The Vuelta a España’s lead changed hands for a third time in six days on Wednesday as Bahrain-Merida’s Dylan Teuns claimed his first-ever Grand Tour overall leader’s jersey at the end of a long breakaway.
Teuns was easily pipped to the line on stage 6 by Jesus Herrada (Cofidis) in a two-man duel at Ares de Maestrat’s grinding uphill finish.
But having left the only other GC dangerman, David de La Cruz (Team Ineos), behind with four kilometres to go, the 27-year-old Belgian was still able to wrest the lead from Astana’s Miguel Angel Lopez.
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Second last year in the Vuelta’s Monte Oiz stage won by Michael Woods (EF Education First), this time round the Belgian’s second place on an uphill finish in the Spanish Grand Tour netted him a much bigger consolation prize.
It also reversed the result he achieved in the first week of the Tour de France in july, when Teuns won on the Planche des Belle Filles in another two-way battle against Trek-Segafredo’s Guilio Ciccone, but could not stop the Italian from taking the lead.
Teuns spell in la roja also shows he's firmly moved past his freak summer accident this summer, when he fell off his garden lawnmower following the Tour de France and needed 15 stitches in a head wound.
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