Hubert Dupont found himself in contention for a stage win in today's stage of the Vuelta a Espana when he made it into the right breakaway. However, the Frenchman quickly realized that Ryder Hesjedal and Alesandro De Marchi were a level above him and that the maximum achievable was third.

Hubert Dupont went into the Vuelta a Espana with the goal of targeting the GC but a bad start has made him focus on stage wins. Today he found himself in contention for that elusive victory when he was part of the successful break in stage 7.

However, he quickly realized that he never had a chance against his strong companions.

“De Marchi and Hesjedal were above us, we got kick butted all day," he said. "Rapidly I understood that I was racing for third place but a top 3 in a World Tour race isn’t bad at all.

"If it’s windy, tomorrow, I’m gonna have my ass kicked again because of the efforts I’ve produced today.”