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It was the sweet smell of success both sides of the Atlantic for Garmin-Slipsteam thanks to wins from both Ryder Hesjedal and Dave Zabriskie.

While zany American Zabriskie's win in the Tour of Missouri ITT was about as easy to predict as the UK lottery result by illusionist Derren Brown, it was Hesjedal's victory in the Vuelta which would have been most satisfying for the US-based team.

On a day that Alexandre Vinokourov discovered that climbing mountains was a whole lot harder when not filled with the oxygenated blood of team-mate Andrey Kashechkin, Hesjedal, the Canadian former mountain biker, rode expertly to secure his first major tour win - and his team's second in as many stages in Spain.

Following his team-mate Tyler "The Pirate" Farrar's belated sprint scalp before the rest day, Hesjedal rode through the driest region in Europe (330 days a year without rain, apparently) to secure his nation's first ever stage win on the Vuelta.

Vinokourov was part of the breakaway that included Hesjedal - although the Kazakh snow leopard cracked on the second climb of the day, losing the six minutes he had amassed on the peloton before being spat out the back like a piece of unwanted chewing gum.

Alone, dejected and still sporting that disgusting goatee, Vino called it a day and threw in the towel. His blood must have been like Gazpacho, the local Andalusian delicacy for which the region is so famous. Much different from the Red Bull being pumped round his veins back in 2007.

This comeback malarkey is proving harder than the former Vuelta champ bargained for. And to think, Lance made it look like a piece of cake in France

Back to Hesjedal, the rangy rider who reached the Alto de Velefique in pole position. If only team-mate Farrar had stuck around a little while longer instead of pulling out to concentrate on the Worlds (where he will no doubt be thrashed by Mark Cavendish, lung infection or not).

It took Farrar about 20 attempts to upgrade those second places into a major Tour scalp. Hesjedal, on the other hand, took second place just days ago in stage 10 - and now has a win to his name. Blazin' Saddles always knew the US had a lot to learn from its Canadian neighbours.

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In other news today, Vino's pal Kashechkin is rumoured to be making a return from his doping ban in time for the World Championships in Switzerland. Let's hope he has more success back in the saddle than his old crony Vino.

Actually, let's not.

Meanwhile, staying within the realms of doping, the UCI has announced that it has banned Spaniard Manuel Beltran for two years following his positive test for EPO - back in 2008.

Nice to see the International Cycling Union getting on top of their work load. What's next - a retroactive ban for Marco Pantani?

Follow Blazin' Saddles throughout the day on www.twitter.com/saddleblaze

Felix Lowe / Eurosport