Dutch veteran Annemiek van Vleuten won a third consecutive Vuelta a Espana on Sunday, as compatriot Demi Vollering narrowly failed to retake the red jersey she lost the day before after a toilet break.

Van Vleuten led by 1min 11sec Sunday morning and did enough to retain her title by nine seconds.

Vollering won the 93.7-kilometer stage, with Italian Gaia Realini 11 seconds behind.

The 40-year-old van Vleuten nursed her overall lead on the 12-kilometer final climb and was third at 56 seconds.

"I'm happy, but exhausted," said a delighted Van Vlueten, who rides for the Movistar team and also holds the women's Giro and Tour de France titles, at a finish line shrouded in thick fog.

Van Vleuten took the lead Saturday, after Vollering stopped for a toilet break and then got caught in a crosswind.

"If it hadn't been for that (the toilet break) I'd have won this Vuelta," said rising star Vollering, who rides for SD Worx and secured all three major Ardennes classics this spring.

Realini, a 21-year-old climber with Trek-Sagafredo, rounded out the podium after a seven-day race, a step up from the previous five-stage format.

Vollering had taken the lead by winning Stage 5 and was winner of the 93-kilometer Stage 7 that ended Sunday in a 12-kilometer climb.