Marc Soler ended Spain’s two-year wait for a stage winner at a Grand Tour as a late solo attack earned him victory on stage five of the Vuelta a España on Wednesday.
Frenchman Rudy Molard (Groupama-FDJ) took the overall lead after a hilly 187.2km ride from Irun to Bilbao. UAE-Team Emirates rider Soler attacked from a chasing group to catch and pass Molard’s British teammate, Jake Stewart on the final climb and stayed away to cross the line four seconds clear.
Molard finished in that chasing group and seized the red jersey from Jumbo-Visma’s grasp. The defending champion, Primoz Roglic, took the overall lead on Tuesday but finished back in the peloton and is now fifth, four minutes and nine seconds back.
That will be of little concern to the Jumbo-Visma team at this early stage, with the Slovenian still favourite to claim overall victory.