The 26-year-old Dane also claimed his maiden victory on the Tour de France in the 13^th stage earlier in the year, and the Vuelta points classification leader crossed the finish line in 3hrs 46min 1sec on the 168.4 kilometres route from Ronda to Montilla.

UAE Team Emirates rider Pascal Ackermann of Germany had opened the sprint with around 500 metres remaining, but ultimately had to settle for third place.

Pedersen outsprinted his rivals to earn the win for Trek-Segafredo, while France's Bryan Coquard of Cofidis placed second.

The stage finale featured an uphill climb of 300 metres at an average gradient of five per cent.

Race leader Remco Evenepoel of Belgium and Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl was involved in a crash yesterday, but retained the red jersey and an overall lead of 2min 41sec over the Slovenian defending champion Primož Roglič of Team Jumbo-Visma.

This year's Vuelta has been marked by COVID-19 controversies, with 23 riders forced to pull out after testing positive for the virus and others complaining about the strictness of protocols on the Grand Tour.

UAE Team Emirates announced prior to the 13^th stage that Spanish rider Juan Ayuso had tested positive, but that he would be permitted to continue racing following consultation with race organisers and the International Cycling Union (UCI).

"He [Ayuso] is asymptomatic and analysing his PCR found he had a very low risk of infectivity, similar to cases such as we saw at this year's Tour de France," the team medical director Adrian Rotunno said.

"We have made the decision in consultation with medical representatives from the race organisation and the UCI.

"We are aware of Juan's clinical picture and are closely monitoring his situation."

Tomorrow's 160.3km 14^th mountain stage runs from Montoro to the Sierra de la Pandera.

High temperatures are expected, and the back-to-back mountain stages tomorrow and on Sunday (September 4) could prove crucial to Roglič's hopes of catching Evenepoel and winning his fourth consecutive Vuelta.