Storer, 24, celebrated exuberantly as he conquered the hardest stage to date of the 2021 Vuelta, showcasing his ability on the climbs and to weather the tactical battle of winning against some of the top riders in the world.
“I didn’t expect to be a stage winner of the Vuelta today," said Storer. "I knew I was in good form and I knew that I just had to have a go but I’m really happy and surprised that I managed to do it today on a really really difficult stage. I didn’t enjoy that last kilometre but now I’m starting to realise I made it and can really enjoy this victory."
The West Australian benefitted from the presence of four other Teams DSM riders in the breakaway, but ultimately had to capitalise on their hard work with his own impressive ride on the final climb to win.
“The plan today was to be aggressive and to own the race," said Storer. "To be honest we really dominated the stage today and I’m so impressed with the guys. I don’t think we put one step wrong today, it was a really incredible effort.
"We knew coming into today that we were really well prepared and that’s really motivating. As a team we can look for more chances in this race – we don’t rest on our laurels at Team DSM and we’ll keep trying every day.”
READ MORE
Storer moves to Groupama-FDJ in 2022
The 152-kilometre stage from Gandia to Balcón de Alicante was set to be the first real mountain stage of the race, other stages had finished on climb, but Stage 7 was hilly throughout, with the category 1 Puerto de Llacuna the first of six categorised ascents on the day.
Team DSM managed to get five riders into the large group that eventually formed off the front of the race after a first hour filled with attacks and pressure from within the peloton.
Storer and fellow Aussies Chris Hamilton (Team DSM), Jay Vine (Alepcin-Fenix) and Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious) were present as the 30-strong group pushed its way clear of the peloton. There were a few riders close to the general classification lead of Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) so the break wasn't given much leash by the chasing peloton.
A crash within the peloton for Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) saw the 41-year-old abandon the race, with Hugh Carthy (EF Education-Nippo) also a high-profile rider out of the race after being dropped early.
After multiple DSM accelerations on the fourth climb of the Puerto El Collao, Storer slipped clear with Pavel Sivakov (INEOS Grenadiers) on the descent, joining lone leader Lawson Craddock (EF Education-Nippo) who had escaped earlier. Sivakov dropped his chain during an attack on the penultimate climb of Puerto de Tibi and had some stern words for Storer when he clambered his way back across, with Craddock dropped.
As the cooperation broke down between the pair and they approached the final climb of Balcón de Alicante, 8.4 kilometres at 6.2 per cent, they were joined by Carlos Verona (Movistar) and Andreas Kron (Lotto Soudal). Verona was aggressive, launching two big attacks. Storer responded to the second a bit slower, but as he saw he was dropping Sivakov, and he piled on the pressure to catch and then ride clear of Verona.
The West Australian surged to a lead of 20 seconds which he managed to maintain even on the double-digit gradients of the upper slopes of the fearsome climb to celebrate the biggest win of his young career.
Behind, the peloton accelerated on the final kilometres of the climb with a shake-up to the general classification standings. Felix Grossschartner (BORA-hansgrohe) nearly took the race lead after a strong ride from the breakaway, while Haig and Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) similarly moved their way into the top ten overall.
Roglič maintained his overall lead by just eight seconds over Grossschartner, but kept the same margin or extended his lead on his major rivals as he finished near the head of the elite climbers from the peloton.
