to catch them were hindered by the motorbikes acting as windbreaks for the breakaway.
"The break was strong, they had a good ride, but you can only go so fast," Durbridge said.
"That’s modern cycling really, you have to keep the break at one minute because there are so many motorbikes.
"The bunch was ridiculous, we’re nearly sprinting trying to bring back a break of five (riders), and they’ve been out front for nearly 200km, and we can’t even get close to them.
"It is what it is. Good job to the breakaway, you use the motorbikes if they’re there, so do we. It’s unfortunate."
The 31-year-old was one of 16 Australians contesting the course to Cistierna, with Sweeny the highest-placed after finishing inside the breakaway.
Sweeny's efforts in the final sprint, however, were not enough to stop Herrada from securing Cofidis' biggest win of the season, and his emotions after crossing the finish line showed just how much it meant.
La Vuelta continues tonight with a summit finish to Collau Fancuaya, the hard climb set to see a battle for the stage and red jersey as the top climbers again get the chance to make their mark on the Spanish Grand Tour. Watch from 9:05pm (AEST) via SBS On Demand, with the SBS broadcast starting at 10:30pm. WA viewers can watch from 8:20pm (AWST) on SBS VICELAND.
