Nilkas Arndt extended Team Sunweb's successful run in the first week of the 2019 Vuelta a España thanks to an impressive stage win in difficult weather conditions at Igualada on Saturday.

On the first real rainy day of the 2019 Vuelta a España (more stormy weather is forecast for Andorra on Sunday), the German followed up a stage victory earned on the final day of the 2016 Giro d'Italia when Giacomo Nizzolo was disqualified for an illegal sprint strategy with a career He earned his second Grand Tour victory.

The Vuelta a España has been a timely success for the team, with Sunweb finishing third in the opening TTT, Nicolas Roche wearing the red jersey for several days, and now Arndt taking a stage win. Meanwhile, Wilco Kelderman, 12th overall, continues to battle for GC.

Team Sunweb has not won since Chad Haga won the time trial stage of the Giro d'Italia and has just seven wins so far this season.

However, the Vuelta offered an opportunity for Sunweb to move on from that, and in the first week, the team seized the opportunity with both hands.

Arndt said that having teammate Martin Tasfeldt with him in the breakaway group helped him win. Tassfeldt covered the early moves, allowing Arndt to stand by in case victory came down to a sprint.

"My finale started when Martin crashed with 3km to go. 'He had attacked earlier and I could see he had fallen on a very slippery roundabout.' [And when the final attack began, I started to follow. [After the left-hand corner just before the finish with 250 meters to go, I just kept going.

Arndt dedicated his victory to teammate Nicolas Roche, who crashed and retired on stage 6.

Arndt is known for sitting down and sprinting, as he did in his victory in Igualada, but he explained that it was more to fight for victory on the tough terrain for a group sprint than because he prefers that particular position.

"It was a really hard race today," he said. The [second category] climb in the second half of the stage was very difficult, but I got through it without any problems."

"I just wasn't fresh enough to power up for the sprint. This was not an explosive sprint, it was about running as hard as possible with the energy I had left.

"I've won stages in the Dauphiné and Cadel Evans the same way. I don't have the acceleration, but I can still generate power while sitting down. Also, it was really slippery today, so sitting down allows the tires to stick to the road."

Team Sunweb's focus, like the Vuelta, will return to the high mountains on Sunday. But whatever happens in the Pyrenees, the time trial in Pau, and the final two-thirds of the Vuelta, the German team will be more than satisfied with their results so far.