Vuelta a España. Stage 7. Miguel Angel Lopez is 3rd atop Mas de la Costa, retakes back red jersey

The final of the 7th stage of the Vuelta a España became a place of a great battle between the favorites of the general classification. Four riders went away clear on a super steep 4-km-long climb Mas de la Costa to fight for the stage and the lead in the overall standings. Miguel Angel Lopez, Nairo Quintana, Alejandro Valverde and Primoz Roglic created a leading group, fighting on the slopes of 15-20%. In the end of the day, nobody could get an advantage, and everything ended with a powerful uphill sprint, won by Valverde, followed by Roglic and Lopez.

Finishing third at today’s stage, Miguel Angel Lopez returned into the lead in the general classification, retaking the red jersey back.

- I can’t say that this climb suited me well as it was a steep and explosive powerful climb. However, I gave my best today and I think I can be happy with my performance. I knew this climb and I knew it would be a big test for everyone. We had a super fast start and in general it was a fast stage, so, everyone was already tired coming to the bottom of the final climb. Our team did a great job, I was always in a good and protected position. At the last climb my teammates did a good acceleration, placing me well in front. Finally, we remained four in the lead, everyone tried to do something, but it was impossible to gain terrain on these steep slopes. I expected that Alejandro Valverde would be a big favorite today as this climb suited him perfectly. Anyway, once again I am in the red jersey and I am happy with it. We did a good stage and it is nice to come back into the lead. On Sunday we will have another very hard day and, I think, the climb in Andorra will suit me much better. So sure, with the whole team we will keep on fighting in this Vuelta day by day, - said Miguel Angel Lopez.

- I think we can be satisfied with the way we did this stage. The team was strong, working really good for Miguel Angel. We expected that the final climb won’t suit him perfectly, so we just tried to do it as good as possible. The team brought Miguel Angel in front in a perfect moment, so he could follow the move of Quintana, Roglic and Valverde. On the climb Lopez had good legs, he looked strong. It was difficult to win the stage against Valverde, but he managed to finish third and to take back the red jersey. It is a nice end of the day, - said Alexandr Shefer, sports director of Astana Pro Team.

The Vuelta a España will continue tomorrow with stage 8 from Valls to Igualada of 166.9 km.

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