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Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) emerged victorious in the 8th stage of the Vuelta a España, a grueling 159-kilometer race from Úbeda to the summit of Sierra Cazorla. Roglic secured the win in a thrilling sprint finish, narrowly beating Enric Mas (Movistar) at the top of the steep final climb.
Portuguese rider João Almeida faced significant challenges on the final ascent, suffering a major physical setback and losing 4 minutes and 53 seconds to Roglic. There are unconfirmed reports that Almeida may have contracted COVID-19, which could explain his sudden drop in performance.
Meanwhile, the Australian race leader, Ben O’Connor (Decathlon-AG2R), struggled to keep pace with Roglic and Mas, ultimately losing 46 seconds on the climb. When adding the 10-second time bonus earned by Roglic for his victory, O’Connor’s overall time loss for the day amounted to 56 seconds.
Despite the setback, O’Connor remains in the red jersey, leading the general classification by 3 minutes and 49 seconds over Roglic. Enric Mas is third, trailing O’Connor by 4 minutes and 31 seconds.
The day’s breakaway took nearly 50 kilometers and an hour to establish, reflecting the intense pace at the start of the stage. The breakaway group eventually solidified with eight riders: Sam Oomen (Lidl-Trek), Luca Vergallito (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Oier Lazkano (Movistar), Mathis Le Berre (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Ion Izagirre (Cofidis), Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla), Gijs Leemreize (DSM-Firmenich-PostNL), and Harold Tejada (Astana Qazaqstan).
Once formed, the breakaway group worked well together, quickly extending their lead to over 5 minutes with 70 kilometers remaining. Harold Tejada was the highest-placed rider in the breakaway, sitting 23rd overall, 6 minutes and 57 seconds behind O’Connor.
As the peloton, led by O’Connor’s Decathlon team, reached the first categorized climb, the Puerto Mirador de las Palomas (7.3 km at 5.7%, 2nd category), the gap began to decrease, stabilizing at around 3 minutes.
Following a long, irregular descent of about 25 kilometers, the breakaway’s lead remained steady, but as the road began to rise again towards the final climb, their advantage quickly diminished, signaling the inevitable end of their escape.
The ascent to Sierra Cazorla, a challenging 3rd category climb with sections as steep as 14-17%, set the stage for a fierce battle among the top contenders. Roglic ultimately proved strongest, claiming victory and tightening his grip on the race, while Almeida’s hopes took a hit in what could be a pivotal moment in the 2024 Vuelta a España.