Argentine Tomás Conte (Aviludo-Luleto) emerged as the strongest in the sprint on the Fafe cobbles to win the eighth stage of the Tour of Portugal, avenging the escape of 27 riders who had arrived ten minutes ahead of the peloton. It was the second victory for the Algarve team, led by another Argentine, and also in a sprint – Tivani had won the second stage in Marvila (Lisbon). In general, everything remained the same: Afonso Eulálio (ABTF-Feirense) retained the yellow jersey with a 21-second advantage over Switzerland’s Colin Stüssi (Vorarlberg).
The 182.4km film of the stage began five kilometres after leaving Viana do Castelo. A breakaway of 27 runners had formed, 12 minutes behind the peloton. The favourite teams for the final victory were more concerned with managing the effort on Saturday’s difficult stage and limited themselves to controlling the numerous escapes. The escapees attacked each other in the final kilometres, but a large group overcame the short final climb. Thomas Conte was the strongest at the finish, beating Andoni Lopes (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Rafael Reis (Sabgal-Anicolor) to take second and third in the sprint.
On the final hill, Colin Stussy tried to give Afonso Eulálio a few seconds, but the Portuguese defended well and arrived together.
This Saturday, the penultimate stage of 170.8 km will end at the top of Sra da Graça. Before that, the cyclists will have to overcome two more tests in the first category and one in the fourth.
Author: Luis Oliveira
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.