ALBACETE, Spain — Nacer Bouhanni of France won a windy eighth stage of the Spanish Vuelta on Saturday, while Alejandro Valverde kept the overall leader’s red jersey.
Bouhanni sprinted ahead of the pack and dipped his bike to the left at the last second to hold off Michael Matthews, who was about to overtake him at the finish line.
It was the FDJ.fr rider’s second stage win in this edition after he also won a sprint finish on day two.
Gusting winds broke the peloton into pieces over the final straightaway of the 207-kilometre (128-mile) ride from Baeza to Albacete, but the stage led to no change among the race favourites.
Valverde leads with Nairo Quintana, Alberto Contador and Chris Froome all within 20 seconds heading into Sunday’s mountainous stage.