MADRID, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) recovered from the crisis he suffered just 24 hours earlier to win the seventh stage of the Vuelta a Espana (Tour of Spain) cycle race on Friday.
Ayuso, who lost over seven minutes on Thursday's final climb to end his chances of winning the race, was able to enjoy the freedom that allowed him to lead a 12-man breakaway, which also included Thursday's stage winner and UAE team-mate Jay Vine.
The 188-kilometer stage between Andorra and Cerler, Huesca was similar to Thursday's stage with a mountaintop finish at the end of the second of two first category climbs and two second category ascents to further test the legs of the riders.
With Vine assuring the jersey for the best climber, the Australian helped set up Ayuso to attack at the foot of the final climb, with around 10 kilometers left on the stage.
The Spaniard was able to open a lead of around a minute over pursuers Marco Frigo (Israel-Premier Tech) and Raul Garcia Pierna (Arkea-B&B Hotels) and never looked like ceding.
Jonas Vingegaard's Visma-Lease-A-Bike team led the main peloton, which yo-yoed around three to four minutes behind the breakaway during the stage, seemingly content to maintain the gap, although that difference was down to two minutes and 34 seconds by the end of the stage.
That means the Norwegian rider, Torstein Traeen (Bahrain-Victorious), retains the overall lead with an advantage of 2.33 over Vingegaard and Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) 2.41 behind.
Saturday's stage between Monzon Templario and Zaragoza should end in a group sprint, but crosswinds could complicate the stage and provoke splits in the peloton, meaning the overall favorites won't be able to relax. ■
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