Nairo Quintana was about to lose precious time when he missed a key split in the finale of stage 8 of the Vuelta a Espana. Having joined forces with the Giant-Shimano team, he managed to save the day.

The expected splits into the crosswinds eventually happened during stage eight of the 2014 Vuelta a España - the longest of this year's race, over 207km between Baeza and Albacete - causing enormous stress in a bunch whose top two riders overall, Alejandro Valverde and Nairo Quintana (Movistar Team), were able to get over the day without losing any time, yet with a slight dose of panic in between.

Around 30km from the finish, and after magnificent positioning work from Erviti, Izagirre, Castroviejo, Herrada and Malori, both the Spaniard and the Colombian made the first selection of fifty riders, which also included Andrey Amador. Unfortunately, and when things seemed to settle at the front with 10k remaining, a second split kept Valverde in the main group, yet left both Amador and Quintana behind. The latter two were able to bridge again, joined by the Giant squad as they tried to get sprint contender John Degenkolb back on track.

Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ) sprinted to the day's win while Valverde and Quintana made it safely across the line to keep their respective GC places - 15" between them - and start thinking about the second mountain-top finish: Valdelinares (Cat-1, 10.2km at 5.8%), end of 185km starting at Carboneras de Guadazón and also featuring the Cat-2 Alto de San Rafael.

"It was a crazy finale, but it was something that we expected," Valverde said. "We know Albacete never disappoints the fans: with such long straights and the crosswinds, splits are bound to happen. The whole team was fully focused, well placed, and thanks to my team-mates we made the front group and got well through the day.

"I was hearing something in my earpiece, though there was much noise and I didn't know if Nairo had been dropped or not. I couldn't look back because I was making a big effort to stay up-front. The team rode exceptionally well to keep us all perfectly placed and it was difficult afterwards for all of them to stay in that first group - they did a great work.

"The mountains will be back tomorrow and it will be another important stage. Valdelinares is a climb which I think is good for both of us. It's a demanding one, because it has steady slopes and you get up to 2,000 meters high, which is an altitude that already has an effect on performance. Let's hope our legs respond well so we can keep the front, both Nairo and me."

"We were already informed before the stage that winds could blow from the side in the finale, and we knew we had to stay attentive," Quintana said. "When we got to the unprotected zone, the bunch was so nervous, strecthed out, and lots of splits started to form everywhere.

“I came across the group and there was a split. I’ve had to bridge a gap by myself once but the second one, I could not. Some of my team-mates have been left behind and the only one left out was Alejandro (Valverde). Giant has helped us to come across the second time. There was a common interest. Fortunately we were able to catch the first group again and save the stage. We have met the objective of the day that consisted in completing the stage without wasting time.”