Tony Gallopin (AG2R La Mondiale) solo's to stage 7 victory in Vuelta a Espana.

Tony Gallopin (AG2R La Mondiale) wins stage 7 of the Vuelta a Espana after attacking from a reduced group inside the final three kilometres. Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) wins the bunch sprint from the chasing group with Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) in third place.

Rudy Molard (Groupama-FDJ) extended his race lead after Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) lost time following a crash in the final kilometres. 

An impressive ride from Gallopin. He jumped from the front with around 2km to go and took advantage of a disorganised chase. Sagan beat Valverde to second but the world champion, despite help from Majka, couldn't bring back the AG2R rider. Molard, he finished in the same group and will extend his lead on GC with Kwiatkowski losing time.

How it unfolded

For the second day in Murcia, the sprinters would get another chance but the lumpy course and gently rising finish meant that the puncheurs could upset the fast men. Stage 7 of the Vuelta a Espana would bring the peloton inland from Puerto Lumbreras to Pozo Alcon. After a chaotic finish to Thursday's stage, Molard had kept hold of his red jersey for at least another day and would be hoping for an easier route through the day.

The break was formed almost immediately as seven riders launched themselves off the front of the bunch in the early kilometres. Several more tried to join them but they were brought back by the peloton, who looked eager to make sure that the leading group didn't have too much strength in numbers.

Top Ten General Classification Standings.

1, Rudy Molard (France) Groupama-FDJ 26:44:40,
2, Alejandro Valverde (Spain) Movistar Team 0:00:47,
3, Emanuel Buchmann (Germany) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:48,
4, Simon Yates (Great Britain) Mitchelton-Scott 0:00:51,
5, Tony Gallopin (France) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:59,
6, Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland) Team Sky 0:01:06,
7, Ion Izagirre (Spain) Bahrain-Merida 0:01:11,
8, Nairo Quintana (Colombia) Movistar Team 0:01:14
9 Steven Kruijswijk (Netheland

) LottoNL-Jumbo 0:01:18

10, Enric Mas (Spain) Quick-Step Floors 0:01:23

Nacer Bouhanni (Team Cofidis) wins stage 6 Vuelta a Espana.

Nacer Bouhanni (Team Cofidis) powers to chaotic reduced bunch finale victory in San Javier, Vuelta a Espan

A day which seemingly was calm ended in tempest meanwhile Wilco Kelderman ( Team Sunweb) and
Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) conceded significant ground in the race for final overall victory.

Rudy Molard (Groupama-FDJ) finished safely in the front group to retain the red jersey, 41 seconds ahead of Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky), but the story of the day in the GC battle is the 1:45 conceded by Kelderman and Pinot when the bunch fragmented through a combination of a crash and crosswinds in the final 25 kilometres or so.

How it unfolded

After a fraught and high-speed opening to Wednesday's rugged leg to Roquetas de Mar, there was a rather more sedate beginning to stage 5. Once the flag dropped in Huércal-Overa, a trio of riders slipped clear and the peloton gladly granted them their freedom.

Top Ten General Classification Standing

Wilco Kelderman has dropped out of the top 10 after missing out on that split.

1, Rudy Molard (France) Groupama-FDJ 22:26:15,
2, Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland) Team Sky 0:00:41,
3, Emanuel Buchmann (Germany) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:48,
4 Simon Yates (Great Britain) Mitchelton-Scott 0:00:51,
5, Alejandro Valverde (Spain) Movistar Team 0:00:53,
6, Ion Izagirre (Spain) Bahrain-Merida 0:01:11,
7, Tony Gallopin (France) AG2R La Mondiale 0:01:14,
8, Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team 0:01:14,
9, Steven Kruijswijk (Netherland) LottoNL-Jumbo 0:01:18,
10, Enric Mas (Spain) Quick-Step Floors 0:01:23

Simon Clarke (EF Education First-Drapac) wins stage 5 Vuelta a Espana

Simon Clarke (EF Education First-Drapac) wins stage victory in Roquetas de Mar in Vuelta a Espana.

It was another day for breakaway to excel for second day running. Clarke out-sprinted Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) and Alessandro De Marchi (BMC Racing), who had attacked from a sizeable breakaway with 60 kilometres remaining.
Rudy Molard (Groupama-FDJ), who finished in the group behind Clarke, was the surprise recipient of the red jersey, ousting Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) from the top spot. Molard holds a 1:01 advantage over Kwiatkowski with Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) in third place at 1:08.

How it unfolded

The challenging opening to the Vuelta a Espana with another lumpy affair from Granada to Roquetas de Mar, featuring two classified climbs. Kwiatkowski was once again in red after defending his jersey on the Vuelta's first summit finish.

Stage 5 Top Ten General Classification.

1, Rudy Molard (France) Groupama-FDJ 18:27:20,
2, Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland) Team Sky 0:01:01,
3, Emanuel Buchmann (Germany) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:01:08,
4, Simon Yates (Great Britain) Mitchelton-Scott 0:01:11,
5, Alejandro Valverde (Spain) Movistar Team 0:01:13,
6, Wilco Kelderman (Netherland) Team Sunweb 0:01:26,
7, Ion Izagirre (Spain) Bahrain-Merida 0:01:31,
8, Tony Gallopin (France) AG2R La Mondiale 0:01:34,
9, Nairo Quintana (Colombia) Movistar Team 0:01:34,
10, Steven Kruijswijk (Netherland) LottoNL-Jumbo 0:01:38

Ben King (Dimension Data) wins stage 4 Vuelta a Espana.

Ben King (Dimension Data) wins two man up sprint against Nikita Stalnov (Astana Pro Team) in the summit of Puerto de Alfacar, Vuelta a Espana. While

race leader Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) did enough to retain his red jersey in the face of attacks from Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) and Emmanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe).

How it unfolded

Although Sunday's trek to Caminito del Rey finished just beyond the top of a category 3 climb, stage 4 was classed as the Vuelta's maiden summit finish. With the demanding finale above Granada in mind – not to mention the soaring temperatures – there was no great resistance to the day's opening attack.

King, Stalnov and Rolland were joined by Luis Angel Maté (Cofidis), Jelle Wallays (Lotto Soudal), Lars Boom (LottoNL-Jumbo), Oscar Cabedo Carda (Burgos BH), Aritz Bagues (Euskadi Basque Country-Murias) and Ben Gastauer (AG2R La Mondiale) in forging clear in the opening kilometres, and the peloton was more than content to leave them to it.

Top Ten General Classification

1, Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland) Team Sky13:47:19,
2, Emanuel Buchmann (Germany) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:07,
3, Simon Yates (Great Britain) Mitchelton Scott0:00:10,
4, Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team0:00:12,
5, Wilco Kelderman (Netherland) Team Sunweb0:00:25,
6, Ion Izagirre (Spain) Bahrain-Merida0:00:30,
7, Tony Gallopin (France) AG2R La Mondiale0:00:33,
8, Nairo Quintana (Colombia) Movistar Team,
9, Steven Kruijswijk (Netherland) LottoNL-Jumbo0:00:37,
10, Enric Mas (Spain) Quick-Step Floors0:00:42

Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors) wins stage 3 Vuelta a Espana

Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors) wins messy finale by beating Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek-Segafredo) to win in Alhaurin de la Torre while Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) finished just behind the Italian pair's to take third place.

The final run in was scary as there was no one team in control of the peloton in the final kilometres.

How it Unfolded

The peloton would descend on Mijas for the start of stage 3 with Kwiatkowski resplendent in red after taking the race lead the previous day. The 178.2km circuitous ride to Alhaurin de la Torre had been billed as one for the sprinters, but with a first category climb and another third category, only time would tell if the sprinters would succeed.

Meanwhile Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) finished safely with pack to keep his red jersey and maintain his 14 second lead over Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) with the rest of the top 10 remaining the same.

Top Ten General Classification Standings

1, Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland) Team Sky9:10:52,
2, Alejandro Valverde (Spain) Movistar Team0:00:14,
3, Wilco Kelderman (Netherland) Team Sunweb0:00:25,
4, Laurens De Plus (Belgium) Quick-Step Floors0:00:28,
5, Ion Izagirre (Spain) Bahrain-Merida0:00:30,
6, Fabio Felline (Italy) Trek-Segafredo,
7, Emanuel Buchmann (Germany) Bora-Hansgrohe0:00:32,
8, Tony Gallopin (France) AG2R La Mondiale0:00:33,
9, Nairo Quintana (Colombia) Movistar Team,
10, Bauke Mollema (Netherland) Trek-Segafredo

Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) wins stage 2 Vuelta a Espana

Alejandro Valverde (Team Movistar) out sprints Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) to win tumultous stage 2 victory atop Caminito del Rey, Vuelta a Es
A stage officially designated as flat, the Vuelta a España instead served up enough difficulty to upend the overall classification to take the stage. Earlier attacker Laurens De Plus (Quick-Step Floors) was third.

pana.

How it unfolded 

The opening road stage of the Vuelta was officially described as ‘flat’ by the race organisation, but the presence of four categorised climbs, constantly rolling roads and an uphill kick to the line suggested the designation was a rather deceptive one.

The climbing began as soon as the race left Marbella, with the peloton facing into the category 2 Puerto de Ojen in the opening kilometres. Alexis Gougeard (AG2R La Mondiale), Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal), Pierre Rolland (EF-Drapac), Pablo Torres (Burgos-BH), Jonathan Lastras (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Luis Angel Mate (Cofidis) and Hector Saez (Euskadi-Murias) pressed clear on the lower slopes of the ascent, and they were granted some early freedom by the peloton, which was being controlled by the BMC team of red jersey Rohan Dennis.

Big time losers today

Simon Yates, Fabio Aru, Rafal Majka, Steven Kruijswijk and Michael Woods were among the riders to come in 8 seconds down on Valverde. Ilnur Zakarin lost 1:01 and Dan Martin conceded 1:15. Adam Yates, Richie Porte and red jersey Rohan Dennis all look set to lose more than 6 minutes.

Top Ten General Classification Standings:

1, Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland) Team Sky 4:22:40,
2, Alejandro Valverde (Spain) Movistar Team 0:00:14,
3, Wilco Kelderman (Netherland) Team Sunweb 0:00:25,
4, Laurens De Plus (Belgium) Quick-Step Floors 0:00:28,
5, Ion Izagirre (Spain) Bahrain-Merida 0:00:30,
6, Fabio Felline (Italy) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:30,
7, Emanuel Buchmann (Germany) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:32,
8, Tony Gallopin (France) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:33,
9, Nairo Quintana (Colombia) Movistar Team 0:00:33,
10, Bauke Mollema (Netherland) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:35

Rohan Dennis (BMC Racing) wins stage 1 in Malaga, Vuelta a Espana.

Rohan Dennis (BMC) smashes opening Vuelta a Espana Individual Time Trial as  expected to win the opening stage in Málaga, Spain. 

His stage win also nets him the red leader’s jersey of the race. The Australian beat Michal Kwiatowski (Team Sky) into second place by six seconds, as Victor Campenaerts (Lotto-Soudal) completed the podium with seven seconds down.

How it unfolded

The opening time trial of the 2018 Vuelta a España was the race's first opening TT since 2009, and marked the third time the Spanish Grand Tour had ever started in Málaga. Previous starts saw Alex Zülle take the then-golden leader's jersey back in 2000, while CSC triumphed in the 2006 Vuelta opening TTT.

It would be the only chance for the rouleurs to impress for over two weeks, with no other tests against the clock coming until stage 16's TT in Cantabria. The time trial (don't call it a prologue – that label only applies to courses under 8km in length) featured largely flat, wide roads on a not particularly technical course, and took in the beachfront with a small drag midway through.

Top Ten General Classification

1, Rohan Dennis (Australia) BMC Racing Team 0:09:39,
 2, Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland) Team Sky0:00:06,
3, Victor Campenaerts (Belgium) Lotto Soudal 0:00:07, 4, Nelson Oliveira (Portugal) Movistar Team 0:00:17,
5, Dylan van Baarle (Netherland) Team Sky 0:00:20,
 6, Alessandro De Marchi (Italy) BMC Racing Team 0:00:21,
 7, Jonathan Castroviejo (Spain) Team Sky,
8, Simon Geschke (Germany) Team Sunweb, 
9, Ion Izagirre (Spain) Bahrain-Merida0:00:22,
10, Wilco Kelderman (Netherland) Team Sunweb