Stage 7: Almendralejo to Mairena de Alijarafe, 195.5km

A throw of the handlebars from Zdenek Stybar was enough to deny world champion Philippe Gilbert his first victory in the rainbow jersey by the narrowest of margins. The two had escaped off the front of the peloton 10km from the finish and benefited from the technical finish to hold off the chasing pack by just a second. Belkin’s Robert Wagner won the bunch sprint for third just ahead of Adrien Petit (Cofidis). Continue reading →