Stage 7

The road

At the start

One long climb, and a break's chance

Remco Evenepoel is 22 years old and in the red jersey of the Vuelta a España, 21 seconds ahead of Rudy Molard and a minute ahead of Primož Roglič after Pico Jano. Today gives the race a breather: 191 kilometres into Castilla y León with only the Puerto de San Glorio to climb — nineteen and a half kilometres of it, summit at 1,600 metres, sixty-five from the line. A day made for a breakaway.

How it was won

1. 165 km to go

   The sprinters are shed

   The long drag over the San Glorio does exactly what the break hoped: Merlier goes with fifteen kilometres still to climb, Ackermann with ten, and Bennett's elastic finally snaps inside the last kilometre. Herrada attacks near the summit for the mountains points, the break still 2:44 clear.

2. 223 km to go

   The chase stalls

   Van Poppel has hauled Bennett back on the descent — and with the sprinter safe, the urgency drains out of the peloton and the gap grows again from 2:20 to 2:40. Arkéa and BikeExchange are left to do the work alone.

3. 33 km to go

   Forty-three seconds, and rising hope

   Ten kilometres out it was a minute; at five it is fifty seconds; at three it is forty-three. The pendulum has swung and the five men up front know the stage is theirs.

4. 4At the line

   Herrada edges it in Cistierna

   Wright leads out for most of the sprint and Battistella looks the fastest, but Jesús Herrada comes past both to win it — and leave the Italian visibly furious at second.

The result