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On the last corner with 200m to go, Soupe accelerated and put a small gap into the rest of the field, proving too tough for the chasing sprinters to shut down as he crossed the finish line. He waited for the photo confirmation to celebrate, but the 35-year-old veteran had claimed just the third win of his professional career, both previous wins coming in stages of the Tropicale Amissa Bongo in Gabon.
You could nearly throw a blanket across the rest of the field, with Orluis Aular (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) taking second ahead of Trek-Lidl’s Edward Theuns. Australian green jersey wearer Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) finished fifth, slamming his handlebars in frustration after the finish. Soupe was all smiles after the career-topping win.
"To win a sprint in a Grand Tour is always special and also a surprise,” said Soupe. “I've always wanted to taste victory in a Grand Tour. It's an unbelievable, indescribable moment for me.
"I saw that I could launch my sprint from a ways to go after the last corner and I was surprised when nobody from behind me came past.
"It's beautiful for me and the team because normally I didn't have the Vuelta [on my calendar] this year but Alexis Vuillermoz crashed in the Tour de l'Ain and the team decided to take me to the Vuelta. I didn't think it was possible to win a stage because it's really fast in the sprints.”
The top riders stayed the same on the general classification, with Lenny Martinez (Groupama-FDJ) in the overall lead by 8 seconds over stage 6 winner Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma). Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) is third at 51 seconds back.
Kuss had a scare after crashing in the second of two major falls within the final 10 kilometres, but he finished safely in the bunch over the line. Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers) was the sole rider to not finish the stage, the stage winner at last year’s Vuelta was taken away in an ambulance.
La Vuelta continues with Stage 8, a medium mountains stage that finishes with the steep ascent of and descent from the Xorret de Coti. Watch from 10.55pm AEST on SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand.
