La Vuelta 2022 Stage 7 as it happened: Herrada the hero as the breakaway goes the distance

He came from deep and launched himself from the slipstream of Fred Wright while holding off Samuele Battistella to land a second Vuelta stage win three years after his first.

Remco Evenepoel retains the red jersey to become the first rider in this Vuelta to wear red for more than one day. He is 21 seconds clear of Rudy Molard, with Enric Mas in third at 28 seconds, Primoz Roglic fourth at 1'01" and Juan Ayuso fifth at 1'12".

In the end, it was the eldest rider in the break and the only man with a previous stage win in the Vuelta who used all his experience to deliver Spain's second stage win of the race. Cue tearful scenes in Cistierna...

1. Jesus Herrada (Cofidis)
2. Samuele Battistella (Astana)
3. Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious)
4. Jimmy Janssens (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
5. Harry Sweeny (Lotto Soudal)

When the peloton comes home 29 seconds down it's the man with two stage wins from the Netherlands who proves the fastest and consolidates his lead in the points classification. Bennett beats Jake Stewart, Kaden Groves, Mads Pedersen and Daniel McLay there.

Fred Wright led it out from distance and he looked like the win was finally going his way... but then Samuele Battistella and Jesus Herrada flanked him at the last, the Spaniard eventually pipping the Italian for the win. What a finish from the Cofidis man, who celebrates wildly while his Astana counterpart bangs the handlebars and Wright hands his head in disappointment... again.

It's a game now that they know they won't be caught. The pace slows and Wright is forced onto the front with Janssens and Sweeny tucked in behind...

Bora have a man on the front now but behind it's Ineos and Jumbo, which suggests the sprinters' teams have given up and it's now about damage limitation for the GC guys. Still 45 seconds for the five leaders. Who's going to do it? Carlton Kirby is convinced Jimmy Janssens will do it... but could Fred Wright finally get his win?

These five men are proving to be very tenacious - they're not giving up and they have only lost 12 seconds over the last 5km. They have 48 seconds now and the finish is fast approaching. It all depends on whether their cohesion now crumbles once they start to think about going for the win...

You'd be crazy to get on the escapees now as it drops down to a minute with 10 klicks to go. The peloton now needs to take six seconds per kilometre... You do the maths!

Despite their best efforts the break's lead is now 1'20" and holding on will be a tall order given what's at stake behind. Arkea and BikeExchange are combining to devastating effect, paving the way for their sprinters Dan McLay and Kaden Groves.

It really doesn't bode well now for the escapees now that BikeExchange, Trek, Arkea and Bora are all contributing to this chase. The gap is 1'30" and the scenery just keeps on getting better. Fred Wright wins the intermediate sprint but we don't get images of the pack coming through so we're none the wiser as to whether Bennett or Pedersen added any green jersey points to their tally. (Addendum: only the first five are awarded points in any case, so it's immaterial.)

The gap is still around the two-minute mark as Bora finally contribute a man to the chase ahead of the intermediate sprint. This is really exciting. Can they hold on? It's doubtful given the firepower behind - but the break are giving it their best shot.

The two sprinters dropped during that last climb have managed to fight back on thanks to some pacing from their Bora and UAE teams. They return to the fold with Arkea and Bike-Exchange doing all the work on the front, Trek-Segafredo having taken a breather. With the intermediate sprint coming up, it will be interesting to see if any of the sprinters contest that so close to the finish. Just nine points separate Bennett from Pedersen in the green jersey standings, the Irishman very much under pressure from the Dane today. The gap, meanwhile, is back down to 2'15". Reall stunning views at the moment.

Luke Plapp sits up and then Quick-Step also take their foot off the gas - this results in a sudden bunching up of the peloton and a massive reduction of pace. Just when it looks like the pendulum has swung back in favour of the break, Arkea-Samsic and BikeExchange zip to the front and take it up. So, we have a changing of the guard here - and the break is now 2'40" clear again.

The five leaders have 2'30" on the chasing pack with the Bennett group a further 20 seconds back. It's going to be tough for the five escapees to stay away now that Trek, Quick-Step and BikeExchange are all very motivated. Ineos Grenadiers, too, who have put the Australian champion Luke Plapp on the front to help pave the way for Ethan Hayter.

The summit was clad in cloud but the breakaway are descending in glorious sunshine now. The pack went over the top 2'45" down on the five leaders, with Sam Bennett not too far back alongside a handful of Bora-Hansgrohe teammates. It's going to be a fascinating finale today.

It's the Spaniard Jesus Herrada who kicks clear of his breakaway companions and takes maximum points over the top. That puts the Cofidis rider up to joint fourth place in the standings alongside Mark Padun - and thee points behind the current polka dot jersey, Victor Langellotti. Fred Wright is next over for Bahrain Victorious.

The Spaniard, who wore the pink jersey for 10 days in May, ends his shift and passes the baton onto team-mate Antonio Tiberi. And, finally, Trek manage to distance the green jersey of Sam Bennett, who will now have a fight to get back on during the short descent and long run into the finish. Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) is still in the pack but he's near the back and so could be next to go.

The Arkea-Samsic fast-man is struggling off the back of the pack and riding with three team-mates in a bid to limit his losses. With the summit now 2.5km away he should be able to get back on - but he will be tired ahead of the finish, that's for sure. In any case, the breakaway still has three minutes on the pack. Lopez continues to toil on the front but he's not a big enough engine on gentle gradients like this and the Spaniard is suffering himself rather than dishing out the hurt. Behind, team-mate Pedersen is a picture of composure. Bennett and Groves are still here, so the Dane hasn't got rid of all his rivals just yet.