SAINT-GIRONS (AFP) - Spanish rider Luis Leon Sanchez won the eighth stage of the Tour de France here on Saturday while Rinaldo Nocentini of Italy retained the overall leader's yellow jersey. The Tour de France peloton will wave a thankful goodbye to the Pyrenees on Sunday after three days of a yellow jersey battle is only really beginning to warm up. At 160.5km the ninth stage is relatively short, but the lack of distance will be made up for with the ascent of two difficult climbs. The Col d'Aspin is rated category one and is 12.4km long at an average gradient of 6.4 percent. Almost immediately after the long descent into Saint-Marie de Campan, where Eugene Christophe famously had his broken forks repaired by the local blacksmith in 1913, the peloton will attack the Col du Tourmalet, which has featured a massive 75 times on the race in its 106-year history. Approached from La Mongie, the Tourmalet is the second 'unclassified' climb of this year's race following the climb to Arcalis on Friday and is 17.km long at a more punishing 7.4 percent. With 70.5km still to race to the finish in Tarbes, there will be plenty of opportunity for the stragglers on the Tourmalet to organise themselves and try to grapple back time. Whoever emerges with the yellow jersey on Sunday will not be resting on his laurels. After Monday's first rest day the real climbing resumes again on Friday in the Vosges, before heading for three days in the Alps and the final rendez-vous at Mont Ventoux on the penultimate stage.