Aqua Blue Sport was in the breakaway and rode extremely well. Just back the road Nicolas Roche was in the middle of the intense general classification battle on the final climb. Above, Chris Froome gets ready to do major damage on the final climb of stage 8.
Nicolas Roche and Aqua Blue Sport dig in at Vuelta
Nicolas Roche has dug deep to retain his 3rd place overall at the Vuelta on a day when Aqua Blue Sport enjoyed a very good ride.
The 199.5km stage 8 from Hellín to Xorret de Catí featured the brutally steep Alto Xorret de Cati climb very close to the finish. And it didn't disappoint.
Aqua Blue Sport's Michel Kreder got clear in a 21-rider breakaway in the first hour of racing.
And from that escape Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step) would claim victory just ahead of Jan Polanc (UAE Team Emirates) and Rafal Majka (Bora-Hansgrohe).
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Only half of the breakaway would stay clear, with the others being swallowed up as the general classification battle exploded up the final climb.
But Kreder was one of those who survived all the way. In the end he would claim 6th, just 32 seconds behind the stage winner.
On the basis of that ride, he has the kind of form to take a stage win if the right opportunity presented itself.
But as the breakaway men were finishing, the battle between the biggest guns in the race was at fever pitch just behind them.
Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) was the first to attack as the peloton was already exploding on the short sharp final climb.
When the Spaniard struck out he took some of the general classification men with him.
David De La Cruz (QuickStep), Simon Yates (Orica-Scott), and (Michael Woods Cannondale Drapac) all rode clear.
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In reaction, Chris Froome (Team Sky) put in a dig and he dropped the rest of the GC men.
He rode across to those ahead and another big effort saw Froome and Contador drop everyone.
They blasted down the short descent into the finish, finished some 1:27 behind the stage winner.
And 17 seconds behind Froome and Contador came another small group of big names.
They included Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) Fabio Aru (Astana), Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha-Alpecin), Wout Poels (Team Sky) and 2nd overall Esteban Chaves (Orica-Scott)
That group had scrapped hard over the final climb in the wake of Froome and Contador, as had Nicolas Roche.
The Irishman was just 11 seconds behind that five-man group featuring Chaves and Nibali.
He finished with Adam Yates (Orica-Scott), Woods, de la Cruz, Wilco Kelderman and Sam Oomen (Team Sunweb).
Also present were Roche's BMC Racing team mate Tejay van Garderen and South African Louis Meintjes (UAE Team Emirates). They would relinquish 28 seconds to Froome and Contador.
It meant while Roche ceded time to Froome and Chaves - who were ahead of him on GC this morning - he is still 3rd tonight, though by a bigger margin.
And he also saw some of those dangermen just behind him on the general classification edge a little bit closer to him, including Aru and Nibali.
Froome, who looked by far the strongest in the race today, has now extended his lead over Chaves from 11 to 28 seconds.
And while Roche was 3rd at 13 seconds at the start of the stage, he is now 41 seconds in arrears.
Behind him, Nibali is 4th now 12 seconds off Nicolas Roche, van Garderen is 5th some 17 seconds behind Roche. Aru is next in 7th place; 25 seconds off Roche.
Conor Dunne (Aqua Blue Sport) had a challenging day today. He finished in 178 some 20:32 down.
Stage 8: Hellín to Xorret de Catí (199.5km)
1 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Quick-Step Floors 4:37:55
2 Jan Polanc (Slo) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:02
3 Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe
4 Serge Pauwels (Bel) Dimension Data 0:00:26
5 Nelson Oliveira (Por) Movistar Team 0:00:28
6 Michel Kreder (Ned) Aqua Blue Sport 0:00:32
7 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Lotto Soudal
8 Bart De Clercq (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:00:34
9 Alberto Losada Alguacil (Spa) Katusha-Alpecin 0:00:37
10 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:01:04
11 Daan Olivier (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:01:06
12 Loic Vliegen (Bel) BMC Racing Team 0:01:17
13 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Trek-Segafredo 0:01:27
14 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky
15 Jesus Hernandez Blazquez (Spa) Trek-Segafredo
16 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 0:01:44
17 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team
18 Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin
19 Wout Poels (Ned) Team Sky
20 Johan Esteban Chaves Rubio (Col) Orica-Scott
21 Sergei Chernetckii (Rus) Astana Pro Team 0:01:52
22 Clement Chevrier (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:01:55
23 Adam Yates (GBr) Orica-Scott
24 Michael Woods (Can) Cannondale-Drapac
25 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb
26 Nicolas Roche (Irl) BMC Racing Team
27 David de la Cruz (Spa) Quick-Step Floors
28 Sam Oomen (Ned) Team Sunweb
29 Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team
30 Louis Meintjes (RSA) UAE Team Emirates
178 Conor Dunne (Irl) Aqua Blue Sport 00:20:32
General Classification
1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 32:26:13
2 Johan Esteban Chaves Rubio (Col) Orica-Scott 0:00:28
3 Nicolas Roche (Irl) BMC Racing Team 0:00:41
4 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 0:00:53
5 Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:00:58
6 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:01:06
7 David de la Cruz (Spa) Quick-Step Floors 0:01:08
8 Adam Yates (GBr) Orica-Scott 0:01:18
9 Michael Woods (Can) Cannondale-Drapac 0:01:41
10 Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin 0:01:57
11 Nelson Oliveira (Por) Movistar Team 0:02:03
12 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb 0:02:13
13 Jan Polanc (Slo) UAE Team Emirates 0:02:29
14 Simon Yates (GBr) Orica-Scott 0:02:34
15 Wout Poels (Ned) Team Sky 0:02:40
16 Sam Oomen (Ned) Team Sunweb 0:02:42
17 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Trek-Segafredo 0:03:10
18 Jetse Bol (Ned) Manzana Postobon 0:03:12
19 Louis Meintjes (RSA) UAE Team Emirates 0:03:23
20 Miguel Angel Lopez (Col) Astana Pro Team 0:03:40
21 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:04:07
22 Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Dimension Data 0:04:29
23 Rui Alberto Faria da Costa (Por) UAE Team Emirates 0:04:55
24 Jaime Roson Garcia (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:05:01
25 Mikel Nieve Ituralde (Spa) Team Sky 0:06:01
26 Sergio Pardilla Bellon (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:06:25
27 Luis León Sánchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team 0:08:07
28 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:09:24
29 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Movistar Team 0:10:02
30 Luis Angel Maté Mardones (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:10:51
180 Conor Dunne (Irl) Aqua Blue Sport 1:32:57
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