BARCELONA: Three-times former champion Primoz Roglic attacked on the climb to the finish to win stage eight of the Vuelta a Espana on Saturday, taking valuable time off Ben O’Connor’s overall lead.

Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) had to work hard to shake off the Australian in the red jersey but the Slovenian’s pace finally paid off and he took his second stage win of the race.

Spain’s Enric Mas (Movistar) was beaten to the line by Roglic and had to settle for second place, with his compatriot Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step) coming in third.

O’Connor (Deca­thlon-AG2R La Mondiale) crossed the line in 17th place, 46 seconds after Roglic who also earned a 10-second bonus. The gap to the leader is now three minutes 49 seconds.

It was expected that Roglic would attempt to make up time on O’Connor on the 159km ride from Ubeda to Cazorla, a medium mountain stage but with a sharp uphill finish, and the Slovenian showed his strength when it mattered.

“The opportunity was there, and I went for it. It was hard, hot. I was lucky, I had the legs to take it today,” Roglic said.

Vuelta contender Joao Almeida drop­ped from third to 26th in the general classification as he struggled in the final stages, finishing four minutes 53 seconds behind Roglic.

Spaniard Mas rose to third overall, trailing O’Connor by four minutes 31 seconds.

On Sunday riders battle in the Sierra Nevada, travelling 178.5km from Motril to Granada in stage nine.

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2024