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Vuelta a Espana - Andorra - Salardu / Pla de Beret

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18:00 - Thanks for joining us today for this exciting second mountain stage in the Vuelta. Be sure to return tomorrow for all the action... LIVE!
18:00 - American Levi Leipheimer moves into the golden jersey after Alessandro Ballan struggled today.
0km - The chasing group - including Sastre - passes over the finish just a handful of seconds later - so all that effort by Contador was for nothing!
0km - Valverde gets the bonus seconds for second ahead of Contador and Anton, 37 seconds down on Moncoutie.
0km - Victory for Moncoutie!! An excellent performance by the Cofidis veteran.
0.5km - The Frenchman is already smiling... he knows he's won it!
1km - Latest time check is 32 seconds for Moncoutie as he passes the one-to-go banner! He should hold on here...
2km - Moncoutie passes the two-to-go banner... Contador looks back, sees the other riders approaching, and puts in another kick... but it's in vain... It's now downhill to the finish... Moncoutie has 20 seconds or so... Sastre is back in the chasing group!
3km - The chasing group is fighting back to the Contador trio... it might all come back together...
3km - Not long to go for Moncoutie... it's a downhill finish today after hitting the summit... will the Frenchman hold on?
4km - Fair play to Anton, who manages yet again to claw himself back to Contador and Valverde.
4km - And Contador kicks again!! Anton can't do anything, but Valverde keeps his cool and sticks to his wheel. This is going to be a great duel over the final five clicks...
5km - CONTADOR ATTACKS!! Valverde the only one able to hold his wheel as they pass Joly for dead... Igor Anton tries to chase from behind... Sastre is distanced again off the back of the chasing group.
5km - Sastre is back in the fold. The Tour de France champion did not panic and has forced his way back into this chasing group. David Arroyo ups the pace on the front, with Leipheimer taking his wheel.
5km - There are quite a lot of French supporters on the road to cheer on Moncoutie...
6km - Leipheimer is on the front of the Contador group, which is 1'10" behind Moncoutie. Sastre is 15 seconds back.
6km - Moncoutie is continuing to plug away... the Contador chasing group is about 20 strong now - and thinning fast. Is Sastre being isolated by his team for political reasons related to his defection at the end of the season to Cervilo?
7km - Sastre is about 25 seconds back from the leading group, which contains some CSC riders who, inexplicably, are not going back to help him.
7km - Sastre has been dropped and is isololated with no team-mates. Valverde, after yesterday's debacle, is still up there with the Astana boys.
7km - Moncoutie passes the seven-to-go banner. He's really going to suffer it seems... the peloton are riding at a ferocious pace.
8km - The chasing group is about 30 strong now: the others are falling like flies.
9km - Astana turning up the gas straight away. Up in front, Moncoutie has dropped Joly and rides along towards the summit.
10km - No sooner has this rapid descent finished than the Pla de Beret starts. This is the final climb of the day: first cat, 6.2 km at 6.4%.
16km - The road is rather shoddy: bumpy, poor tarmac, tight bends... all in all, it's a cyclist's nightmare.
17km - Joly has already caught Moncoutie on the descent.
18km - World champion Paolo Bettini drops his water bottle when trying to put on another jersey ahead of the descent. This unfortunate episode is followed by various expletives in Italian...
18km - The peloton comes over the summit 1'42" in arrears.
19km - The peloton is now a string of 40 odd riders led by a few Euskaltel men and Marzo Bruseghin of Lampre.
19km - Joly, Eskov and Kern are trying to up the pace on this slightly flat segment of the climb near the summit. They are 21 seconds behind Moncoutie, who crosses the summit of the Port de la Bonaigua now.
19km - Moncoutie is riding alongside his team car... He has 1'44" over the peloton, which is impressive. On a good day he could well hold on. A very good day, mind. Further back, Joly has been caught by Eskov and Kern. Garate is no longer there...
20km - Moncoutie passes the 20-to-go banner. This is such a long climb - gold jersey Ballan will vouch for that: he's riding in a group 3'30" down on the peloton.
21km - Chavenel is trying his best to hold on but he is being slowly distanced.
22km - Joly has reacted! The Frenchman counters and is in solo pursuit of Moncoutie.
22km - Moncoutie has opened up a 20 second gap over the other leaders.
23km - Moncoutie goes again! The Frenchman jumps clear of his four breakaway companions... Meanwhile, back in the peloton, his Cofidis team-mate Sylvain Chavanel is suffering and has dropped back.
24km - Kloeden has moved back to the front of the peloton after that explosive cameo from Astarloza.
24km - The front of the peloton has changed dramatically: Euskaltel have come to the fore and both Lampre and Astana have really dropped back. Calling it a bunch now would be misleading for the peloton is now a long, thin, slithering snake.
24km - CORRECTION: The peloton are 2'15" behind the leaders. It was the gruppeto featuring race leader Ballan which was riding at 26 seconds from the peloton... and now that gap is more than a minute following a fierce bit of riding on the front of the bunch by Euskaltel's Mikel Astarloza. Great stuff!
25km - The road is in a sorry state: in fact, it barely exists. There are temporary concrete bollards either side and it looks like a building site. You would never get this in the Tour de France...
25km - The lead, which was three minutes a few kilometres ago, is now down to just 26 seconds!
26km - But now Eskov tries his luck! The Russian edges ahead of the other four, but he is reeled in.
27km - Moncoutie tests the winds with a quick injection of pace. The Frenchman - one of three in this group - is probably the best climber out of the five...
28km - A reminder of those five riders ahead: Christophe Kern (Crédit Agricole), David Moncoutié (Cofidis), Sébastien Joly (Française des Jeux), Juan Manuel Garate (Quick Step) and Nikita Eskov (Tinkoff). Incidentally, none of the quintet has a 2008 win to his name... time that could change?
28km - All the Astana big guns are up on the front with the exception of Levi Leipheimer, who is a little further back in the bunch. This peloton is about 8o strong.
28km - Ballan is back in the rear of the peloton as the road levels out for a little plateau.
29km - Lloyd is back in the peloton after Yaroslav Popovych comes back to give him some help. Chapeau.
29km - Ballan cracks under the relentless drive of Kloeden on the front of the peloton. He has a team-mate, but the gold jersey must know that his time in the lead is almost over!
29km - CRASH! Gerolsteiner's Davide Rebellin hits the deck with a couple of Lampre riders after a touch of wheels. Nothing serious, mind.
30km - Matt Lloyd and Valero Agnoli are riding together after those crashes. Agnoli has a horrible gash on his left thigh. Astana are leading the peloton, with Kloeden prominent. The five leaders are still together ahead, with Joly and Moncoutie on the front.
30km - Inigo Landaluze, who attacked yesterday, is really suffering, slipping down at an extraordinary rate.
30km - The peloton is really thinning out now... Caisse d'Epargne's Garcia Acosta smiles to the camera and puts his thumbs up as he sinks back... at least the Spaniard is seeing the funny side. Stefan Schumacher of Gerolsteiner is also laughing as this gruppeto forms.
31km - Jean-Marc Morino of Credit Agricole is the only rider to retire today.
31km - Riders are beginning to suffer already on the climb... Haedo of CSC and Horillo of Rabobank amongst the early falterers.
32km - CRASH!! Liquigas's Valero Agnoli has only just got back to the rear of the peloton when he rides into a ditch on the side of the road and hits the deck. The Italian is livid, stamping his feet in anger and punching the air. He knows it's his fault and gets right back on his bike and tries to get back into the mix.
33km - The helicopter is showing some amazing shots from above of this climb, the highest in this year's Vuelta. It is one of those traditional hairpin climbs with slopes as steep as 8% on this opening segment. Expect some fireworks from the race leaders....
34km - The leaders are on to the initial stages of the first-Category Puerto de la Bonaigua climb (19.7km at an average of 5.2%).
36km - At the second intermediate sprint Eskov takes the points ahead of Kern and Garate.
41km - CRASH IN THE PELOTON!! These long stretches in the valley are just the kind of time when a touch of wheels occur... and that's happened here: Australian champion Matthew Lloyd hits the deck for the third time in this Vuelta and it looks pretty painful. A handful of other riders go down... luckily there's a wide grass verge onto which many of the peloton ride to avoid the falling bikes and bodies. Lloyd's left knee is covered in blood and he's wincing in some discomfort.
43km - Average speed for the third hour of racing: 36.16 km/h.
48km - Stunning scenery here in the Pyrenees. Very green too. The nearby Basque region is indeed the greenest place I have every visited...
50km - The five leaders ride alongside a picturesque lake surrounded with a dramatic mountainous backdrop. This is the easy part of today's stage...
51km - Gold jersey Alessandro Ballan is taking it easy, chatting to compatriot, the world champion Paolo Bettini.
53km - The weather could not be any more different to yesterday's rain, wind and fog. The sun is high, the temperatures are favourable and - most importantly - the live TV coverage is working again after the Andorran debacle.
55km - Astana and Lampre have moved on to the front of the peloton as they look to keep tabs on this breakaway. The lead hovers around the five-minute mark.
64km - The lead is continuing to grow: 5'15" is the latest.
66km - At the first intermediate sprint of the day Kern took the points ahead of Joly and Garate. The lead is 4'40".
68km - The lead grew to over four minutes on the descent.
80km - Massimiliano Mori of Lampre leads the peloton over the summit 2'52" in arrears. After the short, punchy descent, the road edges uphill steadily until the final two big climbs of the day.
82km - The leaders cross the summit of the second category Enviny climb: 1. Garate, 2. Eskov, 3. Kern, 4. Moncoutie, 5. Joly.
84km - STAT ATTACK: Average speed for the second hour of racing: 33.5 km/h. The leaders now have 2'53" over the peloton, which is being spearheaded by the Lampre team of gold jersey Alessandro Ballan.
89km - The climb has started. The five leaders hold a 2'32" lead. They are: Christophe Kern (Crédit Agricole), David Moncoutié (Cofidis), Sébastien Joly (Française des Jeux), Juan Manuel Garate (Quick Step) and Nikita Eskov (Tinkoff).
91km - There won't be too much concern from Lampre and Ballan about the breakaway because the most threatening rider of the five is Garate, who is 9:01 down in 25th position in the GC.
92km - The leaders are down in the valley approaching the second-category Alto de Enveny. They hold a 2'48" lead over the chasing pack, which is being bossed by Lampre.
102km - Confirmtion of the placings over the first-category Coll du Canto: 1. Garate, 2. Eskov, 3. Kern, 4. Joly, 5. Moncoutie, 6. De Maar, 7. Niermann, 8. Bindi, 9. Carrasco.
105km - The leaders are well onto the descent of the Canto. They hold a lead of 2'23" over the peloton.
114km - After a series of attacks and counter attacks since the start of this first climb of the day, we finally have a breakaway group that might last. Five riders are approaching the summit with a 1'20" lead over the peloton. They are: Christophe Kern, Nikita Eskov, Sebastien Joly, Juan Manuel Garate and David Moncoutie.
118km - The peloton is back together again but not after a modicum of drama: a dozen or so riders set off in pursuit of the leading trio, including former race leader Sylvain Chavenel of Cofidis. This sent alarm bells ringing in the Astana camp and so the Luxembourg-based, Kazakh-sponsered team acted accordingly.
121km - The first hour of racing saw an average speed of 30.4 km/h. There are now three riders ahead: Hubert Dupont, Andriy Grivko and Vasili Kirienka.
127km - Christophe Kern of Credit Agricole has jumped clear and holds an 18 second lead over the chasing peloton. Evgeny Petrov of Tinkoff rides in between.
129km - This has been a pretty crazy start to this opening climb... but the pack is now back together again.
130km - Julien Loubert and David Moncoutie give it a go next... Then a bunch of riders react: Cunego, David Arroyo, Sergio Paulinho, Alberto Losada, Evgeny Petrov, Egoi Martinez, Matthew Lloyd, Alexandr Kolobnev, Alberto Ardila...
133km - A cluster of other riders, including Patrice Halgand of Credit Agricole, try to latch on with the escapees, but it is all brought back together after some sterling work by Lampre's Damiano Cunego.
134km - FIRST ATTACK OF THE DAY: Tinkoff'S Walter Pedraza and Xacobeo-Galicia rider Eduard Vorganov try their luck early on.
135km - The Lampre team of Ballan are in control of matters as the peloton edges its way to the start of the first climb of the day, the first-category Coll del Cantó.
139km - No attacks as yet after the first 12km of racing.
145km - The riders will be pleased to see that the weather has cleared up overnight. No rain is forecast today and the sun is breaking through the clouds. Temperatures in the valley are in the early 20s while atop the cols they are in the early to mid teens. There is quite a headwind, mind.
150km - Stage eight is underway! No retirements to report overnight so we have a peloton of 163 rolling out of Salardu...
151km - The weather was clearly a factor yesterday with temperatures as low as 7 degrees centigrade at altitude in the Pyrenees - that is more than 20 degrees lower than the sweltering temperatures the riders experienced in week one of the race. One rider hit by the cold was stage two winner Alejandro Valverde, who lost 55 seconds to rival Alberto Contador. "It was a very cold day today and I had no strength left and by the end I was empty after putting on rain jackets all day and not taking on enough liquids."
151km - Yesterday witnessed the unexpected win of Alessandro Ballan, the Italian rising through the fog, rain and wind to record his first win of the season - and take the gold jersey in Andorra. He said: "I still can't believe it. I was lucky enough to be in the day's break, and furthermore the main group allowed us to build up a considerable lead, but I was sure that we would be caught in the end. The last climb was very difficult and I felt good, but it wasn't until the last three kilometres that I started to think that I could win."
151km - Today's relatively short 151km stage features four climbs including the final two first-category ascents of Puerto de la Bonaigua and Pla de Beret, almost thirty kilometres of constant climbing broken only by the fast descent of the Bonaigua. After yesterday's somewhat damp-squib of a stage, expect some drama from the race favourites today...
12:30 - Welcome to Eurosport's LIVE coverage of Stage Eight of the Vuelta a Espana! The riders are already ont their way through Andorra on their 151km journey to Salardu.