BILBAO, Spain — Frenchman Rudy Molard took
the overall lead of the
Vuelta a Espana on Wednesday after a serious accident
on last year’s edition, while Team UAE Emirates’ Marc Soler gave the home fans
a win as stage five finished at Bilbao.
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South African Daryl Impey of Israel Premier Tech was
second and Briton Fred Wright of Bahrain Victorious was third after the main
contenders allowed an escape group to get away in the Basque Country hills.
Groupama’s Molard ended the 187.2km stage run on
narrow winding roads through forested hills just 2sec ahead of Wright in the
overall standings.
Molard also wore the Vuelta a Espana overall
leader’s red jersey for four days in 2018, but has had a turbulent time since
then.
“I had a bad accident and didn’t know if I’d make it
back, then I got a very severe case of COVID, but here I am leading a Grand
Tour, it’s a very emotional moment,” said Molard.
Molard got caught in a pile-up on the 2021 Vuelta
and was transported to a Santander hospital where he began a slow recovery
process.
The 32-year-old, who suffered a punctured lung in
the crash, said it was a big day for him on Wednesday and he had felt it ahead
of the race.
“I told my team-mates it was possible to do it today
and I did it today. It feels so good,” he said.
It was an agonizing moment for Wright who would have
donned the red jersey on Thursday had he pipped Impey to the line.
“I’m sure there will be better days. It’s a shame,
but I tried. What can you do?” said the 23-year-old Londoner.
Wright, however, leads the under-25s category.
Soler broke away near the top of the Alto de Vivero
climb, the fifth such ascent of the stage, and always appeared to have the legs
to take the break all the way.
“It was amazing,” said the Catalan.
“It was very difficult to get in the escape this
morning. I tried my luck at the end and did well on the descent,” he said of
the run into the city-center finish line near the city’s landmark
Guggenheim Museum.
The Tour de France 2023 starts with three days in
the Basque Country, and the organizers were in Spain to get a taste of the
upcoming action.
“We can’t wait to see that on the Tour, all the
fervor and passion from the fans,” said Tour de France chief Christian
Prudhomme.
With temperatures creeping up past 30 ° on sections
of the route on Wednesday, crowds came out in numbers, dressed in their orange
Vuelta t-shirts lining the hill routes.
Victor Langellotti took the polka dot climb points
jersey while Sam Bennett retained the sprinters’ green jersey
Thursday’s stage is the first true mountain challenge for
the pretenders to the title as the race goes through the back country of
Santander to culminate in a 13km climb with steep gradients.
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