Roche finishes in select group on Vuelta’s seventh stage

Nicolas Roche finished as part of a 30-man main bunch on stage seven of the Vuelta a España on Friday, placing 21st on the lumpy stage to Pozo Alcón. Frenchman Tony Gallopin (Ag2r La Mondiale) was first to the line, five seconds clear of Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe), Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and the rest of the chasing group.

“We thought that today was a real 50/50 day,” said Roche. “It was one of those stages that suited a lot of the big GC [general classification] riders as well as punchy sprinters and we saw that today. But, it was also a day that could have suited the breakaway.

“As we came into the final kilometres, the pace really picked up and while I’m happy that I was able to follow the moves this time around, I just wasn’t able to try and counter attack. I had it in the back of my mind but the legs just wouldn’t respond. So I thought it would be better to make sure I stayed with that group to the finish line.”

Dan Martin was 61st, four minutes and 27 seconds back.

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Roche remains 24th overall, five minutes and seven seconds behind overall leader Rudy Molard (Groupama-FDJ). Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky), who had been sitting second overall, dropped to sixth after he was delayed by a crash. Spain's Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) is now second overall, 47 seconds behind Molard.

Martin is 64th; he is using the race as preparation for the world road race championships, and will also chase stage wins if his form improves sufficiently.