Arndt wins 8th Vuelta stage, Edet takes leader’s red jersey

IGUALADA, Spain (AP) — Nikias Arndt of Germany persevered in tricky wet conditions to win the eighth stage of the Spanish Vuelta on Saturday, while Nicolas Edet of France took advantage of a slow run by the peloton to take the overall lead.

Arndt, from Team Sunweb, led the breakaway group across the finish line in a 167-kilometer (104-mile) stage that ended with a sprint in Igualada after riders endured a steep climb of more than seven kilometers (4.3 miles) and withstood slippery wet roads under heavy rain in the ensuing downhill near the end.

Alex Aranburu of Spain was second, and Tosh Van der Sande of Belgium finished third.

Miguel Angel Lopez relinquished the leader’s red jersey for a third time after being held in the peloton that crossed the line more than nine minutes behind Arndt.

The gap allowed Edet, from team Cofidis, to take the overall lead and gain 2 minutes, 21 seconds over second-placed Dylan Teuns, the Belgian who held the red jersey earlier in the week.

Lopez, a Colombian, was three minutes off the lead going into a crucial ninth stage on Sunday, when riders will face several climbs and a four-kilometer (2 1/2-mile) gravel track near the end in Cortals d’Encamp.