Alaphilippe wins from the break as Froome and Contador drop GC rivals
Julian Alaphilippe takes the Vuelta's eighth stage. (Image credit: Michael Aisner)
Julian Alaphilippe earned Quick-Step Floors' third stage victory so far at the Vuelta a España on Saturday's stage 8. The 25-year-old Frenchman jumped into a sizable early breakaway and made it clear on the steep final climb of the day with Rafal Majka (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Jan Polanc (UAE Team Emirates) before outgunning his companions in the finale. Polanc nabbed runner-up honours on the stage with Majka settling for third.
In the peloton behind, Chris Froome (Sky) and Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) left the rest of the GC hopefuls behind on the late Cat. 1 climb, arriving at the finish together. That extended Froome's overall race lead ahead of second-placed Esteban Chaves (Orica-Scott).
The Colombian now sits 28 seconds behind Froome on GC, with Nicolas Roche (BMC Racing) in third overall at 41 seconds.
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