Race report
That is it from me for today’s live coverage of Tour de France stage eight. Jeremy Whittle’s report from Saint Etienne will soon follow, as well as plenty of other cycling coverage before tomorrow’s Bastille Day stage. Tom Davies will be the one to guide you through stage nine from around 11am tomorrow.
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Thomas speaks!
“I’m fine but obviously [crashing] was frustrating, it was a key moment in the race. Woodsy crashed, that took out Gianni and me. I just got tangled up in Gianni’s bike a bit, took a bit of time get going. Wout did a great job and closed the gap for the final bit and slowly moved up the group. When I got to the top 20-15 that’s then when they sprinted over the top for the seconds. I was gassed kind of a bit.
“It’s annoying and frustrating but to get back like I did shows the legs are there. You just don’t want to ever give any unnecessary time away.”
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You what?
'I was trying to catch my bike because a policeman took it away!'
— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 13, 2019
Team INEOS rider Michal Kwiatkowski details the crash which involved @GeraintThomas86 #TDF2019 pic.twitter.com/Fy0agp7TZN
De Gendt speaks!
“With 70km to go we started to ride a bit faster, King and Terpstra dropped, so it was just Di Marchi and I. We kept riding pretty full till to the last climb. The bunch was coming closer so I had to go solo and try to stay ahead of them and it was just by five or ten seconds.
“I had a really good feeling all day but we only got five minutes, then it went down really fast to three and a half. We didn’t go easy or push that hard on the climb where the feed zone was. After that we went full because those that were pulling before started to drop, so that was a moment to try and get a bigger gap again.
“When we got four minutes I started to believe again. We almost crashed in a few corners, but from 70km to go I started to believe in victory. Still, it hurts, it hurts so much.”
And here are the latest GC standings with Alaphilippe in yellow:
🇫🇷#TDF2019
— Team Jumbo-Visma cycling (@JumboVismaRoad) July 13, 2019
After stage 8 @georgenbennett retains his 4th place overall while @s_kruijswijk moves up to seventh. pic.twitter.com/SMghHuCuBA
Here are the provisional final standings. Good effort from Thomas to get back after that crash but this was really all about De Gendt and Alaphilippe.
Here's the result from @LeTour stage 8
— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 13, 2019
Watch LIVE
📺 @ITV4
📱 https://t.co/faoCDwH2QE #TDF2019 pic.twitter.com/kpfKDWR4dW
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Alaphilippe takes the yellow jersey back ahead of Bastille Day! The rest of the contenders all cross together as we await confirmation of the final time checks.
1. De Gendt
2. Pinot +6sec
3. Alaphilippe ST
4. Matthews +26sec
5. Sagan ST
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De Gendt wins stage eight!
What a break! De Gendt puts his hands on his head, unable to believe the result as he crosses the line. Pinot takes second, Alaphilippe third.
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1km to go. De Gendt is away you think, glory for him. Now the focus goes back to the distance between the Alaphilippe-Pinot group and the contenders behind.
2km to go. Alaphilippe is pushing hard, De Gendt is just ahead by some 16sec. Can he hold on?
3.5km to go. If De Gendt can make it up this 900m ramp he could hang on for victory. Alaphilippe might get yellow but he and Pinot are not making on any more ground on the peloton.
5km to go. The peloton are panicking, all the pursuers are on the radio. Maybe just peddle, lads? De Gendt is holding out ahead, around 20sec ahead of Alaphilippe and Pinot, with the latter struggling.
9km to go. Pinot and Alaphilippe are working together and have around 15sec on the chasers and are 10 sec behind De Gendt.
12km to go and Alaphilippe goes!
Pinot is with him and the chase is on behind. He is the drama we were promised. De Gendt got the eight second bonus but Alaphilippe picked up six, the Frenchman is gunning for yellow.
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13km to go. At the front De Gendt has gone it alone, with De Marchi unable to hold the wheel. The Belgian has less than a minute on the main group now but once he is over the top of Jaillière he will fancy his chances. Thomas looks to be getting back on, with Wout Poels pacing him up.
15km to go. Thomas takes a tumble as one of the Team Ineos riders slips on a turn. He is quickly back in the saddle, but Gianni Moscon’s bike has snapped in half! Ineos are pacing Thomas back but lost 20-odd seconds to the peloton.
20km to go
The gap for the break is now less than 1min 30sec and shrinking. EF Education first are burying themselves at the front of the peloton, perhaps trying to set up Alberto Bettiol. All results remain possible with the key men all still placed apart from Wout van Aert, a pre-stage tip, who has been dropped.
25km to go. Alaphilippe is clearly feeling good. With that mechanical sorted he is even going back to the team car to get bottles for himself and teammate Enric Mas.
31km to go. It is mostly a downhill run now as the riders head towards the Côte de la Jaillière and that climb for the eight bonus seconds. You feel the break, just a couple of minutes ahead, will be reeled in before then.
38km to go. Brian Smith on Eurosport thinks that the De Gendt and De Marchi’s chances of success are dwindling. Astana are pulling hard on the front of the peloton and the gap is down to 2min 30sec so he could well be right.
45km to go. De Gendt and De Marchi still have 3min so sec on the peloton but King and Terpstra are back in the main bunch.
Here are the polka dot point results from the Côte d’Aveize:
1. De Gendt, 5pts
2. De Marchi, 3pts
3. King, 2pts
4. Omar Fraile, 1pt
Updated
50km to go. Lots of excitement on Eurosport as they focus on Sagan struggling to stay on the back of the peloton, baffling. With less than kilometre to the summit Sagan will easily be able to make up any gaps on the descent.
As the kilometres tick down are the break’s chances of victory increasing?
There are only 2 at the front against the peloton, but they still hold a 3'58" lead with 55km to go. The #NTTpredictor gives De Gendt and De Marchi a fair chance of making it to Saint-Étienne ahead of the bunch.#TDF2019 #TDFdata pic.twitter.com/Ks5XZMuV3v
— letourdata (@letourdata) July 13, 2019
55km to go. The peloton, which is around 3min 55sec down on the two leaders, has seen Bahrain–Merida’s Dylan Teuns go off the back on the climb, according to race radio. The Belgian is currently third on GC. Astana climber Luis León Sánchez has also apparently fallen back.
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60km to go. With De Gendt and De Marchi at 45sec ahead of Terpstra and King, with the peloton at 3min 50sec, the Italian is lucky to escape a serious crash as he misses a turn on the descent. De Marchi gets back to De Gendt as they approach the penultimate categorised climb of the day.
67km to go. We have a split in the breakaway, De Gendt and De Marchi have left their fellow leaders behind on the climb and opened up a 20 second gap to Terpstra and King. They are all over the Côte de la Croix de Part now though.
The King of the Mountain points going thus:
1. De Gendt, 5pts
2. De Marchi, 3pts
3. Terpstra, 2pts
4. King, 1pt
it has also been confirmed that Cofidis’ Christophe Laporte has abandoned.
⛰ @DeGendtThomas goes for it and finishes on top at the Côte de la Croix de Part.
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 13, 2019
⛰
Thomas De Gendt enchaîne et passe en tête de la Côte de la Croix de Part.#TDF2019 pic.twitter.com/z24qe9ewWh
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69km to go. A little issue for Alaphilippe at the start of the climb, the Frenchman was looking down at this chain and apparently has a mechanical issue. He could well need a bike change but there is enough time for him to get back, the only question will be what that takes out of him. Meanwhile the break has been working hard and gone back out to almost four minutes ahead.
71km to go. We are climbing again, this could well be where the break is ultimately undone. The gap is back down to around three minutes.
Bad news for the break?
Even through the hills, the peloton maintains a tight leash on the early attackers.
— letourdata (@letourdata) July 13, 2019
The gap with 79km to go: 3'17"#TDF2019 #TDFdata pic.twitter.com/03PEhzlHfy
84km to go. Perhaps at the behest of De Gendt, the break has pulled out the time gap back to 3min 20sec with the race in a bit of a lull before the next climb sees the riders go up the Côte de la Croix de Part.
Updated
De Gendt still doing his job for the team. Over the Côte d’Affoux he took a couple more King of the Mountain points, King took the other one on offer.
101km to go. Up and over the Cote d’Affoux, the breakaway’s gap is now just three minutes. There has been some cracks beginning to emerge amongst the foursome up the road, De Gendt and De Marchi sharing some terse words with suggestions that the Belgian was unhappy with effort being put in by the CCC rider. The Lotto-Soudal man could well disappear off up the road if he feels the riders around him holding back his chances of victory.
David Hindle emails in...
The thought is beginning to propagate that perhaps Alaphilippe isn’t completely without hope for the GC. Pyrenees will certainly be interesting on this front. Thomas will overhaul him, you’d imagine. But he may not be completely without hope of the podium. But in general, it’s funny how Alaphilippe is treated in this regard. He can really climb with the best of them.
I would certainly agree with that, David. With Alaphilippe the question is not so much his climbing but how he maintains a challenge over the course of a three-week race. If he is looking good in the Pyrenees then it will be interesting to see what kind of resources Deceuninck–Quick-Step give him to compete.
A hairy moment for Geraint Thomas. Looks like I missed this during lunch, but the Team Ineos co-leader appeared to suffer a mechanical. According to race radio Thomas is now back in the pack.
.@GeraintThomas86 is back on the road after a puncture.
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 13, 2019
Crevaison pour Geraint Thomas, qui rentre dans le peloton.#TDF2019 pic.twitter.com/U8DEzIgk3y
Updated
115km to go. I am back from a quick dash to [insert well-known sandwich chain]. The break is now just 3min 20 sec, but they are are over the Col de la Croix de Paquet.
Here are the polka dot points from there:
1. De Gendt, 5pts
2. King, 3pts
3. De Marchi, 2pts
4. Niki Terpstra, 1pts
Catching up, De Gendt also took the mountain points at the Col de la Croix de Thel, here are those results:
1. De Gendt, 5pts
2. King, 3pts
3. De Marchi, 2pts
4. Terpstra, 1pt
At this point I am going to run out for a quick spot of lunch. But never fear, any major updates will still be covered.
Updated
127km to go. The breakaway’s advantage continues to shrink as they head up Col de La Criox de Thel. It is now down to around four minutes, this could could well keep falling but the quality of the riders in that lead group suggests they will fight to stay away. De Gendt, who has history riding into Saint Etienne from his 2017 Dauphiné win there, in particular will be dangerous.
Updated
Bora-Hansgrohe have taken up the front of the peloton and are pushing hard. After getting out to beyond five minutes the break is now starting to be reeled back in, it is now down to 4min 40sec.
The break has passed the over the summit of Col de la Croix Montmain with De Gendt soaking up the King of the Mountain points to help his Lotto Soudal teammate Tim Wellens stay in the polka dot jersey.
Here is how that mini-battle panned out:
1. De Gendt, 5 pts
2. King, 3 pts
3. De Marchi, 2 pts
4. Terpstra, 1 pts
Thibaut Pinot and the rest of the Frenchmen in the peloton will certainly be keen to make their mark this weekend but I am not sure today is one for the GC contenders. Alaphilippe on the other hand...
@Tbassam Afternoon, Tom! FDJ have been off to a flyer this last week, using guile, cunning, and skill to set Pinot up for a thrilling second week. Looking forward to some heroics today as he climbs the mountains and the GC!
— MaliciousA (@MaliciousA) July 13, 2019
The break is making its way up the Col de la Croix Montmain, stage eight’s first and seemingly most straightforward climb. The time gap back to the peloton continues to hover around the five minute mark.
The points classification now reads:
1. Peter Sagan, 187 pts
2. Sonny Colbrelli, 129 pts
3. Elia Viviani, 128 pts
4. Michael Matthews, 125 pts
5. Caleb Ewan, 76 pts
And here is how that sprint shook out:
🚴♂️💨
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 13, 2019
👉 @eliaviviani wins the intermediate sprint of Stage 8!
👉 @eliaviviani remporte le sprint intermédiaire de l'Étape 8 ! #TDF2019 pic.twitter.com/nGRKo0DcdL
Updated
Elia Viviani, Peter Sagan and Michael Matthews make up the demi-podium as the peloton goes through the sprint marker at Cercie. Bahrain-Merida’s Sonny Colbrelli came in fourth.
Here is how that shakes out in terms of points:
5. Viviani, 11 pts
6. Sagan, 10 pts
7. Matthews, 9 pts
8. Colbrelli, 8 pts
Terpstra takes the 20 points on offer in the points race in uncontested fashion. We should see more competition when the main group comes through in about five minutes.
As the breakaway group nears a five-minute lead on the peloton, Jonathan Harris-Bass is talking about beaujolais wine on Eurosport. The leaders are about a kilometre out from the intermediate sprint, the day’s first point of action.
De Marchi has now joined De Gendt, Terpstra and King at the front. The four-man break has around 3min 55sec on the peloton.
Updated
How fast do you need to ride to get in the break? Well today it was around 47km/h:
The three early attackers work well together to quickly open a gap over 3 minutes. De Marchi (CCC) is chasing 400m behind them after 19km.#TDF2019 #TDFdata pic.twitter.com/iWW15xfUA9
— letourdata (@letourdata) July 13, 2019
First break established
I think it is safe to say that with the gap growing to more than two minutes that this trio will be allowed to stay away, at least for the time being. De Marchi is still in pursuit, around 35 second back, and as the break continues to gain time De Gendt, Terpstra and King could let the Italian join, but it is not happening quickly though.
CCC’s Alessandro De Marchi is now after the trio up the road after Würtz failed to bridge. Early stages but the time gap continues to grow.
Updated
We have a trio of breakaway riders. Thomas de Gendt (Lotto Soudal), Niki Terpstra (Total Direct Énergie) and Ben King (Dimension Data) have gone off front, with Katusha’s Mads Würtz in pursuit. They have about 30 seconds on the peloton at the moment with CCC on the front weighing up whether to try and put the effort in to bring them back.
Updated
In case you did not know, it is Bastille Day tomorrow:
✈️ 🇫🇷 🇫🇷 🇫🇷 ✈️
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 13, 2019
You never get enough of it... 😍
On ne s'en lasse pas... 😍#TDF2019 pic.twitter.com/rbQIVKovuP
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A quick update, Tejay van Garderen is out of the Tour. The EF Education First rider was not considered a GC contender but his absence will not help Rigoberto Urán in the Colombian’s bid for yellow. The American broke his hand in an early crash on Friday and has been forced to abandon.
Updated
And we’re off... kind of. The flag drops to signal the end of the neutral zone at around 7km, there is an early sprint so we could well have action from the gun.
Updated
The countdown is on at the start line. The jerseys are all placed at the front, riders are twitchily checking their tyres and streets are packed. Time for the rollout.
Preamble
Stage eight, Saturday 13 July, Mâcon – Saint Étienne, 200km
“I don’t think [Saturday] will affect the GC, but it will certainly be a tough day,” said Geraint Thomas after stage seven. After Friday’s bore de France, ASO had to offer up something to re-energise the viewing public and it looks like they have delivered.
The Tour’s first saunter into La Massif Central features four category two climbs - difficult but not a real challenge for the general classification contenders - amongst plenty of lesser bumps. It will be hot and the roads are going to be rough, literally. The region is renowned amongst riders for the poor quality of the road surfacing, which might sound slightly diva-ish but over the course of 200km it strains the legs. Add into that some narrow tracks and tricky ascents for what should offer a test for the entire peloton.
There is a interesting wrinkle in the day’s final climb up Côte de la Jaillière. It is only a short 2km burst but with gradients at 7.6% and occasionally far steeper and at 10km from the finish there is a designated eight point-bonus mark. Introduced to create some interest for the yellow jersey, if a rider close can take the eight seconds at the summit and then hold on for the stage victory they will earn an 18-second bonus in the GC standings. You imagine that Julian Alaphilippe, heavily tipped as today’s victor, fancies that incentive as he plots a route back into the yellow jersey that he and his Deceuninck-QuickStep team needlessly let slip on Thursday.
Other theories are that this could be a day for a breakaway but how often in recent Tour de France history has that been allowed to happen? Perhaps a big break with no GC contenders? It is a stage that suits a man of Alejandro Valverde’s talents but will Movistar let one of their triumvirate freelance for a stage win? At 2:55 down he could be let go but his team could well decide that he is better served to save his legs as a super domestique.
There are plenty of questions, but hopefully none of them will be “can you wake me up for the sprint?”
Catching up? Here’s Jeremy Whittle’s report from stage seven...
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