Sanchez wins eighth stage of Tour de France

Spain's Sanchez wins eighth stage of Tour de France

Spain's Sanchez wins eighth stage of Tour de France

Spaniard Luis Leon Sanchez. who won the eighth stage of the Tour de France on Saturday. Pic/AFP

Little-known Italian Rinaldo Nocentini of the AG2R team retained the Tour de France yellow jersey after the eighth stage here on Saturday won by Spaniard Luis Leon Sanchez.

Paris-Nice champion Sanchez proved the wiliest from a four-man group which battled almost all the way to the finish line after crossing over the summit of the third and last climb, the Col d'Agnes, with a healthy lead.

Nocentini will go into the third and final day of racing in the Pyrenees on Sunday with a six-second lead on pre-race favourite Alberto Contador of Astana, the 2007 champion.

Seven-time champion Lance Armstrong, also of Astana, is third overall at 08sec.