Vuelta a Espana 2013 - Stage 7
La Vuelta continued today with another flat stage, this time with a 195 kilometre stage from Almendralejo to Mairena de Aljarafe. With it being another flat day it was expected that men such as Gianni Meersman and Michael Matthews would be fighting it out for the win. This stage could also be noted for its technical finish, with a number of roundabouts and corners within the last few kilometres, meaning it could well be the sprinter with the strongest team who would take the win.
Three men went out in the break, with a couple of particularly familiar names; Marco Pinotti (BMC Racing) and Christian Knees (Sky Procycling) were joined by Javier Aramendia of Caja Rural. They had a maximum lead of 7 minutes at one point, but by 70 kilometres to go the lead was under four minutes and coming down.
The peloton continued to work for a number of kilometres with sprinters teams such as Omega Pharma-Quickstep, Garmin-Sharp and Orica-GreenEDGE doing the bulk of the work. With around 12 kilometres the break was swept up, and it looked like it was going to be eyes down for the finish in Mairena de Aljarafe.
However with around 7 kilometres to go Eneco Tour champion Zdenek Stybar of Omega Pharma-Quickstep and World Champion Philippe Gilbert of BMC Racing jumped away from the pack and soon gained an eleven second lead. Despite the small gap, the technical streets and lack of organisation from the peloton meant the duo found they could keep their noses in front, and with 2.5 kilometres to go they were still out ahead.
WIth a kilometre to go, it was clear that Gilbert and Stybar were going to stay away, meaning the sprinters had missed a golden opportunity for some glory. With 250 metres to go Stybar jumped out from Gilbert's wheel, and the two could not be separated on the line, leading to a photo finish. It was Stybar who took the win by less than a tyre length, stealing the day from the peloton's quick men.
It was another quiet day for race leader Vincenzo Nibali and his fellow general classification contenders, as they prepare for the upcoming mountains.