Marc Soler powers to Vuelta stage win, Ben O'Connor's overall lead trimmed

Spain's Marc Soler won stage 16 of the Vuelta a Espana with a late breakaway, while Ben O'Connor's lead is now razor-thin, with Primoz Roglic just five seconds behind.

In the final five kilometres, Soler saw an opportunity to surge ahead and opened up an unbridgeable gap at the front, with Italy's Filippo Zana and Britain's Max Poole taking second and third, respectively.

Slovenian Roglic sensed an opportunity in the rainy mountains from Luanco to Lagos de Covadonga, finishing 11th - nine places ahead of O'Connor - cutting nearly a minute off the Australian's overall lead.

Belgian rider Wout van Aert was forced to withdraw from the Vuelta following a crash during a descent, where he sustained injuries to his legs and arms. The accident occurred with more than 50km left in the stage.

At the time of his withdrawal, the 29-year-old was leading both the points and king of the mountains rankings.

Corkman Eddie Dunbar (Team Jayco AlUla) remains 15th in the general classification after another solid stage performance that saw him come hiome in 23rd.

Darren Rafferty (EF Education-Easypos) - making his Grand Tour debut - was 48th today and is 71st overall.