Stage 7

The road

At the start

The Alto del 14%, then Córdoba

Ben O'Connor rode into red at Yunquera by six and a half minutes and starts today 4:51 up on Primož Roglič and 4:59 on João Almeida — a lead nobody in the race quite believes in yet. Rigoberto Urán abandoned yesterday. The day is hilly rather than mountainous, but the one categorised climb is called the Alto del 14% for good reason, and its summit comes 25 kilometres from the line in Córdoba.

How it was won

1. 126 km to go

   Red Bull blow it up on the 14% wall

   On the brutal Alto del 14%, 25.5km out, Red Bull and Visma tear the peloton apart, dropping the pure sprinters and leaving Van Aert improbably in the front group with Kuss.

2. 24 km to go

   Sivakov's late dig

   Pavel Sivakov leads a flurry of attacks on the run into Cordoba and hangs on to within 200 metres of the line before he is finally reeled in.

3. 3At the line

   Van Aert wins from the split

   With his rivals shelled on the climb, Van Aert is untouchable in the reduced sprint, beating Vacek for a second stage win and a firm grip on green.

The result