Michal Kwiatkowski lost valuable time in the Vuelta a Espana general classification battle as Tony Gallopin soloed to victory on stage seven in Pozo Alcon.
Kwiatkowski started Friday 41 seconds behind leader Rudy Molard but finds himself over a minute back heading into the weekend after a costly crash late in the day.
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The Team Sky rider came off in the descent of Alto de Ceal and although he was able to limit some of the damage, he slipped out of the top five in the GC and lost the points jersey.
Gallopin jumped ahead of the Pole in the GC with his stage victory, the AG2R La Mondiale man seizing his opportunity with two kilometres to race to claim his second success at a Grand Tour.
Having taken his chance at a solo sprint for the finish, Gallopin clung on as the sprinters battled in vain to reel him in before the line, the Frenchman taking victory by five seconds from the chasing pack.
Within that group was Alejandro Valverde and Peter Sagan, while Nairo Quintana recovered from a problem of his own to finish with the peloton and stay in contention.
DREAM COME TRUE FOR GALLOPIN
Winning a stage at a Grand Tour can often make a cyclist's career and for Gallopin this was the second such triumph – the first having come at the Tour de France in 2014.
The 30-year-old was elated to add a Vuelta stage to his palmares, particularly after a difficult year that saw him abandon the Tour.
"It's a dream for the riders to win in a big tour," he told reporters. "After this year, with so much bad luck, so many times I crashed and I was sick, so after I stopped in the Tour, we had the plan that I go to the Vuelta and now I won, so I think the plan was good.
"We knew the final was hectic a little bit. I had a plan that if I have a possibility I would try to attack. I found a good moment and I'm so happy.
"I looked back just before the last corner, maybe 200 metres to go and I saw nobody behind me. I looked again in the final 50 metres and they were quite far, so I knew that I could win. It's fantastic."
STAGE RESULT
1. Tony Gallopin (AG2R La Mondiale) 4:18.20
2. Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) +0.05s
3. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) +0.05s
4. Eduard Prades Reverter (Euskadi Basque Country) +0.05s
5. Omar Fraile (Astana) +0.05s
CLASSIFICATIONS
General Classification
1. Rudy Molard (FDJ) 26:44.40
2. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) +0.47s
3. Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) +0.48s
Points Classification
1. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) 51 points
2. Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) 48 points
3. Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) 43 points
King of the Mountains
1. Luis Angel Mate (Cofidis) 42 points
2. Pierre Rolland (EF Education First – Drapac) 20 points
3. Benjamin King (Dimension Data) 12 points
UP NEXT
The longest day so far awaits on Saturday as the race makes it way from Linares to Almaden, a 195.1-kilometre route that is expected to favour the sprinters despite being up in the hills.
