Cycling: Nocentini keeps yellow after eighth stage

Little-known Italian Rinaldo Nocentini of the AG2R team retained the Tour de France yellow jersey after the eighth stage 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 dAgnes, 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.