Nikias Arndt claimed his first win at the Vuelta a España when he surged to victory on a wet stage eight in Igualada, Spain, today.
Spaniard Alexander Aranburu and Belgian Tosh van der Sande finished closely behind the German on the 166.9km stage from Valls.
The top three were all part of a breakaway group of 21 riders that led for almost the entire day.
Sunweb’s Arndt said he wanted to be in the leading bunch but to have been there and win the stage was unbelievable.
“I am super happy. I had great support from [my teammate] Martijn [Tusveld] and so this has been, for sure, one of the best days in my career so far.”
After Tusveld’s crash within the final 3km due to the heavy rain that made for extremely slippery roads, Arndt had to ensure he stayed in the game.
“I just followed all the attacks because I knew I was fast enough to win out of the sprint. I just had to keep it together.”
Frenchman Nicolas Edet, who was part of the break, claimed the overall lead over Belgian Dylan Teuns and Colombian Miguel Angel Lopez.
The rest of the GC contenders – including Lopez, Alejandro Valverde, Primoz Roglic and Nairo Quintana – rolled into the finish almost ten minutes later.
Germany’s Nikias Arndt sprinted to victory on a wet stage eight of the Vuelta a España today. Photo: Luis Angel Gomez/©PHOTOGOMEZSPORT2019
View the results below.
Stage eight results
1. Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Sunweb 3:50:48
2. Alexander Aranburu (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
3. Tosh van der Sande (Bel) Lotto Soudal
4. Ruben Guerreiro (Por) Katusha-Alpecin
5. Jonas Koch (Ger) CCC Team
6. Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain-Merida
7. Jonathan Lastra (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
8. Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Groupama-FDJ
9. Fernando Barcelo (Spa) Euskadi Basque Country-Murias
10. Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) UAE Team Emirates
*Selected
20. Nicholas Dlamini (RSA) Dimension Data +0:05:37
35. Willie Smit (RSA) Katusha-Alpecin +0:09:24
62. Louis Meintjes (RSA) Dimension Data
114. Jaco Venter (RSA) Dimension Data +0:09:58
General classification
1. Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis 8:16:24
2. Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain-Merida +0:02:21
3. Miguel Angel Lopez (Col) Astana Pro Team +0:03:01
4. Primoz Roglic (Slo) Jumbo-Visma +0:03:07
5. Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar +0:03:17
6. Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar +0:03:28
7. Carl Frederik Hagen (Nor) Lotto Soudal +0:03:45
8. Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe +0:04:59
9. Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates +0:05:37
10. Esteban Chaves (Col) Mitchelton-Scott +0:05:53
*Selected
27. Louis Meintjes (RSA) Dimension Data +0:13:44
65. Nicholas Dlamini (RSA) Dimension Data +0:39:10
103. Willie Smit (RSA) Katusha-Alpecin +0:59:20
128. Jaco Venter (RSA) Dimension Data +1:11:44
