Jacob Fuglsang, whose early season was marred by unscrupulous rumors of a meeting with banned doping doctor Michele Ferrari, answered his anonymous accusers with his legs in Wednesday's Ruta del Sol at the Vuelta a Andalucía with a two-man uphill sprint He outpaced Bahrain McLaren's Mikel Landa.

Danish rider Fuglsang caught Landa in the category 1 Puerto de las Palomas, which culminated with 7km to go, and built a nearly 1-minute lead. Fuglsang was six seconds ahead of Landa to take the leader's jersey for the first time in this race.

"I'm really happy to win," said Fuglsang. I love the Vuelta a Andalucía. The team did a great job and when Landa attacked, I knew we couldn't wait.

"The stage was not easy with all the climbs and luckily it didn't start raining, it's hard to defend the jersey with only six riders, but of course we will do our best. This win means a lot to me and I was motivated to do well today."

Fuglsang won the Ruta del Sol last season overall without a stage win. He then made the podium at Tirreno-Adriatico and took stage wins at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Criterium du Dauphiné, and Vuelta a España.

Earlier this month, details of a confidential intelligence report were leaked to the Danish and Norwegian press, forcing him to fend off rumors of involvement with Ferrari. The Cycling Anti-Doping Foundation confirmed that after "receiving information relating to alleged anti-doping rule violations," it asked the informant, Sportradar, to conduct additional research for the confidential document.

The report alleged contact between Fuglsang and Ferrari, but Fuglsang, Ferrari, and the Astana team all denied the allegations, and the information report was never forwarded to the UCI Disciplinary Committee for an alleged anti-doping rule violation.

"I dispute that I met with Dr. Ferrari," Fuglsang said on Instagram this month. 'I am not aware of any report and can confirm that no proceedings have been initiated against me by the competent anti-doping authorities. Therefore, I have no case to answer. I am very concerned about these rumors being reported in the press."

CADF said it would investigate how the report was leaked to the media.

Fuglsang and director Giuseppe Martinelli (DSP) can credit their efforts in getting the matter resolved. They said, "The whole team did a great job, controlling the race and protecting Jacob on the last climb. The finale was especially hard because there were so many attacks. Jacob and the whole team were fantastic. Andalusia is always a difficult race, with lots of tough stages.