Yesterday Luis Leon Sanchez lost the mountains jersey in the Vuelta a Espana to Alejandro Valverde. Today he took it back by going on the attack in the queen stage.

Caja Rural has had the mountains jersey for almost the entire Vuelta a Espana but yesterday they saw Alejandro Valverde take it off Luis Leon Sanchez' shoulders. Today the team went into the queen stage with a plan to take it back and when Sanchez and teammate Pello Bilbao joined the early break, they accomplished the mission.

"It was a great war from the beginning," manager Jaime Garzon said. "Luis León Sánchez and Pello Bilbao made it into the break. One of the goals was to reclaims the mountains jersey which we managed to do. We also got a solid lead but Alejandro Valverde remains a major rival. 

"We continue fighting for the stage win, but it is not easy because the race is tough and the rivals are strong. We must keep our options open by looking for long-distance breaks since the favorites are at a high level. We will see if we find luck."