Nacer Bouhanni claimed his second stage victory in this year’s Vuelta a España today, after holding off Michael Matthews by a mere wheel length to win stage 8 in Albacete.
Heavy crosswinds decimated the peloton, as the race headed into Albacete. Giant-Shimano made a concerted effort during the last 5 kilometers to move their riders John Degenkolb and Warren Barguil up into the lead group. However, the exertion of it all, cost them the final strength needed to remain in contention for the sprint, as Dengenkolb and Barguil both ran out of momentum in the waning moments.
From there, Omega Pharma-QuickStep led the 50-strong lead group into the final straight. However, Bouhanni was the first rider to make his move, as he made his way up from the back of the group during the final 300 meters.
Indeed, the French rider succeeded in distancing all of his rivals but Matthews, who managed to come within a wheel’s length, as both riders hit the line.
Peter Sagan (Cannondale) managed to come around Degenkolb to take third.
Meanwhile, Alejandro Valverde, along with the rest of the top GC contenders, finished safety in the peloton, to hold onto their respective positions.
photo @ Twitter
Stage 8 Results FRA 1 BOUHANNI, Nacer (FDJ.fr) 4:29:00 AUS 2 MATTHEWS, Michael (ORICA GreenEDGE) SVK 3 SAGAN, Peter (CANNONDALE) GER 4 DEGENKOLB, John (GIANT-SHIMANO) NZL 5 HENDERSON, Greg (LOTTO BELISOL) GER 6 WAGNER, Robert (BELKIN) ITA 7 SBARAGLI, Kristian (MTN – QHUBEKA) ITA 8 FERRARI, Roberto (LAMPRE – MERIDA) BEL 9 BOONEN, Tom (OMEGA PHARMA – QUICK-STEP) BEL 10 STUYVEN, Jasper (TREK FACTORY RACING) SUI 11 WYSS, Danilo (BMC RACING) FRA 12 HINAULT, Sébastien (IAM CYCLING) ITA 13 CARUSO, Damiano (CANNONDALE) DEN 14 ANDERSEN, Michael Valgren (TINKOFF-SAXO) FRA 15 SOUPE, Geoffrey (FDJ.fr) GER 16 CIOLEK, Gerald (MTN – QHUBEKA) GBR 17 FROOME, Christopher (SKY) RUS 18 KOLOBNEV, Alexandr (KATUSHA) ESP 19 SANCHEZ GONZALEZ, Samuel (BMC RACING) NED 20 KELDERMAN, Wilco (BELKIN) NED 21 GESINK, Robert (BELKIN) ESP 22 VALVERDE BELMONTE, Alejandro (MOVISTAR) COL 23 URAN URAN, Rigoberto (OMEGA PHARMA – QUICK-STEP) RUS 24 ROVNY, Ivan (TINKOFF-SAXO) ITA 25 ARU, Fabio (ASTANA) ESP 26 CONTADOR VELASCO, Alberto (TINKOFF-SAXO) BEL 27 MAES, Nikolas (OMEGA PHARMA – QUICK-STEP) BEL 28 MONFORT, Maxime (LOTTO BELISOL) COL 29 QUINTANA ROJAS, Nairo Alexander (MOVISTAR)
General Classification after Stage 8 ESP 1 VALVERDE BELMONTE, Alejandro (MOVISTAR) 31:21:20 COL 2 QUINTANA ROJAS, Nairo Alexander (MOVISTAR) + 15 ESP 3 CONTADOR VELASCO, Alberto (TINKOFF-SAXO) + 18 GBR 4 FROOME, Christopher (SKY) + 20 COL 5 CHAVES RUBIO, Jhoan Esteban (ORICA GreenEDGE) + 41 ESP 6 RODRIGUEZ OLIVER, Joaquin (KATUSHA) + 45 NED 7 GESINK, Robert (BELKIN) + 55 ITA 8 ARU, Fabio (ASTANA) + 58 FRA 9 BARGUIL, Warren (GIANT-SHIMANO) + 1:02 NED 10 KELDERMAN, Wilco (BELKIN) + 1:06 ESP 11 NIEVE ITURALDE, Mikel (SKY) + 1:09 ESP 12 SANCHEZ GONZALEZ, Samuel (BMC RACING) + 1:11 ITA 13 CARUSO, Damiano (CANNONDALE) + 1:12 COL 14 URAN URAN, Rigoberto (OMEGA PHARMA – QUICK-STEP) + 1:18 IRL 15 MARTIN, Daniel (GARMIN SHARP) + 1:34 ESP 16 PARDILLA BELLON, Sergio (MTN – QHUBEKA) + 2:12 ESP 17 NAVARRO GARCIA, Daniel (COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS) + 2:19 NED 18 TEN DAM, Laurens (BELKIN) + 2:25 POR 19 CARDOSO, Andre Fernando S. Martins (GARMIN SHARP) + 2:30 BEL 20 MONFORT, Maxime (LOTTO BELISOL) + 2:46
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