2023 Vuelta a España Stage 7 Results & Recap
Stage 7 of the 2023 Vuelta a España is in the books. The final results and standings are below, followed by our recap of how the race unfolded.
Race Recap
Soupe wins bunch sprint in Oliva
Geoffrey Soupe (TEN) was the surprise winner of stage 7 of the Vuelta a Espana today, outsprinting Orluis Aular (CJR) and Edward Theuns (LTK) at the end of a long 200km journey from Utiel to Oliva, a coastal place south of Valencia.
"It’s incredible for me, for the team," Soupe said. "Normally, I wasn’t supposed to ride La Vuelta, but Alexis Vuillermoz crashed in the Tour de l’Ain so the team picked me to do La Vuelta. I didn’t think it would be possible to win a stage because the sprints are really fast. Today, it was very nervous in the final. A sprint in a Grand Tour is always special! With Nacer [Bouhanni], we won several sprints at the Vuelta a few years ago. It was already an extraordinary feeling, a lot of adrenalin. Leading him out and seeing him win was very exciting. But to taste pure victory, I can’t describe it. Yesterday, I was really struggling. I had a really bad time on the bike. I caught a virus at the start of La Vuelta and it slowed me down. I'm taking it day by day. I took my chances right to the end. Dries Van Gestel couldn't sprint. But I knew where to go on the last bend. I was a bit surprised that nobody came back behind. I asked myself: 'What's going on? Is this my day?’"
Lenny Martinez (Groupama-FDJ) held on to the La Roja during the transitional stage and has two tough days in the mountains ahead, which starts tomorrow on the formidable Xorret de Cati.
"It’s really incredible for me," Martinez said about wearing the red jersey. "I had in my mind at the start of the race that it would be amazing to take the jersey and it happened today. Thanks to my team, they rode very strong for me in the breakaway and I’m very happy. We changed plans because we had a big lead at the bottom of the final climb. It was thanks to Rudy [Molard] and Michael [Storer] who rode really hard all day to make up time in the general standings and then battle for the stage win and the jersey. They sacrificed their options, and I want to thank them. I'm very happy to have this jersey and it's a team race. I still can't understand what's happening to me. It's a great race. I've been thinking about my Spanish family too."
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