IGUALADA (Spain): Sunweb rider Nikias Arndt survived a late downpour and treacherous conditions to snatch victory in stage eight of the Vuelta a Espana as Nicolas Arndt took over as overall leader. The 27-year-old Arndt was a part of the main breakaway and, as the rain hammered down, he came through in the final sprint to claim the victory in Igualada, near Barcelona, at the end of a 166.9 kilometre ride from Vals. In the sprint, the German edged out Spaniard Alex Aranburu (Caja Rural), who finished second, and third-placed Belgian Tosh van der Sande (Lotto-Soudal).
“I always said I wanted to win a stage and now I have won at the Vuelta,” said Arndt, who also won a stage of the Giro d’Italia three years ago. Frenchman Edet, who was the best climber at the Vuelta in 2013, took advantage of a general apathy among the favourites to finish nine minutes ahead of the peloton and so take the red jersey from Miguel Angel Lopez. Edet, who finished 11th on the day with the same time as Arndt, now leads the Belgian Dylan Teuns (Bahrain-Merida) by two minutes 21 seconds with Lopez a further 40 seconds back in third.
The largely flat stage, which featured just one significant climb in the last 30 kilometres, was seen as something of a breather between a hilly seventh stage on Friday, when Lopez took the red jersey off Teuns, and Sunday’s brutal stage in the mountains of Andorra.
But it turned in to a dramatic day’s racing which rewarded the riders prepared to take a risk in the wet conditions. When the initial 21-man breakaway set off, the main GC contenders resisted the urge to follow. Arndt tucked in and allowed his teammate Martijn Tusveld to take the strain. “We were in communication,” said Arndt. “He went and I stayed back to save my legs. He was ahead so I could sit back. “The team was super good. I got my chance and my win.” – AFP
