ARES DEL MAESTRAT, Spain – A day after seeing his older brother miss out on a stage victory, Jesus Herrada came through with a strong late charge on the final climb to win the sixth leg of the Spanish Vuelta on Thursday, with Belgian rider Dylan Teuns coming in second to take the overall lead.
Herrada moved past Teuns with about 200 yards to go on the 123.6-mile stage that finished on a mountain top in Ares del Maestrat in eastern Spain. The team Cofidis rider finished seven seconds ahead of his opponent from team Bahrain-Merida.
José Herrada was in the breakaway group on Wednesday but could not keep up with stage winner Angel Madrazo.
“This victory is for my brother, who came close to taking the victory yesterday,” said Jesus Herrada, who couldn’t hold back tears after crossing the finish line. “It was hard to get the break going. Halfway through the stage, we didn’t know if we were going to make it. When Teuns accelerated, I stuck to his wheel and saved energy for the sprint.”
On Friday, riders will face a 113-mile stage that will end at another challenging mountain top. That will be good for Durango’s Sepp Kuss, who finished Thursday’s stage 98th. He slipped one spot to 80th in the overall standings, while his Jumbo-Visma team leader Primoz Roglic fell from second to fourth, 1:14 off the overall lead.
Former leader Miguel Angel Lopez dropped to third overall, one minute behind Teuns. David De La Cruz moved to second, 38 seconds off the lead.
“The bosses decided it was better to lose ‘La Roja,’” Lopez said. “We’ll go day by day. There are still many things to happen ... and we’re in a good shape, that’s the most important thing.”
Irishman Nicolas Roche, one of the early overall leaders, was among the riders who had to withdraw from the Vuelta after a crash in the peloton about 62 miles into the race.
