Preston's Hugh Carthy in second place in the Vuelta a Espana

Canadian Michael Woods of EF Pro Cycling burst clear with just over one kilometre remaining to win the seventh stage.

As racing resumed after Monday's rest day, there was no change in the general classification with leader Richard Carapaz retaining his 18-second advantage over Preston ace Carthy.

Woods, Carthy's team-mate in the EF Pro Cycling team, took his rivals by surprise after they had formed a five-man breakaway on the day's final ascent.

Omar Fraile gave chase but the Astana rider mis-timed his response and had to settle for second place ahead of Alejandro Valverde (Movistar).

All the general classification contenders finished in the peloton which crossed the line just under a minute after the top three, ensuring Carapaz kept the red jersey he had gained on Sunday.

Of a series of attacks throughout the stage, the most telling was by Woods, who attacked with 22km remaining and reached the final summit on his own.

The Canadian was ultimately caught by a four-strong group made up of Fraile, Valverde, Guillaume Martin and Nans Peters, but stuck with various subsequent attempts to go clear before picking his moment.

Woods admitted his plans of assisting Carthy and the rest of his team had to change once Valverde made clear his intention to force the issue.

Woods said: "Initially I wasn't supposed to be in the break but the race got so crazy and the group was so big I had to make sure we had the numbers in it."

The race resumes today with a summit finish on the Alto de Moncavillo in La Rioja.

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