Share

De Marchi sprints to stage win

Alcaudete - Italy's Alessandro de Marchi sprinted home alone to win the seventh stage of the Tour of Spain on Friday as Spaniard Alejandro Valverde held the race lead.

Cannondale's de Marchi, 28, shook off his three breakaway rivals with 15km to go, holding off all their attempts to catch him after the mountainous 169km ride from Alhendin to Alcaudete.

Canada's Ryder Hesjedal of Garmin finished second, despite crashing near the finish, ahead of France's Hubert Dupont of the Ag2r-La Mondiale team.

De Marchi was elated having tried several times in vain to win a stage during last month's Tour de France.

"I've been waiting for this moment," the Italian told Spanish television station TVE.

"Today I managed to find the opening and I had a bit of luck. I came to this Vuelta without pressure, taking it day by day."

On what was supposed to be a transitional stage ahead of Sunday's first big mountain challenge, there were some worrying moments, most notably when last year's Tour winner Chris Froome went down early on.

Although the British Team Sky leader seemed to hurt his leg, the peloton sat up for him and he easily rejoined the pack.

And he even took back a couple of seconds on Valverde in the sprint finish as he came home seventh.

He remains fourth although now just 20sec behind the Spanish Movistar rider.

Colombian Giro d'Italia champion Nairo Quintana, Valverde's team-mate and overall favourite, is second at 15sec with two-time former Vuelta winner Alberto Contador third at 18sec.

Young French climber Warren Barguil, thought by many as a potential future Tour champion, was another to hit the deck.

However, as the 22-year-old Giant-Shimano leader's crash came in the final few kilometres, he was not penalised by any time loss and stays ninth at just over a minute.

Saturday's 207km flat stage from Baeza to Albacete is one for the sprinters.


Results on  Friday from the seventh stage of the 69th Spanish Vuelta, a 169km ride from Alhendin to Alcaudete (rider, country, team, time):

1. Alessandro de Marchi, Italy, Cannondale, 4 hours, 1 minute, 52 seconds.

2. Ryder Hesjedal, Canada, Garmin Sharp, 1 minute, 34 seconds behind.

3. Hubert Dupont, France, AG2R La Mondiale, 1:35.

4. Johann Tschopp, Switzerland, IAM, same time.

5. Philippe Gilbert, Belgium, BMC, 2:17.

6. Daniel Martin, Ireland, Garmin Sharp, same time.

7. Chris Froome, Britain, Sky, 2:18.

8. Gianluca Brambilla, Italy, Omega Pharma-Quickstep, 2:20.

9. Alejandro Valverde, Spain, Movistar, same time.

10. Alberto Contador, Spain, Tinkoff-Saxo, same time.

Overall Standings (After 7 of 21 stages)

1. Alejandro Valverde, Spain, Movistar, 26 hours, 52 minutes, 20 seconds.

2. Nairo Quintana, Colombia, Movistar, 15 seconds behind.

3. Alberto Contador, Spain, Tinkoff-Saxo, :18.

4. Chris Froome, Britain, Sky, :20.

5. Esteban Chaves Rubio, Colombia, Orica GreenEdge, :41.

6. Joaquin Rodriguez, Spain, Katusha, :45.

7. Robert Gesink, Netherlands, Belkin, :55.

8. Fabio Aru, Italy, Astana, :58.

9. Warren Barguil, France, 1:02.

10. Wilco Kelderman, Netherlands, Belkin, 1:06.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
26% - 1223 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
30% - 1419 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2149 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE