Vuelta a España: Bryan Coquard edges out Mads Pedersen to win crash-marred stage 8 as Tadej Pogačar abandons

A chaotic day full of crashes at the Vuelta a España ended with the expected bunch sprint in Xeraco, with Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) sprinting to a first-ever Grand Tour stage victory.

The Frenchman beat Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) to the line at the end of the 171km stage as Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) rounded out the podium in third place.

Visma-Lease a Bike had set up the sprint once again for double stage winner Matthew Brennan, but the Briton was out of position and well out of it after launching his sprint from outside the top 10.

Further back, a mass crash inside the final 300 metres saw most of the peloton held up, leaving the sprinters to battle it out. Pedersen hit the front first, but it was Coquard, riding the wheel of Meeus, who had the better finish, edging out the Dane in a photo finish.

"I've finished second a lot of times in Grand Tours, and I'm 34 years old, and I'm very proud and very happy," Coquard, who raced his first Grand Tour at the 2014 Tour de France, said after the finish.

"My team did a perfect job. We don't have a lot of top lead-out men, but I had Alexis today. All of the climbers tried to take me to 5 km to the finish line in a good position with Alexis, and after that, I just followed Alexis. At 500 metres, I saw Jordi Meeus, and I knew he was very fast in this type of finish. So I waited and waited.

"I knew it was a little headwind-crosswind, but in the city, it was more of a headwind. I made my effort at the right moment, using the draft, and I'm so proud and very happy. I've waited a long time for this victory, and I've worked a lot as well. It's an amazing, amazing day.

"I was not unconfident, but yes, I had some pressure because when you don't do a good sprint, it's one opportunity less. You don't have a lot of opportunities for sprinters in this Vuelta. I wasn't in a good position in the first two sprints, but I knew I had good legs yesterday in the breakaway. Maybe I climb a little better now, but I'm fast again."

While the sprint finish marked a historic day for 34-year-old Coquard, the big news of the day was the abandon of race leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG). The Slovenian, who had led the race since winning the opening stage, crashed hard on the run-in to the only climb of the stage 32km from the line.

Pogačar suffered heavy wounds on his left shoulder and left side of his face in the fall, and received treatment by the roadside before he climbed into the ambulance, his race finished after eight days

Three-time Vuelta runner-up Enric Mas (Movistar) will now take over the red jersey with a one-minute advantage over Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), while Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) lies in third, a further 11 second back.

How it unfolded

After the summit finish of Aramón Valdelinares on Friday, the Vuelta a España returned to the flatlands for stage 8 on Saturday with a run past the city of Valencia to a finish on the Costa de Valencia.

The 171km stage, running between Puçol and Xeraco, featured few difficulties along the way, save for the late third-category Puerto de Barx (4.7km at 5.6%), which lay 21km from the finish line.

The stage began down three riders after Luca Van Boven's (Lotto-Intermarché) withdrawal following a heavy crash on stage 7. Floris Van Tricht (NSN) and Diego Uriarte (Kern Pharma) both left the race after going down in the neutral zone to start the stage.

With a sprint finish likely and not much reason along the way to get out in the breakaway, there wasn't much of a battle for the break.

After the summit finish of Aramón Valdelinares on Friday, the Vuelta a España returned to the flatlands for stage 8 on Saturday with a run past the city of Valencia to a finish on the Costa de Valencia.

The 171km stage, running between Puçol and Xeraco, featured few difficulties along the way, save for the late third-category Puerto de Barx (4.7km at 5.6%), which lay 21km from the finish line.

The stage began down three riders after Luca Van Boven's (Lotto-Intermarché) withdrawal following a heavy crash on stage 7. Floris Van Tricht (NSN) and Diego Uriarte (Kern Pharma) both left the race after going down in the neutral zone to start the stage.

With a sprint finish likely and not much reason along the way to get out in the breakaway, there wasn't much of a battle for the break.

Burgos-Burpellet-BH duo Sinuhé Fernández and José Luis Faura went clear after 12km of racing, though Faura soon dropped away from the move soon afterwards. No threat to the sprint squads, Fernández was allowed to head up the road, racing clear to a 5:30 lead.

Mattia Gaffuri (Picnic-PostNL) became the next rider to leave the race after a mid-stage crash. GC contender Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) also hit the deck but was able to continue without issue.

Up front, Fernández raced into the final 100km with a reduced 3:40 advantage as Steve Kruijswijk (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Alpecin-Premier Tech worked on the front to control the situation.
That time gap fell as the kilometres ticked by, and Fernández hit the final 50km with a slender one-minute lead. His solo adventure drew to a close 12km later, in time for the intermediate sprint at Simat de Val.

Green jersey leader Wout van Aert nipped out of the peloton to grab the 20 points on offer ahead of Jordan Labrosse (Decathlon CMA CGM).

There was barely time to digest the Belgian extending his points lead when disaster struck for race leader Tadej Pogačar. The Slovenian, racing near the front of the peloton on the run towards the Puerto de Barx, suddenly swerved in the bunch, colliding with another rider and hitting the ground hard.

It soon became clear that Pogačar's race, and his bid for the red jersey, was over. After several minutes of treatment at the side of the road, he climbed into the ambulance and out of the race, his arm in a sling and padding on a wounded shoulder.

Up the road, the peloton hit the climb slowly, unsure of Pogačar's status and out of respect for the red jersey. There were no big attacks on the way up, and Van Aert led the way across the summit for Visma-Lease a Bike.

Xabier Azparren (Pinarello Q36.5) launched the first move of the finale, jumping clear with 25km to run and racing away to a 20-second lead. The Basque racer's move was a brave one, and he held on all the way down the descent and for much of the road into Xeraco.

Behind, Visma-Lease a Bike and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe led the chase, while the nerves in the peloton remained on the run-in to the line. Another crash struck at 10km to go, with Luke Tuckwell (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Carlos Canal (Movistar), Jan Hirt (NSN), Carlos Rodríguez (Netcompany Ineos), and Roland Thalmann (Tudor) all going down.

That didn't stop the peloton from racing towards the line, full speed ahead, though, with Netcompany Ineos and Lidl-Trek also joining in the pacemaking. It was the British squad who finally brought back Azparren 2km from the line, setting up the sprint finale.

Brennan's lead-out train of Van Aert and Christophe Laporte assumed their positions at the head of the peloton on the final run to the line, though their sprinter was well back, stuck behind almost a dozen other riders. Instead, it was Coquard, Pedersen, and Ben Turner (Netcompany Ineos) who were best-placed, just behind Laporte.

A mass crash unfolded just behind the lead-out at the front, taking out a host of riders and holding up much of the peloton. Laporte peeled off with 150 metres to go, leaving Pedersen to launch the sprint as Brennan tried to move up on the outside to no avail.

It looked like the finale would be Pedersen vs Meeus, but Coquard manoeuvred well, switching wheels and only hitting the wind inside the final 50 metres. At the line, the Frenchman edged ahead and could celebrate a long-awaited Grand Tour triumph.

Results

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