David de la Cruz brought Team Ineos back to the front after a terrible start to the Vuelta a España on Thursday, but a sixth stage that neither gave him the win nor the overall lead did not inspire confidence in him, despite his struggles on the final climb and his overall ranking ...

He started the race in 23rd place overall, 4:35 behind leader Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) but in the best position of Team Ineos.

After Poels attacked on the two early climbs, de la Cruz joined an 11-man breakaway that formed just over 50km into the 199km journey from Mora de Rubiéros to Ales del Maestrat. The breakaway lasted until the end, with the 30-year-old de la Cruz starting the category 3 Puerto de Ares as the de facto leader.

But there was also Dylan Theuns (Bahrain-Merida). When the Belgian made a strong attack four kilometers from the front, overtaking the attackers ahead of him and eventually riding to the finish line with eventual winner Jesus Herrada (Cofidis), De la Cruz dropped down the order, finishing in ninth place, nearly a minute behind.

"It was a really hard day. Honestly, I was thinking about winning a stage, but in the end I didn't have the legs to beat the guys who were stronger than me today," de la Cruz said at the finish.

"What can I say ...... I did my best, but as you can see it wasn't enough. I have to keep trying and hope for a good result."

De la Cruz's preparation for the Vuelta was less than ideal. He was not selected for the first squad of Ineos, but was called up at the last minute, much to the consternation of Kenny Elissonde, who had already arrived in Spain.

Nevertheless, de la Cruz noted that the entire season was far from ideal.

"The difference was all year long. It wasn't a perfect year with all the injuries and crashes, but things just happen the way they do." [Every situation has two faces, the good and the bad. That's the way it is. They were stronger than me. I don't want to make excuses."

Despite missing out on the stage win and the red jersey, De la Cruz moved into second place overall.

De la Cruz, who finished seventh overall in the Vuelta three years ago, had the makings of a Grand Tour rider and was given a second chance. However, losing time on stages 2 and 5 and struggling again on Thursday's final climb, he was unable to declare himself and his team back in contention for GC.

"The important thing is the legs. I lost a lot of time yesterday and in the calpe stage. If you lose time like that, you can't keep thinking about GC," de la Cruz said.

"Let's see how the legs are tomorrow.