Carlos sixth on steep Cazorla finish

Carlos Rodriguez avoided a late crash on the final climb to finish sixth on stage eight of the Vuelta a Espana.

The Spaniard was able to check up and avoid the crash as the decisive climb to Cazorla began, but had to fight back to the head of the GC group with the support of team-mate Jhonatan Narvaez.

Sixth over the line saw him finish 21 seconds back on stage victor Primoz Roglic (Red Bull - BORA - Hansgrohe). Ben O’Connor (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) shipped some seconds on the steep final slopes but retained the red jersey as the race began its second week.

The stage saw Carlos move up eight places to 12th overall, now 5:56 back on the red jersey of O’Connor.

Earlier, seven riders had headed up road, holding a gap of 3:20 over day’s highest point – the second-category Puerto Mirador de las Palomas. In the early phases of the race INEOS Grenadiers, including Laurens De Plus, had pushed hard to get up the road during a rapid start to the day.

Elsewhere at the Deutschland Tour, Ethan Hayter sits fourth overall with one stage to go in Germany. The British champion was unable to contest the bunch sprint on stage three, but still sits just 21 seconds back on leader Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) with one day to go.