The place to watch La Vuelta - LIVE, FREE and EXCLUSIVE, is right here on SBS. Replays, mini stage recaps, extended highlights, winning moments and live streaming can be found on the
Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) attacked on the climb to the finish, where he eventually distanced himself from O’Connor and crossed over ahead of Enric Mas (Movistar).
O’Connor had done his best to stay with Roglic for much of the 159-kilometre stage but lost pace in the final two kilometres, eventually finishing in 17th place and 46 seconds after his GC rival.
“The opportunity was there and I went for it,” said Roglic, who also took a 10-second bonus for his efforts.
“It was hard, hot. I was lucky I had the legs to take it today.”
The three-time Vuelta winner now trails O’Connor by 3’49” ahead of Stage 9, but will be happy with his performance on a day that tested the peloton with several climbs and a sharp, uphill finish.
Roglic had set quite a pace at the front of the peloton, with Mas the only rider able to go with him for the closing kilometres.
With O’Connor faltering, the duo were able to catch the three-man breakaway ahead of them, before contesting the finish.
Mas moved up to third overall as a result of his efforts, with Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) falling to 26th in the GC after struggling to the line almost five minutes after Roglic.
Stream free On Demand
La Vuelta 2024
series • cycling
series • cycling
As for the stage winner, the plan for the rest of the Grand Tour remains the same – starting with Stage 9 as tougher climbs await on a 178.5-kilometre journey to Granada.
“I’m going every day full racing,” Roglic added. “(Let's) just see how I will respond to all of this input to my body after a hard period with my injury.
“I still feel it, so we’ll see.”
