cycling: Vuelta a España stage #8: Alaphilippe fools Bora-hansgrohe

Cycling: Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Floors) secured victory on Stage XNUMX of the Vuelta a España. The Frenchman simply couldn't be shaken off by Rafal Majka (Bora-hansgrohe) in the leading group. In the end he triumphed in front of Jan Polanc (UAE) and Poland's Majka. In the overall standings, Chris Froome (Sky) seems to be completely safe.

Bora-hansgrohe sends three people to the group

Today the Vuelta a España covered 199,5 kilometers from Hellín to the mountain finish in Xorret de Catí. The eighth stage of the Tour of Spain was again reserved for climbing. The first half was still quite leisurely, but then the profile became more and more difficult. After two mountains of the third category and a hilly ascent to the Alto Xorret de Catí, there was a short descent after the summit. Although the Alto Xorret de Catí is only five kilometers long, it is mostly over 10 percent steep. 21 riders were looking to tackle this mountain with a small margin, including Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Floors), Jan Polanc (UAE), Nelson Oliveira (Movistar), Bart De Clercq (Lotto Soudal), Serge Pauwels (Dimension Data) and three drivers from the German team Bora-hansgrohe. With Rafal Majka, Emanuel Buchmann and Christoph Pfingsten, Bora-hansgrohe sent really strong people forward today.

Whitsun works for Majka & Buchmann - Oliveira virtually in red

The gap to the leading group was regulated almost exclusively by Team Sky. Accordingly, no real hunt was launched for them. Only shortly before the last mountain did Cannondale-Drapac, Astana, Trek-Segafredo and BMC start working on the pace. In the escape group, the Bora-hansgrohe team set the tone in the person of Pfingsten. The lead was kept at least big enough for the winner to come from the group. Nelson Oliveira also virtually drove in the red jersey. But the tough final climb was still to come.

Bora-hansgrohe does not reap the fruits that have been sown

After Pentecost left the forces, Buchmann took over the pace. The Ravensburger drove the leading group completely apart. As a result, his teammate Rafal Majka and Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe were able to pull away. Although the Pole tried several times, he just couldn't get rid of the strong sprinter Alaphilippe. It got even worse on the descent, because Jan Polanc was able to catch up again. In the three-man sprint, however, Julian Alaphilippe proved to be the strongest sprinter. He won ahead of Polanc and Majka. With the favorites, Chris Froome (Sky) demonstrated again that he will probably not be beaten. Together with Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) he sat down. All competitors for overall victory again lost a lot of time. Nibali, Aru and Zakarin all got 17 seconds. Adam Yates, Kelderman, Roche, De La Cruz and Van Garderen lost eleven seconds more.

Vuelta a España stage #8 daily classification

Vuelta a España stage #8 general classification