Juan Ayuso recovered from a collapse in the Pyrenees and rode solo on the final climb to win stage seven of the Vuelta a España. The 188km stage from Andorra la Vella to Cerler saw Ayuso break early, join an 11-rider group, then attack with 11 kilometres remaining. Marco Frigo finished more than a minute behind in second and Raúl García Pierna took third. The 22-year-old added his first individual Vuelta stage after a team time trial win on stage five. Torstein Træen retained the red jersey with a 2:33 lead over Jonas Vingegaard. Stage eight will be a flat 163.5km from Monzón to Zaragoza, and Chris Froome underwent surgery after a serious crash on Wednesday.
Spaniard Juan Ayuso showed a remarkable recovery after his collapse in the Pyrenees only 24 hours previously to go it alone on the climb to the finish and triumph in stage seven of the Vuelta a Espana. Torstein Tren retains the red jersey, holding a two minutes and 33 seconds lead over Jonas Vingegaard, who moved from fifth to second in the standings but without closing the gap to the Norwegian.
Ayuso, tipped to be one of the main challengers to pre-race favourite Vingegaard, had slipped way down the general classification after being dropped on the final climb on Thursday, but was back to his best on the 188km ride from Andorra la Vella to Cerler. Italian Marco Frigo crossed the line more than one minute behind Ayuso in second, with another Spaniard, Raul Garcia Pierna third.
Ayuso was the first to break away early in the stage, before he was joined by a group of 11 riders, including UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammate and stage six winner Jay Vine. He made his telling move with 11 kilometres left to the finish. The 22-year-old, who finished third overall in 2022 and fourth the following year, was just eight seconds behind then leader Vingegaard in second place before Thursday's downfall.
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