It finally happened: 34-year-old Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) took his first Grand Tour stage win at the Vuelta a España.

Fuglsang, who won Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Criterium du Dauphiné, won the same Grand Tour for the first time since taking the leader's jersey at the 2011 Vuelta a España, making it his best season ever.

Astana showed a brilliant team tactic by first putting Luis Leon Sanchez and Fuglsang in a breakaway, then letting Sanchez attack to soften up the opposition. In the end, Fuglsang dropped Gianluca Brambilla (Trek Segafredo) to clear.

For Fuglsang, victory in the Vuelta will surely put the bitter memories of the Tour de France, where he had to abandon the race due to injury, behind him and boost his hopes for a top finish at the UCI Road World Championships in Yorkshire.

"It's a great feeling to finally win a stage of a Grand Tour," said the Frenchman.

"Of course my main goal in coming to the Vuelta was to help the team, but my personal goal was to win a stage and get in shape for the end of the season.

Regarding how the stage win came about, Fuglsang said that he and Sanchez recognized that the last 7 kilometers were the easiest section, so with 10 kilometers to go, Sanchez took the win.

"He had a long good acceleration, and when I saw Brambilla had gone because the others lacked energy, I followed him and kept moving," Fuglsang said.

"Tao [Geoghegan Hart] made a big effort to get close. Luckily I was able to pass Brambilla.

As for the World Championships, Fuglsang said he at least "has a chance."

"I hear a lot about how difficult the course is. The weather is also difficult. Therefore, I feel that we might be able to do something," he claimed.

"Maybe the reason I haven't been able to do anything at the World Championships so far is because I never set that as my goal, or maybe it's because I didn't prepare 100%. It may not be a very good course again this year, but I have a chance."

Although the world championships are still more than two weeks away, Fuglsang can celebrate his first Grand Tour stage win after near misses at the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France.

"I am very happy to prove that I have had a good spring. I'm very happy to prove that this spring has been more than just a good spring. It's also very special to win my first Grand Tour stage."