Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-QuickStep) delivered for a second time at this year's Vuelta a España, taking the sprint victory in a fast and hectic finale at Saturday afternoon in La Manga del Mar Menor. He jumped with 200 metres to go from behind green jersey leader Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix) to add another victory to the one from stage 4.
Philipsen would finish third as Alberto Dainese (Team DSM) crossed the line closest to Jakobsen's back wheel. Jacobsen also passed Philipsen in the points classification lead, retaking the green jersey with a 24-point lead.
Stage 8 was another flat day of racing, 173.7 kilometres from Santa Pola south along the Balearic Coast to La Manga del Mar Menor. A trio of Basque riders featured as the breakaway - Ander Okamika (Burgos-BH), Aritz Bagües (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) and Mikel Iturria (Euskaltel-Euskadi) - but the Alpecin-Fenix-controlled peloton brought them back at 37 kilometres to go.
Crosswinds made a brief presence inside the final 40 kilometers, enough to stir up a fierce fight for positioning at the front for the finish.
Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) finished safely in the peloton and holds an eight-second advantage in the race lead on Felix Großschartner (Bora-Hansgrohe) heading into Sunday's summit finish at the Alto de Velefique.
