Johan Le Bon shone in unusual terrain when he found himself in a strong group of climbers in the queen stage of the Vuelta a Espana. Even though he left the stage empty-handed, the stage served as a good workout for next year's spring classics.

With only 4 riders and no climbers left in the race, FDJ are on the back foot in the mountain stages of the Vuelta a Espana. However, they still managed to be in the spotlight in the queen stage when Johan Le Bon showed surprisingly good climbing skills to make it into the early break after a very start with a category 1 climb.

The Frenchman was always unlikely to win the stage as he is more known for his TT skills and his strength in the spring classics. Yesterday's attack served as important preparation for next year when he will again tackle his beloved races on the cobbles.

"I'm happy," he said at the finish. "We didn't stay away to the finish but it was a nice day."

"Johan is never really happy with his own performances," said sports director Franck Pineau. "But he can be proud of his stage. He rode hard. This is really good. Sooner or later it will pay off. His Vuelta is a satisfaction."

His teammates Laurent Mangel, Cedric Pineau and Geoffrey Soupe all survived the stage.

"They did it," Pineau said. "Now they will definitely reach the finish. A good rest day and then we are ready to go again. We can still do good things in this race."