Simon Clarke sprinted to victory on stage five of the Vuelta a Espana as Rudy Molard took the red jersey in Roquetas de Mar on Wednesday.
Education First-Drapac rider Clarke saw off the challenge of Bauke Mollema and Alessandro De Marchi at the end of a 188.7-kilometre ride from Granada to take his first Vuelta win for six years.
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De Marchi had pulled away from Stephane Rossetto but found himself in a three-man battle after being caught by Clarke and Mollema, who rides for Trek-Segafredo.
The trio gave themselves further breathing space from a chasing pack of nine up the final climb of the day, though Mollema was out of luck when he suffered a puncture.
He got back to the front as they neared the summit and made his move 6.5km from the end, but Clarke stuck to his wheel and produced one final burst to cross the line first.
Groupama-FDJ's Molard is the new leader of the race with a margin of 61 seconds and after finishing in the group behind Clarke.
Team Sky's Michael Kwiatkowksi dropped back into second place, with Emanuel Buchmann, Simon Yates and Alejandro Valverde rounding out the top five.
MY STARS HAVE ALIGNED - CLARKE
Clarke was crowned King of the Mountains at the end of the 2012 Vuelta but the 32-year-old has had a long time to wait for another stage win in the famous race.
The Australian was understandably emotional after leaving enough in the tank to take the top step on the podium.
"It's just amazing. I worked so hard since I last won a stage here, and I just couldn't repeat it. It's taken me so long to get back there and have my stars aligned," he said.
"Even today I wasn't sure it was possible. I knew I had good legs, but when you have a breakaway with so many riders, the cooperation is never very good.
"As we saw, the winning move went on the descent. It was a tricky one to pick. I knew I had good legs and I just had to pray that the moves I was doing were the right ones.
"I grew up on the track since I was 15, it was just like track racing. I know that De Marchi is fast, but it's such a long stage. It's so hard to sprint after that. Even I was cramping when Mollema attacked and I just rode through it.
"I backed myself. I was so worried they would catch us from behind, but in that situation you just have to be as cold as ice. You've got to be willing to lose to win, and I was and I came out on top."
STAGE 5 RESULT
1. Simon Clarke (Education First-Drapac) 4:36.07
2. Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo)
3. Alessandro De Marchi (BMC Racing)
4. Davide Villella (Astana) +0:08
5. Floris De Tier (LottoNL-Jumbo)
CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS
General Classification
1. Rudy Molard (Groupama-FDJ) 18:27.40
2. Michael Kwiatkowksi (Team Sky) +1.01
3. Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-hansgrohe) +1.08
Points Classification
1. Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) 46
2. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) 33
3. Simon Clarke (Education First-Drapac) 30
King of the Mountains
1. Luis Angel Mate (Cofidis) 36
2. Pierre Rolland (EF Education First-Drapac) 20
3. Ben King (Dimension Data) 12
UP NEXT…
A flat 155.7km route from Huercal-Overa to San Javier, including two third category climbs. Riders will be braced for wind and high temperatures around San Javier, with a sprint finish in the offing.
