France’s Evita Muzic won the sixth stage of Vuelta Femenina with race leader Demi Vollering finishing second and extending her overall lead.
Muzic, riding for FDJ-Suex, pipped the Dutch rider to the line after the pair pulled clear on the steep, final climb to Laguna Negra in northern Spain.
Vollering, who took the red jersey by winning Thursday’s stage, increased her lead over second-placed Elisa Longo Borghini by 25 seconds to 56 seconds.
Italian Longo Borghini was fifth.
American Kristen Faulkner started the stage fourth in the general classification but was dropped on the ascent to the finish and now sits 10th, three minutes and 29 seconds off Vollering’s lead.
Muzic moved herself up to sixth in the race for the red jersey with her victory, sealed with a final kick from Vollering’s wheel with 50m to go.
Stage six result
1. Evita Muzic (Fra/FDJ-SUEZ) 4hrs 10mins 20secs
2. Demi Vollering (Ned/SD Worx-Protime) +2secs
3. Yara Kastelijn (Ned/Fenix-Deceuninck) +15secs
4. Riejanne Markus (Ned/Visma-Lease a Bike) +17secs
5. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita/Lidl-Trek) +21secs
General classification
1. Demi Vollering (Ned/SD Worx-Protime) 17hrs 20mins 1sec
2. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita/Lidl-Trek) +56secs
3. Riejanne Markus (Ned/Visma-Lease a Bike) +1min 14secs
4. Juliette Labous (Fra/Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL) +1min 38secs
5. Niamh Fisher-Black (NZ/SD Worx-Protime) +2mins 16secs