Soler breaks Spain's long winless drought at Grand Tours - "I really gave everything"

Marc Soler was an outsider for the win today at the Vuelta a Espana, however he took full advantage of the race's situation to break Spain's long Grand Tour win drought, and bring the first success for UAE Team Emirates at the race.

“I didn't expect this at all, especially after yesterday. But in the end I was able to win and that makes me very happy,” Soler said in a post-race interview. “I really wanted to participate in the flight and I had to fight hard for that. The breakaway was already gone without me, but I really wanted it.”

Being part of the decisive breakaway group, Soler rode with the other favourites for the day until the final climb. Although he had previously struggled, he put in an attack that wasn't matched, went over Jake Stewart and crowned the summit of the Alto del Vivero with some seconds of advantage. “[Joxean] Matxin told me to try it on the first climb,” he explains. “In the final I tried to win. I really gave everything".

Although he was always in sight of the chasing group, the lack of proper collaboration saw him stay ahead into the finale. He was grasping for every possible meter towards the end, but the UAE rider managed to cross the line in first place for a meaningful win - his first of the year.

This was Spain's first Grand Tour in a whole 121 stages, a cycle now broken by the Barcelona native. “There's a lot of talk about that, but it's really not easy. There are many Spanish riders in many different teams, but we often also have to do servants. It's not that simple, but we can win," he concluded.

UAE will likely keep having some of it's riders with freedom, however tomorrow will dictate the first real challenge for team leader João Almeida as the race will go up to Pico Jano in it's first summit finish.