Nathan Haas earned himself his first distinctive jersey in a grand tour when he won the only KOM jersey in the first road stage of the Vuelta a Espana. However, the Australian is mostly in the race to support his leaders and won't try to defend his position.

Garmin-Sharp have started the Vuelta a Espana with the goal of supporting Dan Martin and Ryder Hesjedal but the team got an unexpected prize in today's stage 2 of the race. Nathan Haas made use of the only KOM climb that came after just 10km of racing to take the first mountains jersey of the race.

After the sprint, the Australian fell back to the peloton to support his leaders and he makes it clear that the jersey is not a long-term objective.

“I saw on the road book that the first three KOM points were after just ten kilometers so I planned to make the first breakaway in order to crest the summit in first position," he said. "Therefore my race lasted for ten kilometers.

"Our team is here for riding GC with Dan Martin and Ryder Hesjedal. Because of the side wind, it was more important for me to stay with my leaders. This is my first Grand Tour so this is my first distinctive jersey in a Grand Tour. It’s an honor but I won’t try to keep it tomorrow.”