Felix Gall climbs to fourth overall at Tour of Spain, podium within reach

Austrian cyclist Felix Gall has made significant gains in the Tour of Spain, moving up to fourth place overall after the seventh stage. Gall finished 20th on the stage, which concluded with a mountain finish in Aramon Valdelinares. He was only six seconds slower than race leader Tadej Pogacar, who was the fastest among the favorites.

Gall now trails Pogacar by 5:01 minutes in the general classification. He successfully overtook Ecuador's Olympic champion Richard Carapaz. Gall also managed to gain time on his immediate competitors during the final climb, with support from his teammate Gregor Mühlberger.

The stage victory went to Norway's Andreas Leknessund of Team Uno-X Mobility, who finished 34 seconds ahead of his compatriot and teammate Tobias Johannessen. This marked Leknessund's first Grand Tour stage win and provided a notable Norwegian double on a day marked by news of the death of King Harald V.

Gall's strong performance places him in a promising position, with only eleven seconds separating him from third place. The gap to the fifth-placed rider, Sepp Kuss of the USA, is over a minute. Pogacar, meanwhile, has extended his overall lead to 3:50 minutes. The race continues with a flat stage on Saturday.