The American rider Benjamin King won the mountainous ninth stage of the Vuelta, finishing atop the beyond-category La Covatilla on Sunday, while Simon Yates took over the race lead.

King stayed ahead of the chaser Bauke Mollema on a long breakaway to win the 201km leg starting in Talavera de la Reina that crested three categorized passes before the final uphill push in five and a half hours.

King, who rides for Dimension Data, also won the fourth stage for his first Grand Tour stage win at 29. He had time enough to lift his arms in victory as he reached the finish, only to collapse on the ground gasping for air. “I feel so bad right now,” Spanish TV cameras caught King telling his team as he recovered from the effort. “I can’t believe that.”

Yates of Michelton-Scott was the ninth rider to finish. The English cyclist took the red jersey from Rudy Molard, who had led the race for four flat stages but faded early on the brutal last ascent.

Yates leads Alejandro Valverde by one second, with Valverde’s Movistar teammate Nairo Quintana 14 seconds back. Both Valverde and Quintana are former Vuelta winners.

Yates led the Giro d’Italia for 13 days in May with Chris Froome the eventual winner. Monday is the first of two rest days in the three-week race.