Home rider Oscar Freire of the Rabobank team claimed his third successive Tour of Spain stage victory on Thursday.
The triple former world champion easily outgunned compatriot Koldo Fernandez (Euskaltel) and Italian Angelo Furlan (Credit Agricole) in the bunch sprint at the end of the 184-km sixth stage from Reinosa to Logrono.
Russian Vladimir Efimkin of Caisse d'Epargne kept his lead in the overall standings. Fellow countryman Denis Menchov was second, one minute six seconds adrift.
'Everybody was fresher at the finish (than yesterday) because the course was much easier today,' Freire told reporters. 'I had to pull out all the stops to finish first.'
Freire, who has also twice finished second in this year's race, has a sizeable 54-point lead in the sprinter standings but the 31-year-old still plans to pull out before the event finishes in Madrid on 23 September.
'I've always said my big objective of the year was the world championships (in Stuttgart later this month),' he said.
'That hasn't changed just because I'm doing so well here.'
Freire said he felt physically stronger when he last won the world championships in Verona in 2004.
'But I've never won so many races (eight) prior to the worlds so the omens are good,' he added.
