Vuelta a España stage 8 preview - Sprinters' showdown in Zaragoza

Zaragoza, the second most visited city in Vuelta history, returns to host another stage finish. It's a stage that has been well and truly designed for the sprinters and rightly so, considering the dearth of opportunities for the fast men at this Vuelta, with 10 summit finishes on the menu across the 21 stages.

Key Information: 

• Date: Saturday, 30 August
• Start: 13:40 (CET)
• Expected finish: 17:20 (CET)
• Stage type: Flat
• Stage length: 163.5km
• Elevation gain: 1,236m

Stage 8 is the flattest of the entire race, and is a well-earned reward for the sprinters after two particularly difficult mountain stages beforehand. There are no categorised climbs throughout stage 8, with 1,236 metres of elevation gain to contend with across 163.5km.

Monzón has hosted the start of a Vuelta stage once previously, back in 1977, on stage 15 won by Spanish rider Pedro Torres of the Teka team. The town had hosted the finish of stage 14 the day before.

The stage may be the flattest in the entire race, but it has to be remembered that this is the Vuelta, and there is still plenty of rolling terrain throughout the first half, although nothing that should put any riders in much difficulty.

Peñaflor will host the intermediate sprint with 42.5km remaining, and could serve as a warm-up for the final sprint in Zaragoza. Mads Pedersen extended his lead in the points classification to 22 points over Ethan Vernon after featuring in the breakaway on stage 7.

Zaragoza is the second most visited city in Vuelta history, behind the capital Madrid. The last stage to finish in the city was won in a sprint by Juan Sebastián Molano in 2023.

A threat to the sprinters could be the wind, which can be quite prevalent on the run-in to Zaragoza, but the current forecasts suggest this shouldn’t be the case on Saturday. 

The run-in to Zaragoza could become quite technical as the peloton races through the city streets, and the GC contenders will need to stay focused, as is the case with any sprint finish.

With just under 3km to go, the peloton will reach a long, straight section of road that runs parallel with the River Ebro until they reach a roundabout shortly before the flamme rouge.

There is a slight curve to the left inside the final km to the finish line, where it is expected that the sprinters will shine.

Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) made the perfect start to the Vuelta, winning the opening stage in style and claiming the red jersey. However, the Belgian is a prolific winner and will be disappointed by missing out on stage 4, finishing 2nd. With few opportunities for the fast men throughout the race, combined with his pedigree and strong lead-out featuring Edward Planckaert (Alpecin-Deceuninck), who finished 3rd on stage 4, Philipsen is the pre-stage favourite and will no doubt be hungry to land his 15th Grand Tour stage win.

Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) is yet to take a stage win, but that’s not for the want of trying. Pedersen came mightily close on the uphill finish to Ceres on stage 4, before ending 6th a day later. The Dane featured in the breakaway on stage 7, extending his lead in the points classification after picking up points at the intermediate sprint. However, it remains to be seen how much this would have taken out of the legs of Pedersen ahead of the purest sprint stage of the entire race. He is still a top contender for the stage honours, however, and the lack of a victory so far will only spur the Dane on.

Ethan Vernon (Israel-Premier Tech) has come close but no cigar so far when it comes to a stage win at this Vuelta. The recently turned 25-year-old Brit was runner-up behind Philipsen on the opening stage before finishing 4th on stage 4 behind Turner. Vernon is one of the best pure sprinters in the field, and this is arguably the finish which suits him best, with compatriot Jake Stewart (Israel-Premier Tech) as strong support or able to step up if required.

Ben Turner (Ineos Grenadiers) has already won the biggest race of his career this week on stage 4 in Voiron, and will be flying high on confidence. Although the British rider is arguably better suited to sprints after a hard stage, he is still capable of a strong result in a flat stage sprint, as recently illustrated with 6th on the opening stage of the Renewi Tour. 

Casper van Uden (Picnic PostNL) is one of the few riders on the start list to have won a Grand Tour sprint in 2025, after sprinting to victory on stage 4 of the Giro d’Italia. The Dutchman is yet to feature for a victory so far, with 16th on the opening stage his best result, but that should improve in Zaragoza.

Madis Mihkels (EF Education-EasyPost) will be aiming higher than the 10th and 11th place finishes he claimed on stages 1 and 4, respectively. The Estonian champion’s best stage result in a Grand Tour was 6th in the 2024 Giro d’Italia. Orluis Aular and Iván García Cortina (Movistar) both finished in the top 5 on the opening stage and can’t be ruled out of replicating this feat.

Elia Viviani (Lotto), in his prime, would have been one of the outstanding favourites for the stage win. Whilst that may not be the case in 2025, the Italian still impressed with a 4th place on the opening stage and with the lack of climbing, this could be Viviani’s best opportunity of improving on that result and rolling back the years.

The Cofidis duo of Stanisław Aniołkowski and Bryan Coquard have both been runners-up on sprint stages at Grand Tours, and either could have an outside chance of adding another stage podium to their collection.

Other riders who could be in the top 10 mix include: Jenthe Biermans (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Ivo Oliveira (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Arne Marit (Intermarché-Wanty), Thibaud Gruel (Groupama-FDJ), Nicolò Buratti (Bahrain-Victorious), Tim van Dijke (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Anders Foldager (Jayco AlUla), Fabio Christen and Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) and Guillermo Thomas Silva (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA).

The breakaway can never be ruled out, particularly with a technical urban city finish in Zaragoza, but it would be a significant opportunity missed for the sprinters if the escapees were able to make it to the finish with the limited flat stages on offer.

Vuelta a España stage 8 favourites

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Jasper Philipsen
⭐️⭐️ Mads Pedersen, Ethan Vernon, Ben Turner, Elia Viviani, Casper van Uden
⭐️ Madis Mihkels, Orluis Aular, Arne Marit, Stanislaw Aniolkowski, Jenthe Biermans, Bryan Coquard

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