The Vuelta a España saw Bahrain-Merida's Dylan Theuns take the overall leader's jersey for the first time in a Grand Tour after a long breakaway on Wednesday, marking the third change of lead in six days.

Theuns was easily ahead in a two-man battle with Jesus Herrada (Cofidis) on the uphill finish of stage 6, the Ares de Mestrat.

But after leaving the only GC dangerman, David de la Cruz (Team Ineos), behind with 4km to go, the 27-year-old Belgian managed to take the lead from Astana's Miguel Angel Lopez.

Last year he was second in the Monte Oiz stage of the Vuelta, won by Michael Woods (EF Education First), but this time the Belgian has an even bigger consolation prize by finishing second in the uphill finish of the Spanish Grand Tour.

He also won the first week of the Tour de France in July in Belle Feuille after a two-way battle with Trek-Segafredo's Giglio Ciccone, but was unable to stop the Italian's lead.

Theounce in La Roja also showed that he had firmly overcome an unforeseen accident this summer, when he fell off a lawnmower in his yard after the Tour de France and needed 15 stitches for a head wound.

"As you can see from today's race, I'm fine," he told a Belgian reporter.

Earlier, Tuns had agreed with journalists that the result of stage 6 of the Vuelta was the opposite of the Tour.

"But I thought I had a shot at the jersey today," he said. Of course I was going for the stage win, but on the last climb I went full throttle from the halfway point. The only unfortunate thing was that one rider was strong enough to stay with me and he rode very smart in the last kilometer."

Tuns' third-place finish in the 2017 Fresh Wallonne was a leap forward as a professional, and aside from a one-on-one battle with Woods in last year's Vuelta Monte Oise, he also won the Tour de Pollogne two years ago.

All of this raises the question of whether a leader like Teuns, who theoretically has limited long-term GC ambitions, can really hold on to the jersey on the 21% strenuous hill that the Vuelta riders will take on Friday at Mas de la Costa.

"We'll have to see. We'll have to see. We'll have to see the final climb. But yesterday [stage 5], the GC riders here are really strong. I'll give it my all."

In terms of his overall career, Tuns sees his lead in the Vuelta as proof of his overall progress.

"I've made steady progress over the last two years and I'm confident I can go further in the future.