Jesus Herrada pipped Dylan Teuns to glory on stage six of the Vuelta a Espana on Thursday, but the Bahrain-Merida rider claimed the red jersey as Nicolas Roche and Rigoberto Uran crashed out.

Spaniard Herrada saw his brother Jesus lose out to Angel Madrazo in the race's first summit finish on Wednesday, but he secured his first stage win at a Grand Tour with a burst of acceleration in the last 200 metres of the climb of Puerto de Ares, which capped the 198.9-kilometre ride from Mora de Rubielos.

Teuns led Herrada on a charge to bridge the gap to, and then drop, leading duo Tsgabu Grmay and Nelson Oliveira with 3km remaining and although he did not seal the win, he finished five minutes and 44 seconds ahead of the peloton to take a 38-second lead at the top of the general classification.

Miguel Angel Lopez consequently lost the red jersey he gained 24 hours previously and slipped behind David de la Cruz in the GC. The Colombian is now one minute off the pace.

Roche and Uran were forced to abandon the race after a pile-up in the peloton with 80km remaining, with Hugh Carthy and Victor de la Parte also seeing their campaigns come to an end as a result.

Team Sunweb rider Roche was leader for three days before losing it to Lopez and slipping to fifth in the GC, while Uran was two seconds behind him.

Tejay van Garderen was in the initial breakaway but crashed when he ran wide at a corner with 25km to go. EF Education First confirmed he remained in the Vuelta but offered no clarity on any injuries sustained.

 

TEUNS PLAN COMES TO FRUITION

Although he was disappointed not to be in contention for the win on Wednesday, Teuns said he dug deep to lay the foundations for a push for the red jersey that came off in Ares del Maestrat.

"I started to realise that it was possible to get the leader's jersey in a Grand Tour. It was a goal in this Vuelta and I did it," said Teuns.

"More or less I knew it was possible – that's why yesterday I was disappointed about not being in the break. But I still kept going on the climb so as not to lose too much time.

"It was all in the plan actually."

 

STAGE RESULT

1. Jesus Herrada (Team Cofidis) 4:43:55
2. Dylan Teuns (Bahrain-Merida) +00:7
3. Dorian Godon (AG2R La Mondiale) +00:21
4. Robert Gesink (Jumbo-Visma) +00:21
5. Bruno Armirail (Groupama-FDJ) +00:37

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS

General Classification

1. Dylan Teuns (Bahrain-Merida) 23:44:00
2. David de la Cruz (Team INEOS) +00:38
3. Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) +01:00

Points Classification

1. Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) 45
2. Nairo Quintana (Movistar) 36
3. Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-Quick Step) 34

King of the Mountains

1. Angel Madrazo (Burgos BH) 33
2. Jetse Bol (Burgos BH) 11
3. Wout Poels (Team INEOS) 8

WHAT'S NEXT?

If the last two summit finishes were not difficult enough, stage seven sees the 183.2km ride end with a gruelling ascent to Mas de la Costa – a 4.1km category-one climb at an average gradient of 12.3 per cent.