Defending champion Primoz Roglic extended his early lead at the Vuelta a Espana to nine seconds as he finished second behind Marc Soler on stage two.
Roglic appears especially determined to retain his red jersey in Spain, having been dramatically denied at September's Tour de France.
And his bid for a second General Classification title is going to plan so far.
Roglic was 19 seconds shy of Soler on Wednesday but led the chasing pack - including several other GC contenders - pipping Daniel Martin to claim the six-second bonus for second place.
Martin finished third for the second day running, while Richard Carapaz - second on Tuesday - was fourth, the pair switching places in the overall standings.
Victory was Spaniard Soler's reward for a late solo attack, pulling clear on the descent of the final summit for a first Grand Tour stage win.
"I'm very happy because we're racing on home roads," he said. "This was a stage we really wanted to win and we'd studied the roads this week.
"This is my first win in a Grand Tour and I'm very happy about that.
"It pays us back for all the hard work done during what has been a very difficult year. It's great for all the team and I can only thank them for their support."
Meanwhile, Chris Froome is now almost half an hour back after another poor showing in his final Grand Tour with INEOS Grenadiers.
STAGE RESULT
1. Marc Soler (Movistar Team) 3:47:04
2. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) +00:19
3. Daniel Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) +00:19
4. Richard Carapaz (INEOS Grenadiers) +00:19
5. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team) +00:19
CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS
General Classification
1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 04:22:24
2. Daniel Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) +00:09
3. Richard Carapaz (INEOS Grenadiers) +00:11
Points Classification
1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 45
2. Richard Carapaz (INEOS Grenadiers) 34
3. Daniel Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) 32
King of the Mountains
1. Richard Carapaz (INEOS Grenadiers) 14
2. Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) 14
3. Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal) 6
WHAT'S NEXT?
Thursday's stage three takes in the tough 166.1km ride from Lodosa to La Laguna Negra de Vinuesa, consisting almost solely of climbs.