"Belgium's Jasper Philipsen sprinted to victory in stage eight of the Vuelta a Espana, edging Elia Viviani and Ethan Vernon in a photo-finish as Torstein Tren retained the red jersey. Viviani's Lotto teammates tried to lead him out in the last 1,000m of the 163km flat ride from Monzon to Zaragoza, but Alpecin-Deceuninck's Philipsen, who had also won the first stage, pushed in the final moments to steal the victory."
"I had to find my way, take a bit of extra wind, and really come late because my legs were concrete, he said. But I just managed to win, so I'm really happy, and the effort of the team has not been for nothing. Every Grand Tour win is always a special one, and it's never easy. You suffer a lot of days in the mountains to get here."
Jasper Philipsen claimed the stage eight sprint win at the Vuelta a España, narrowly beating Elia Viviani and Ethan Vernon in a photo-finish while Torstein Tren kept the red jersey. Viviani's Lotto teammates attempted a leadout in the final 1,000m of the 163km flat stage from Monzon to Zaragoza, but Philipsen surged in the closing metres to take the victory. A breakaway by Sergio Samitier, Joan Bou and Jose Luis Faura built a four-minute advantage early and was caught with 17km remaining, setting up the sprint. Philipsen's 15th Grand Tour stage win reduced the points gap to Mads Pedersen to 12 points. Oliver Knight withdrew due to illness and George Bennett abandoned. The next stage is a 195km hilly ride from Alfaro to Valdezcaray.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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