Bilbao (Spain) (AFP) - Frenchman Rudy Molard took the overall lead of the Vuelta a Espana on Wednesday while Team UAE Emirates' Marc Soler gave the home fans a win as stage five finished at Bilbao.
South African Daryl Impey of Israel Premier Tech was second and Briton Fred Wright of Bahrain Victorious was third after the main contenders allowed an escape group to get away in the Basque Country hills.
Groupama's Molard ended the 187.2km stage run on narrow winding roads through forested hills just 2sec ahead of Wright in the overall standings.
It was an agonising moment for the Briton Wright who would have donned the red jersey tomorrow had he pipped Impey to the line.
"I'm sure there will be better days.It's a shame, but I tried.What can you do?" said the 23-year-old Londoner Wright.
Soler broke away near the top of the Alto de Vivero climb, the fifth such ascent of the stage, and always appeared to have the legs to take the break all the way.
"It was amazing," said the Catalan, wide eyed with energy.
"It was very difficult to get in the escape this morning.I tried my luck at the end and did well on the descent," he said of the run into the city-centre finish line near the city's landmark Guggenheim Museum.
Molard also wore the Vuelta a Espana red jersey for four days in 2018, but has had a turbulent time since then.
"I had a bad accident and didn't know If I'd made it back, then I got a very severe case of Covid, but here I am leading a Grand Tour, its a very emotional moment," said Molard in a wavering voice.
Thursday's stage is the first true mountain challenge for the pretenders to the title as the rave goes through the back country of Santander to culminate in a 13km climb with steep gradients.
