Geoffrey Soupe claimed a surprise win in a crash-ridden stage seven of the Vuelta a Espana after edging out Orluis Aular in a sprint finish in Oliva.
The Frenchman sped into the final corner with 300m remaining before outsprinting Aular in a photo finish.
The stage had been disrupted by a crash with over six kilometres left, which saw Thymen Arensman needing treatment in an ambulance.
Earlier in the stage, Ineos team leader Geraint Thomas had also gone down.
The Welshman had to receive treatment to his left knee as he lost another 24 seconds on the line.
Lenny Martinez retained the overall leader’s red jersey he claimed in stage six, while second-placed Sepp Kuss recovered from a late incident to get back into the peloton and remain eight seconds behind the Frenchman.
Kaden Groves looked well placed to win a third stage of the race after consecutive wins in the fourth and fifth, but he was passed on the final corner before finishing fifth.
A Vuelta victory for TotalEnergies rider Soupe is the biggest win of his career.
“It’s incredible for me and for the team because I wasn’t going to ride the Vuelta this year,” said Soupe.
“I didn’t think it was possible to win a stage because it’s really fast in the sprint.”
Stage seven results
1. Geoffrey Soupe (Fra/TotalEnergies) 4hrs 56mins 29secs
2. Orluis Aular (Ven/Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) Same time
3. Edward Theuns (Bel/Lidl-Trek)
4. Sebastián Molano (Col/UAE Team Emirates)
5. Kaden Groves (Aus/Alpecin-Deceuninck)
6. Marijn van den Berg (Ned/EF Education – EasyPost)
7. David Gonzalez (Spa/Caja Rural-Segurosrga)
8. Hugo Page (Fra/Intermarche-Circus-Wanty)
9. Filippo Ganna (Ita/Ineos Grenadiers)
10. Matevž Govekar (Slo/Bahrain Victorious)
General classification after stage seven
1. Lenny Martinez (Fra/Groupama-FDJ) 26hrs 37mins 04secs
2. Sepp Kuss (USA/Jumbo-Visma) +8secs
3. Marc Soler (Spa/UAE Team Emirates) +51secs
4. Wout Poels (Ned/Bahrain Victorious) +1min 41secs
5. Steff Cras (Bel/TotalEnergies) +1min 48secs
6. Mikel Landa (Spa/Bahrain Victorious) +1min 58secs
7. David de la Cruz (Spa/Astana-Qazaqstan) +2mins 23secs
8. Jefferson Alveiro Cepeda (Ecu/Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) +2mins 30secs
9. Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Soudal-Quick-Step) +2mins 47secs
10. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Jumbo-Visma) +2mins 50secs
