Van Genechten takes Vuelta stage 7 as Contador hits tarmac

Jonas Van Genechten (IAM Cycling) won the seventh stage of the Vuelta de Espana (Tour of Spain) on a day which only exploded into life on the last 30 kilometers of the day.

From Maceda to Puerto de Sanabria, it was another hilly stage, although not as testing as Thursday's due to lower temperatures.

The start to the day was relatively calm as the peloton looked to save strength ahead of the difficult mountain stages which lie ahead and it was not until the last 30 kilometers that things sprang to life with a series of attacks on the final third category climb, which ended 18 kilometers from the finish line.

A group of five riders, including Luis Sanchez Leon and Simon Clarke was able to open a gap of 40 seconds before the main group reacted and slowly dragged them back.

However Sanchez and Clarke were able to hang on to a narrow lead until the last kilometer to set up an agonizing finish which saw them finally caught with less than 200 meters remaining.

That set up a frantic sprint which was claimed by Jonas Van Genechten to give a valuable win to his team, which will fold at the end of the season.

There was a crash in the final kilometer involving Alberto Contador (Tinkoff), whose bad luck continues, after he was forced to withdraw from the Tour de France through injury. The Spaniard will not lose any time, but rode over the line with cuts and grazes on his leg and shoulder and a possible hand injury

Earlier in the day Rene Taaramae (Katusha) was forced to retire from the race following a collision with a team director' s car which broke his bicycle.

Saturday sees a rare flat stage with a sting in the tale with the first category climb of the race, which takes the riders 181 kilometers from Villapando to Valle de Sabero and a mountain top finish which should have its effect on the general classification. Endit