Van Aert Triumphs in Vuelta Stage Seven, O'Connor Keeps the Lead.

Cycling General

Van Aert Triumphs in Vuelta Stage Seven, O'Connor Keeps the Lead.

Belgium's Wout van Aert secured his second victory of this year's Vuelta a España with a dramatic late sprint on stage seven.

Australia's Ben O'Connor (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale), who claimed the red jersey with a solo win on stage six, remains in the overall lead.

On stage seven, Wout van Aert narrowly beat Mathias Vacek and Pau Miquel, thanks in part to his teammate Sepp Kuss, who helped bridge the gap to the then-leader Marc Soler.

Pavel Sivakov led into the final 200 meters but was overtaken by Aleksandr Vlasov before van Aert surged to the front.

Van Aert now leads Australian Kaden Groves by 41 points in the green jersey standings, extending his previous 13-point advantage.

The race continues on Saturday with a 159km stage from Ubede to Carzorla.