Red jersey "means a lot to me" for Rudy Molard, the new leader of the Vuelta a Espana

Rudy Molard has taken advantage of his climbing skills and astute tactics to jump - for the second time in his career - into the yellow jersey with a successful breakaway, bringing Groupama - FDJ to the spotlight at the Vuelta a Espana.

“Yesterday I was already thinking about this jersey, because I wasn't that far in the general classification," Molard said in a post-race interview. "So I also suggested to my teammates that it was possible. In the end I had teammate Jake Stewart with me, and he was also very strong. He put everything on me, but the many attacks didn't make it easy to control".

With the breakaway giving the break the freedom and the chance for a jersey switch, Stewart took on heavy duty to keep the gap big. On the run-up to the final ascent the Briton attacked to keep Molard safe from the wind, and the 32-year old did his best to follow Fred Wright in the final climb. Six seconds separated the two into the finale, where Molard was keen on not allowing Wright to take bonus seconds.

“That's why I hoped that Jake would return. Then he could remove bonuses, but also the fact that Soler rode ahead of us was beneficial for my jersey," Molard admitted. Hence the stage win went for the lone escapee, and Molard despite loosing four seconds to Wright due to bonuses at the line, secured the red jersey. "I knew I had to just follow Wright, but I was still afraid of the sprint. Fortunately it worked, because I was under a lot of stress".

As he did in 2018 too, Molard has now jumped into the lead of the race. The lead over Fred Wright is only of two seconds, but the over four minutes he holds over Primoz Roglic may see him in the race lead for several days. “This win means a lot to me," he said.

"Last year I had to leave the race after a bad fall, and after that I didn't know if I would still get to this level. This spring was also difficult with a covid infection. You always have to believe in it, that's clear after today," Molard concluded. Tomorrow will already be a difficult challenge for him as the riders will go up to Pico Jano, a 12-kilometer ascent to the finish line.