Van Aert wins Vuelta stage seven sweltering suffer fest

Belgium's Wout van Aert claimed his second win at this year's Vuelta a Espana with a thrilling late sprint on stage seven in brutally hot conditions

Australia's Ben O'Connor (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale), who took the red jersey with a stunning solo victory on stage six, retains his overall lead.

Van Aert edged out Mathias Vacek and Pau Miquel on Friday, having been helped by team-mate Sepp Kuss, who closed the gap on then-leader Marc Soler to provide a platform for the Belgian's victory bid.

Pavel Sivakov led entering the final 200m but was caught by Aleksandr Vlasov before Visma-Lease a Bike's Van Aert launched himself to the front.

Van Aert leads Australian Kaden Groves by 41 points in the green jersey standings, extending the 13-point advantage he held after stage six.

Visma's Cian Uijtdebroeks was one of the surprising GC casualties on stage 7, losing more than 8 minutes in the vicious heat. 

INEOS Grenadiers' Thymen Arensman lost more than a minute on stage 7, dropping out of contention early on the day's only climb. After battling hard to cross the line however, the Dutchman was reportedly rushed into the back of an ambulance suffering from symptoms of heatstroke.

The race continues on Saturday with a 159km stage between Ubede and Carzorla.

VIDEO: Stage Seven Highlights