Enric Mas extended his overall lead in the Vuelta a Espana as the race returned to the mountains, launching a late attack on the road to Calar Alto that his rivals couldn't answer. The stage itself was won by Slovenia's Jakob Omrzel, who at just 20 claimed his first Grand Tour stage victory by riding clear on the final 17km climb, while Britain's Oscar Onley had a torubled day, crashing early and losing time and a place in the general classification.

Omrzel finished nearly two minutes clear of Urko Berrade, with Santiago Buitrago third, on a punishing 166.6km route featuring five categorised climbs in searing heat. Mas broke away from a group including Primoz Roglic and Felix Gall around 13km from the finish, gaining a further 27 seconds to move 1 minute 56 seconds clear overall. Roglic sits second and Gall third in the general classification, with Onley now fifth after slipping back; overall favourite Tadej Pogacar, once nearly four minutes ahead, abandoned on stage eight with a broken collarbone. The Vuelta concludes in Andalusia on Sunday 13 September, with mountain stages still to come around Malaga and Granada's Sierra Nevada.