Vacek "very pleased" with second place behind Van Aert, Tiberi happily surprised with white jersey

Vacek thus finished second, with the same result as in the opening time trial. The Lidl-Trek rider was determined to survive the Alto del 14% percent in the finale, he told Eurosport after the finish. "The climb was tough, but I wanted to survive; I was pushing hard. I knew I could sprint with a small group if I could get over it with the first ones."

Still, Vacek ran into trouble in the final kilometer of the climb. "Just before the top, I had to drop out, but we returned at the end of the descent. I then took a moment to catch my breath. Then Mathias Skjelmose put me in the perfect position in Van Aert's wheel. I started the sprint a little earlier because I feared I couldn't win from his wheel."

"A second place behind a rider like Van Aert is quite nice. I'm pleased," continued Vacek, who is now on his first grand tour. "I've been preparing for it for months and want to do my best. So far, it is progressing very well, and I am delighted with that. We are only in the first week; there are still a lot of stages to come."

Tiberi stood on the podium in the white jersey after the stage. He did not see it coming immediately that the Italian would have the jersey around his shoulders again so soon after losing it to Lipowitz (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) on Thursday. 'I'm pleased, of course. I didn't expect to wear the white jersey again today,' he said in an interview with the organization. "I saw that Lipowitz was struggling on the climb and thought he might have to drop out in the last kilometer because that was the toughest part," Tiberi secretly got some hope in the closing phase. Lipowitz eventually finished in the second group at seventeen seconds. The young German was still in the leading group a day earlier, from where Ben O'Connor soloed to a double.

The Bahrain Victorious leader, who hopes to finish on the final podium, initially looked to Saturday's stage to regain the white. Indeed, the eighth stage finishes on an erratic climb of about five kilometers. "But to have it already today is very good, and I will enjoy it." Tiberi can count on some competition for the junior jersey. For example, there are five riders within a minute of him. However, Tiberi is looking particularly at the provisional revelation of this Vuelta a España. "Lennert Van Eetvelt wants the white jersey, too, and he is very strong. It's only three seconds, but the Vuelta is also very long, with many mountains ahead. So we'll see."