Wout van Aert, getting stronger every day, wins the 7th stage of La Vuelta 2024

Transition day before a mountainous weekend but with a touch of spice in its final part that resulted in a spectacle worthy of a Belgian classic, a scenario in which the best of those in La Vuelta 2024 is none other than Wout van Aert, although he had to wait until the sprint of the very reduced group that reached the finish line in Córdoba.

Sepp Kuss puts on his work overalls to give a new stage victory to Van Aert

Nice finish to the stage in the seventh leg of La Vuelta a España 2024 that compensates for the rest of the day where, once again, the peloton dedicated itself to rolling without stress while letting the breakaway of the day do its thing, covering the 180 kilometers that separated Archidona from Córdoba.

A stage that, despite a mainly flat profile, reserved for the end a circuit with the trap of the 14% climb, a climb nestled in the mountains that surround the city and that is almost obligatory every time La Vuelta arrives in this Andalusian city.

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The adventure of the day was led by Euskaltel-Euskadi cyclist Xabier Isasa, this time without the company of any member of the other Professional team invited to La Vuelta 2024 after the huge effort made by Kern Pharma to have a presence in the breakaway of yesterday's tough stage.

The breakaway would die shortly after passing the first time through the finish line when the peloton accelerated the pace to face the 14% climb with all the favorites seeking the best position on a climb with increasing gradient and a very fast first part where Visma-Lease a Bike was pulling hard. However, they were unable to select the group, a move that was seen by Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe who took control of the group and, as the climb progressed, began to cause damage although all the general classification contenders held on without problems.

The objective of this work was to clear the way as much as possible for Primoz Roglic to attack with the banner of the mountain already in sight and add the bonus that was granted at this point, supported by Sepp Kuss and Richard Carapaz.

The brief pause after the climb was seized by a brilliant Marc Soler, a specialist in choosing the right moment to attack, who managed to open a significant gap thanks to his technical descent of the mountain. It seemed that the Catalan could repeat a victory as a cunning cyclist, like the one he achieved a few years ago in Lekunberri, but he did not count on Wout van Aert's attack, who switched to classic mode and tried to bridge the gap alone and, after being caught, with the tremendous effort of Sepp Kuss who seemed like an accomplished rouleur and, in a tremendous effort, managed to neutralize Soler with 3.6 kilometers to go.

Attempts by Gaudu and Sivakov were controlled by a group of barely twenty units, with Wout van Aert perfectly positioned for the sprint finish, starting exactly at his chosen distance and winning the stage without any opposition, undoubtedly a step closer to regaining that killer instinct that seemed to have abandoned him in recent times.

Stage 7 Classification

1. Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) 4h15'39''
2. Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) +00''
3. Pau Miquel (Kern Pharma) +00''
4. Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDF) +00''
5. Quinten Hermans (Alpecin-Deceuninck) +00''
6. Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ) +00''
7. Lorenzo Rota (Intermarché-Wanty) +00''
8. Harold Tejada (Astana) +00''
9. Max Poole (DSM-Firmenich-PostNL) +00''
10. George Bennett (Israel-PremierTech) +00''

General Classification

1. Ben O'Connor (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) 27h44'07''
2. Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) +4'45''
3. Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) +4'59''
4. Enric Mas (Movistar Team) +5'23''
5. Cristian Rodríguez (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) +5'26''
6. Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain-Victorious) +5'29''
7. Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto-Dstny) +5'32''
8. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) +5'37''
9. Felix Gall (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) +5'38''
10. Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) +5'49''