After his win in stage 2, José Mendoza again took the leader's jersey at the Vuelta al Tachira when he came out on top in the first big mountain stage of the race.

After an exciting duel, he reached the finish alongside Jorge Abreu whom he beat in a sprint. Joseph Chavarra was five seconds behind in third while pre-race favourite Yonathan Monsalves lost 10 seconds in fourth.

With the win, Mendoza is back in the overall lead with a 13-second advantage over Abreu as he goes into stage 8 which should be one for the sprinters.