Stage 7
De Marchi's biggest day
- Friday 29 August 2014
- 171 km
- 2,744 m climbed
- Won by Alessandro De Marchi
The road
At the start
Valverde in red by fifteen seconds
Alejandro Valverde won at La Zubia and rides in red with fifteen seconds on his own team-mate Nairo Quintana, eighteen on Alberto Contador and twenty-two on Chris Froome — four riders inside half a minute after six days. Today is a flatter 171 kilometres to Alcaudete with one climb forty-seven kilometres out and a finish that drags upward at four per cent for the last five.
How it was won
- 135 km to go
Four strong men get away
An hour of attacks in furnace heat before Hesjedal and Tschopp finally make one stick, Dupont and De Marchi jumping across to make it four.
- 47 km to go
The break starts to break
On the Alto Ahillo the heat and the pace begin to tell, and the alliance of four turns into four men racing each other.
- At the line
De Marchi's biggest day
Fatigue and misfortune pick off his companions one by one and the Italian rides into Alcaudete alone — the first breakaway success of this Vuelta and the biggest win of Alessandro De Marchi's career.
The result
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alessandro De Marchi | Cannondale | 4:01:52 |
| 2 | Ryder Hesjedal | Garmin Sharp | +1:34 |
| 3 | Hubert Dupont | AG2R La Mondiale | +1:35 |
The route on real terrain, every moment pinned to the kilometre it happened on — and the GPX to ride it yourself.