Cadel Evans may have gone into the Vuelta a Espana in a lieutenant role but today he showed that he is in great condition when he finished 6th in the hot and tough stage 3. The Australian even claims to have plenty of room for improvement over the coming days.

Cadel Evans of the BMC Racing Team finished sixth on Monday's uphill finish at the Vuelta a España and moved into 15th place overall, one spot behind teammate Samuel Sánchez, who finished 12th on the day. Michael Matthews (ORICA-GreenEDGE charged past Daniel Martin (Garmin-Sharp) in the final meters to take the win and become the race's third leader in as many days.

Evans and Sánchez arrived in the same time and sit 25 seconds behind overall. Evans said he avoided a few crashes near the end of the 189.8-kilometer race but started the final climb a bit farther back that he wanted.

"I did not arrive well-positioned into the bottom of the climb, but what I had in my legs I managed to get on the road," Evans said. "I think in a couple of days, I will start feeling better as some of the sprinter guys get tired and I will be able to aim higher. I am going OK, but have quite a bit of room for improvement. So we will see in the next few days."

Earlier in the day that featured soaring temperatures, BMC Racing Team's Danilo Wyss was part of a five-rider breakaway. The escapees led by as much as eight minutes before Matthews' ORICA-GreenEDGE squad headed the pursuit.

Wyss said he knew going into the day that there was a small chance to get to the finish, as the Movistar Team of past race leader Alejandro Valverde opted not to defend his lead.

"But when I saw the gap come down to five minutes, I knew it would be really hard," Wyss said. "It was hot, and yesterday and today were some hard days. But I think it was a bit better to be in the break. I could get some bottles and refresh myself."

Sport Director Valerio Piva said he gave out more than 200 bottles during the five-hour race. Having Wyss in the breakaway was good, he said, as it allowed Evans and Sánchez to wait for the final.

"The plan was to bring Cadel in a good position because Philippe Gilbert was not so good yesterday," he said. "Today, we saw Cadel was good. He was a bit lost in the last kilometer, but he is strong and came back. Now we have our two leaders in a good position. So we are optimistic for the next days."

Dominik Nerz, who celebrated his birthday Monday, was the BMC Racing Team's third rider in the top 20, in 18th, 32 seconds back of the stage winner.