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Michael Woods Wins Stage 7 While Carapaz Stays in the Lead

By Monica Buck

The Canadian pro pulled off one of the biggest wins of his career. Just seven months after breaking his leg at Paris-Nice, Michael Woods (EF Pro Cycling) left a large breakaway group behind and claimed the glory. Omar Fraile (Astana) finished second, and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) crossed the line in third place.

It might be the Movistar rider we should watch closely in the upcoming stages. With this result, he moved up to ninth place in the GC, just 2:03 down on Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers). Movistar has already had two players in the TOP 10. Enric Mas sits in fifth and Marc Soler is seventh overall. The home team has a lot of cards to play. Will they be able to crack the Ineos Grenadiers?

The British squad might not be as strong on paper as the one that won the Giro d’Italia. So far, however, they have defended the red jersey wisely. Not jumping on the tail of every single attack, they let Valverde and Bennett ride away, but Carapaz managed to keep his closest rivals in check.

The best news of all is that all the rest day’s tests on Covid-19 came back negative. There’s been a rise in coronavirus cases in Spain, but the peloton has not yet been infiltrated. Hopefully, it stays that way for the rest of the race.

General classification

1. Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) – 28:23:51
2. Hugh Carthy (EF Pro Cycling) + 18s
3. Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) + 20s
4. Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) + 30s
5. Enric Mas (Movistar Team) + 1:07
6. Felix Großschartner (Bora-Hansgrohe) + 1:30
7. Marc Soler (Movistar Team) + 1:42
8. Esteban Cháves (Mitchelton-Scott) + 2:02
9. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team) + 2:03
10. George Bennett (Jumbo-Visma) + 2:39

Škoda Green Jersey classification

1. Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) – 79 points
2. Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) – 61 points
3. Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) – 57 points