13 km
13:25
Second attempt to escape seems to be successful
Rune Herregodts is still catching up, so the breakaway group seems to be standing still. Because the breakaway group, now 14 riders, pulls away, the peloton no longer reacts. At 13km there is about half a minute between the breakaways and the peloton.
11 km
13:22
next attack
After almost eleven kilometers there is the next attempt, a 13-strong group tears a small gap for the time being. How is the peloton reacting now?
8 kilometers
13:20
Peloton closes the gap
The field of riders doesn’t let the breakaways pull away, picks up the pace and closes the gap to the front again. After eight kilometers, all 164 drivers are together again.
6 km
13:18
More attacks
Led by Sean Flynn (DSM-Firmenich), there are more attacks, eight riders want to join the breakaway group.
3 km
13:15
High speed
There are eight of the fugitives, and with Nico Denz a German has also passed. However, the breakaway group is not necessarily complete yet, the pace in the field of riders is high and the peloton will not let the previous breakaway group pull away.
1 km
13:12
Sharp start
After a short delay, the race really begins, and the first attacks come straight away. Eight riders attack and pull away a few meters.
13:03
Is a climbing group breaking away?
The neutralized start has already taken place, the field is now rolling seven kilometers towards the sharp start, which is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. The eighth stage is made for a breakaway group of climbing specialists. If no GC drivers drive into the breakaway group, the peloton will probably let them do so. Otherwise, today’s stage could be exhausting. The last climb should be Primož Roglič, who could launch an attack today to gain ground in the general classification.
12:58 p.m
Today’s stage
It starts today on the Costa Blanca, quickly going inland and to some mountain classifications. There are five today, the first of which is in the second category and is reached after almost 29 kilometers of racing. A rating of the third category and two more climbs of the second category follow in the next 80 kilometers or so. It gets really exciting again shortly before the finish, where the hardest mountain of the day awaits. A narrow path leads up to the Xorret de Cati, in the middle part of the climb the gradient is around 22 percent – the way to the last mountain classification of the first category is not particularly long, but after that it is only 3.3 kilometers downhill Goal.
12:51
The wearers of the shirts
Not much happened yesterday in the overall standings. 20-year-old Lenny Martinez is also eight seconds ahead of Sepp Kuss and will wear the red jersey today. Remco Evenepoel, Jonas Vingegaard and Primož Roglič are ninth, tenth and twelfth in the overall standings, almost three minutes behind Martinez. As already mentioned, the green jersey is worn by Kaden Groves, today there is an intermediate sprint after 124 kilometers. The fight in the mountains classification should be exciting today, the Argentinian Eduardo Sepúlveda still wears the blue dotted jersey.
12:44
Yesterday
Yesterday the GC riders and mountain specialists were able to relax a little, one of the few real flat stages of the Tour of Spain was coming up. A few kilometers from the end there were two more falls, but most of the athletes were able to continue – Dutchman Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers) was injured, for him the Vuelta is over. A sprint finish was expected, and it happened. The Frenchman Geoffrey Soupe from the TotalEnergies team accelerated early and brought the sprint to the finish, winning the stage was the greatest success of his career. In the bonus sprint, Kaden Groves was again the fastest and scored more points in the fight for the green jersey.
12:31
Welcome
Good day and welcome to the eighth stage of the Vuelta a España! On the 165 km route from Dénia to Xorret de Catí Costa Blanca Interior there are five climbs to be tackled today, so it’s an important day for the climbers in the field. At 1:10 p.m. the sharp start takes place.