In the breakneck speed of the second stage of the Vuelta a Andalucía, Ruta del Sol to Iznájar, heading into the final climb, WorldTour riders converged on the front of the peloton as they reached the base of the 7.2% grade, just 1.3 km from the finish line. Antonio Pedro (Movistar) jumped in first, but when Gonzalo Serrano of Caja Rural Seguros RGA jumped on him, Pedro was buckled.

After Serrano fell off, Pedro raced up the steep downhill and opened a gap on race leader Jacob Fuglsang (Astana) that kept growing. Pedro may have regretted his decision, but it is understandable why the Movistar rider underestimated the 25-year-old from Madrid: two weeks earlier in the second stage of the Vuelta a la Comunitat Valenciana, Serrano had attempted a similar attack, but the favorite to win, Tadey Pogachar ( UAE Team Emirates), who finished him off.

On Thursday, however, Serrano had the right combination of terrain in his favor and the hesitation of the peloton behind him. He crossed the finish line with plenty of time to spare as Juan Jose Lobato (Fundacion Orbea) and Dylan Thiuns (Bahrain McLaren) battled for second place behind him.

"It was a day that suited me very well," Serrano said in a team press release. Yesterday, I tried to conserve my energy for today's stage. It doesn't always work out, but luckily today I was able to finish perfectly."

"I'm very happy with the way I finished the day.

The peloton caught up to the breakaway on Puerto de la Parrilla (a category 3 8.8km climb) with about 12km to go, and then Brandon McNulty (UAE) and Stefano Aldani (Lotto-Soudal) attacked, but the causeway leading to Iznahar The high speed of the downhill led to the fate of these two.

Serrano took a good position on the approach to the climb and broke away from the pack to take his first career win.

"I still don't feel it, I still can't believe it," Serrano said. "It's my first win as a professional and in a race of this level in Andalusia. It's hard to accept it. The team and myself are feeling very good right now and the goal is to keep pushing for more." He said.