Marc Soler left the competition far behind with a solo attack on a climactic category one climb to win stage 14 of the Vuelta a Espana on Saturday as Jonas Vingegaard retained his lead in the general classification with a second-place finish.
It was a day where Eddie Dunbar once again showed his grit on the mountainous 139.5km ride from Aviles
The Team Jayco AlUl cyclist stayed with the red jersey and GC group over the top of the penultimate climb before the pace was pushed at the front.
The Corkman - pictured below - crossed the line in 22nd, just over five minutes down on the stage winner, but the determined performance ensured he jumped five places in the GC to 28th.
Dunbar will hope to keep the momentum going with the next three stages suiting his climbing strengths.
Soler's stage win was ground out on the the final 16.9km climb to La Farrapona, leaving his sole chaser Johannes Staune-Mittet behind.
Vingegaard made a late push, finishing 39 seconds behind Soler as Portugal's Joao Almeida followed the Dane to the finish line to stay second in the race for the red jersey, with 48 seconds separating the pair at the top of the standings.
"It's unbelievable. I cannot explain ... an unexpected day, but I'm very happy," said 31-year-old Soler after his first Vuelta stage win of the year.
"I knew the valley road afterwards up to Farrapona was a very hard one; if you get a gap there, then you can keep it. I was worried about the wind, but it turned out okay."
Ireland’s Archie Ryan withdrew ahead of stage 13 due to injury.
