Having taken fourth on stage 4 and third on stage 5, Alberto Dainese went one better on stage 8 to sprint to second with a big effort that saw him miss out on the win by just half a bike length.

Having been dropped off in position, Dainese floated through the wheels to be able to launch his sprint and give his all to the line.

All predictions were for a bunch sprint today with the predominantly flat parcours and after the early break formed of just three riders went clear the race was very controlled and settled into its rhythm. It wasn’t until the final 40 kilometres when the situation changed as the fast pace being set at the front of the peloton saw the break caught early with 36 kilometres to go and the exposed roads caused some splits in the peloton. However, the pace wasn’t sustained to cause any serious problems and all was back together to run in to the finish for another bunch sprint.

Alberto Dainese said from the finish: “I was on Fabio’s wheel but he was too fast to pass him and there was only 150 metres to the finish after the final corner. It’s nice to get a podium again but of course as a sprinter I would like to be winning.

“Yesterday was a hard day for me – I was in a big grupetto, but today the legs were good. It was super easy during the stage but then at the finish everyone was fresh. The confidence is getting better though. Before the Vuelta started I didn’t think that I’d be getting these results so I can be happy.”

Team DSM coach Matt Winston added: “A sprint day today as expected. The guys did a great job bringing Alberto into position with 15 kilometres to go, holding a really tight line down the right hand side of the road and brought him as best as possible into the finish. It got a bit messy in the last three kilometres as we expected but Alberto and the lead out train did a really good job and sprinted to second place. We’re making steps all the time – three top fives for Alberto in his first week at a Grand Tour is something really nice.”