Vuelta a Espana 2013 Results: Stage 8 Standings, Highlights and Recap

Leopold Konig overcame one of the toughest stage endings at the Vuelta a Espana to come away with his first win of the race.

The Twitter account Informe Ciclista provided a look at the winner as he crossed the finish line:

The 166.6 kilometer race started relatively innocently with only a couple of small climbs, but the final stretch up Alto de Penas Blancas did not make things easy. As you can see from this graphic, the slope gets up to as much as 12.5 percent:

Still, the Czech rider was able to pull away from the pack in the closing meters and finish with a time of four hours, nine minutes and 46 seconds.

Daniel Moreno also had a strong performance to earn second place in the race, while Nicolas Roche ended shortly behind for a third-place finish.

Here is a look at the top 10 for Stage 8 at La Vuelta:

While the final climb was the most notable feature of the stage, the entire ride was difficult. The Global Cycling Network provided a look at the entire course.

The early hills allowed a group to break away from the peloton and maintain an advantage throughout the majority of the race:

This greatly affected the results of the two intermediate sprints, both of which took place toward the end of the stage. Matthew Busche earned points toward the green jersey with a win in the first checkpoint, while Antonio Piedra got a win at the second mark.

Despite the early success of each, the challenging part was still ahead. Besides the course itself, the riders had to deal with a great amount of heat, according to Velo Voices:

These factors caused two riders who were leading for a good majority of the race to finally drop back into the pack:

However, the action picked up in the final few kilometers in battle between Christopher Horner, Igor Anton, Moreno and more. In the end, though, it was Konig who was able to cross the line first.

Roche becomes the new leader in the overall classification after trailing by eight seconds entering the day. He will take the red jersey away from Vincenzo Nibali, who only managed to finish in 16th place in the stage.

Here is an updated look at the standings at La Vuelta:

Moreno's strong finish allows him to take over the green jersey as the points leader, while Roche remains ahead in the climbing competition.

The race continues Sunday with another up-and-down stage from Antequera to Valdepenas de Jaen. The 163.7 kilometer course has parts that reach a 30-percent slope, so riders must be prepared for what is certain to be a tough day.

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