Vuelta Stage 8: Fabio Jakobsen beats rivals to take victory in hectic bunch sprint

Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck quick step) triumphed in a hectic bunch sprint to take his second victory on stage 8 of this year's Vuelta a Espana. 

After a tough day on stage 8 in the Alicante hills the riders headed to the Costa Blanca and followed the road south from Santa Pola to the seaside resort of La Manga del Mar Menor.

With just 900m of total elevation gain and a simple run into the finish, the 173.7km-long stage looked set to come down to another bunch sprint.

Crosswinds blowing in from the Mediterranean raised fears at the beginning of the day of echelons and drama on the way into Manga del Mar Menor.

Vuelta profile stage 8: Credit ASO

However, the strong winds predicted never really materialised and the peloton controlled a small breakaway throughout the day before reeling them in with 37km to go. 

Speaking after the race, Sean Kelly, said: "Today was a total mish mash in the sprint and we did see Jakobsen was totally out of the wheel and Florian Sénéchal started to lead out and he thought Jakobsen was in his wheel and he went full on.

"But you know the sprinters if they have that nose to know where you have to be, just follow it. A lot of the time you will get an opening in the end and when you get that you can just take the victory and he did that."

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