A few notes on the various classifications:
- Pogačar stretched his GC lead by four seconds with his third-placed finish
- Van Aert (203 points) has stretched his lead in the points classification to 63, with Fabio Jakobsen (140 points) in second
- Magnus Cort retains the polka dot jersey by a single point
Jeremy Whittle has filed his report from Lausanne:
Updated general classification
1 Tadej Pogačar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) 28:56:16
2 Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Jumbo-Visma) +39secs
3 Geraint Thomas (GBR/Ineos Grenadiers) +1mins 14secs
4 Adam Yates (GBR/Ineos Grenadiers) +1mins 22secs
5 David Gaudu (Fre/Groupama-FDJ) +1mins 35secs
6 Romain Bardet (Fre/DSM) +1mins 36secs
7 Tom Pidcock (GBR/Ineos Grenadiers) +1mins 39secs
8 Neilson Powless (USA/EF Education–EasyPost) +1mins 41secs
9 Enric Mas (Spa/Movistar) +1mins 47secs
10 Daniel Martínez (Col/Ineos Grenadiers) +1mins 59secs
Stage eight result
1. Wout van Aert (Bel/Jumbo-Visma) 4hrs 13mins 6secs
2. Michael Matthews (Aus/BikeExchange–Jayco) Same time
3. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) Same time
4. Andreas Kron (Den/Lotto-Soudal) Same time
5. Alberto Bettiol (Ita/EF Education–EasyPost) Same time
Wout van Aert wins stage eight!
It was inevitable wasn’t it? The Belgian bided his time as Matthews and Pogačar both took their shot before Van Aert upped the pace in the final straight to win comfortably in the end.
1km to go: The race has been whittled down a small elite group. All of the GC challengers are there, as is Van Aert.
2km to go: No moves as yet.
4km to go: Pogačar is right up at the front, in the background is Van Aert hovering with menace. We are heading for the steepest part of the climb.
5km to go: Will we get some fireworks? it has been a fairly routine day but now the race could explode into action.
8km to go: The last short climb is due in 3km. All the key players are in place. At the front, Wright is now on his own as Cattaneo cannot keep up the pace.
10km to go: The gap is 40secs to the breakaway. Van Aert already has Michael Matthews on his back wheel. Squeaky saddle time.
15km to go: EF Education-EasyPost and Ineos are now taking it up at the front of the peloton, Luke Rowe, as per usual, is marshalling things for the British team. Jumbo-Visma have lined up on the other side of the road.
20km to go: The peloton is travelling around 4km faster than the two riders off the front and the gap is now barely over a minute. Unlikely now that the breakaway will stay away to the finish, so we could be in for an exciting finish in Lausanne.
24km to go: The two up front are still working well together, sharing the load but the lead is down below 1min 20secs. Jumbo-Visma are spending riders at the front, as are UAE Team Emirates.
30km to go: The steepest part of the descent has been successfully navigated. The challenge now for the teams interested in getting a stage win is reel back in Cattaneo and Wright in the drag to Lausanne. The peloton is flying right now, with the average pace up above 60km on the flat with a tailwind assisting.
41km to go: There are now three distinct groups out on the road as the riders spread out on the descent. The breakaway lead is slowly coming down, it is now down to 1min 44secs.
48km to go: Thibaut Pinot is on the deck, the perennial ‘great French hope’ looks OK but then he gets a wallop in the face from a Trek-Segafredo feed bag and is off the bike again. There will be some grovelling from the Trek team when the buses are all parked up at the end of the stage.
50km to go: It’s only a 2.4km climb but with the peloton now heading upwards it will be interesting to see how the chasers play this. The breakaway is unlikely to be caught on the descent so it will have a be a real charge from the peloton in the run to Lausanne to catch Cattaneo and Wright.
55km to go: Frison about to absorbed by the peloton as we get to the foot of the climb.
62km to go: The peloton is now in Switzerland and the lead for the breakaway is back around two minutes. Frison is struggling to keep pace with the other two riders at the ‘tête de la course’ and is being left behind on this drag to the category three Côte de Pétra Félix.
A question of perception from Rich via email:
I’m just a casual TDF fan and I see all the chatter about Pogačar having to go it alone. Why hasn’t UAE assembled a better team to help him?
The simple answer is that this UAE Team Emirates outfit is significantly stronger than the one around Pogačar when he first won in 2020. That said, there just are not that many elite three-week riders so if Ineos and Jumbo-Visma are signing them up then UAE is fishing in a smaller pool.
79km to go: Breakaway lead down to 1min 20secs now as the riders pass along a relatively flat part of the stage route. One more categorised climb to come before the descent into Lausanne. It is a matter of when not if the three riders off the front will be caught.
85km to go: Cattaneo takes two polka dot points at the top of the climb, Frison gets one.
89km to go: Something has given the three riders in the breakaway a kick as the lead is back above two minutes. The race is climbing again, this time up the category three Côte des Rousses.
Great question from Paulo via email:
Just noticed UAE team all have the same sunglasses except the race leader who has yellow ones. Is this normal? Do the yellow jersey wearers have to have matching shades?
It is my understanding that teams can customise their race gear as they see fit for the various jerseys. For example, the handlebar tape will often be changed for a rider’s day in yellow. I do not know for sure, but I am guessing this applies to sunglasses too.
100km to go: The breakaway lead is tumbling. It is now around 1min 44secs. That is almost close enough for someone to jump across. Will anyone make a move? It would be interesting to see to what extend UAE Team Emirates could respond.
Another email, this time from James in Amsterdam:
It’s a little strange that Ineos fans are bored at the prospect of Pogačar having a ‘procession’ to Paris.
I mean, at least Pogačar kind of does it all himself, rather than having a ridiculously strong team strangle the life out of the race.
Pogačar will be isolated in the mountains and others will attack him. He will be outnumbered by Ineos and Jumbo Visma. Pogačar will have to ration his incredible power and react to the right moves.
Even if he chases them down then leaves them behind it will still be far more exciting than the ‘Sky train’.
It is a fair point, my personal issue (as someone who is neutral when it comes to Ineos) is not so much with Pogačar winning but potentially a lack of jeopardy.
104km to go: Amid all that discussion, Lotto Soudal’s Frederik Frison has taken the first king of the mountain point of the day.
Should Ineos be doing more? Gary Naylor thinks so...
I'm getting fed up with Ineos @Tbassam. It's easy to claim nothing will work against Pog if you never try anything.
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) July 9, 2022
For a team with that talent and that budget to be following the wheels every day is very disappointing. Pulling Ganna back yesterday was the nadir.
Is it not a little early to be fed up with Ineos’ tactics? We have had one mountain stage, so there is plenty of time for them and Jumbo-Visma to isolate Pogačar.
Some interesting comments from Tom Pidcock on the finish today. With the way this stage is shaping up the Olympic cyclocross champion would be a decent bet for the win today.
"It's a finish I'd like to get stuck into".
— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 9, 2022
Tom Pidcock spoke to Daniel about La Super Planche des Belles Filles yesterday, and what he thinks about stage 8. #TDF2022 #ITVCycling pic.twitter.com/N5drvIQEl8
114km to go: Just a quick note on the breakaway, the lead is 2mins and 30secs. Very manageable for the peloton, with UAE Team Emirates seemingly happy to hold them out there.
Another email, this one from Martin in Texas, on Pogačar’s dominance:
Lots of talk about Pogačar and the race being over. I am enjoying him being a generational talent that is still pushing to win stages when simply protecting the lead may be more prudent. This at a time when there are lots of other outstanding GC racers in the race. Every day the Tour de France has a fun story to watch and play out.
Martin, are you saying you do not mind an unassailable leading rider as long as he continues to entertain? I guess that was always the draw with Tiger Woods.
119km to go: Van Aert’s effort to secure fifth in the intermediate sprint means he is guaranteed to finish the stage in the green jersey regardless of what happens on the finish line. Here are the updated points standings:
1. Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), 214
2. Fabio Jakobsen (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl), 149
3. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates), 108
4. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), 102
5. Christophe Laporte (Jumbo-Visma), 97
Updated
126km to go: Another rider is out of the race...
❌Gianni Moscon has quit the Tour de France.
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 9, 2022
❌Gianni Moscon quitte la route du Tour de France.#TDF2022
Updated
139km to go: Fred Wright has won the intermediate sprint, with Frison is second, Cattaneo third. There is a three-minute wait for the main bunch to juke it out for the lower places. Jacob Philipsen eventually takes fourth, Van Aert fifth, Christophe Laporte sixth and Fabio Jakobsen seventh in the belated sprint for the line.
Alun Griffiths has been in touch via email:
The Ineos team manager is right, Pogačar is the best rider, but the best team has four riders in the first ten in the GC and the TdF is a team race over three weeks. Even L’Équipe dedicated a half page to Ineos today.
Next week, from Tuesday a heatwave is forecast here in France with temperatures in the high 30s even low 40s for ten days until the final stage before Paris. Who will be the strongest to get through that? A lone rider, or a well placed team?
Covid is still floating about...
Anything can still happen, but I’m Welsh biased and will probably go and wave our beautiful flag at the Briançon stage on the 14th July.
I am hopeful you are right, Alun. The racing is a lot more fun when there is a genuine competition. Pogačar has masked the deficiencies in his team up to this point but Ineos have not been so well placed at the Tour in a while. If Ellingworth plays his cards right you would like to think Geraint Thomas and co. can at the very least stop this becoming a procession into Paris for the Slovenian.
Updated
150km to go: The breakaway has stretched its lead to 3mins 21secs. The riders are heading uphill but not on any terrain they will find particularly difficult. Things will flatten out around the 140km to go mark for an intermediate sprint. Unless something absolutely wild happens the three up front will take the big points on offer.
How do you even go about planning something like this? Any turf experts able to explain?
Some fabulous #TourFieldArt on display today - although you get the impression that the locals are really milking their Louis Pasteur connection... 7.5/10 #TDF2022 pic.twitter.com/CiY6GeH1Dt
— Felix Lowe (@saddleblaze) July 9, 2022
158km to go: Kevin Vermaerke was one of the first riders to go down in the early crash and unfortunately the DSM rider has had to pull out of the Tour as a result.
Up front, the three breakaway riders have been allowed to pull out a 2mins 55secs advantage.
Updated
I still find this kind of thing mind blowing. So much trust between the rider, the mechanic and whoever is driving the car.
👟 Casually changing your shoe while riding your bike. A piece of cake for 🇫🇷 @romainbardet!
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 9, 2022
👟 Changer de chaussure tout en roulant, du gâteau pour 🇫🇷 @romainbardet !#TDF2022 pic.twitter.com/tCJeXVSIqF
Do get in touch today with your thoughts on the stage and the race in general. The details are at the top of the page.
167km to go: A few teams are still working their way back to the main peloton but things are calming down at the front of the main group. Three riders are up still the road, but you have to think that more riders will want to join them.
174km to go: Mattia Cattaneo, Fred Wright and Frederik Frison look to have got away off the front but behind there is a crash in the peloton which brings down a large group of riders. Pogačar’s UAE Team Emirates were one of those caught behind the prang had to work their way to the peloton.
Updated
178km to go: A quick note on the start list, Geoffrey Bouchard and Vegard Stake Laengen became the first Tour de France riders to pull out of the race with Covid-19, their teams said on Saturday. Shortly after Bouchard’s withdrawal, UAE Team Emirates said Norwegian Laengen, a teammate of overall leader Pogačar, had tested positive.
AG2R-Citroen said that the rest of their squad, from whom Bouchard had been isolated, have all tested negative.
We are off!
There is no immediate burst out of the pack as Christian Prudhomme waves the flag to get the racing started but as the riders get out of town and away from the street furniture then peloton starts to splinter. The current king of the jersey wearer, Simon Geschke, is one of the first to go off the front but no one has made a break stick yet.
The départ réel is now less than 3km away. The riders are just making their way out of Dôle and waiting for the flag to drop.
Some interesting and slightly self-defeating comments from Ineos Grenadiers team manager Rod Ellingworth after yesterday’s stage with regards to Pogačar’s dominance:
“If you went man to man and it was all purely physical, then no [Pogačar cannot be beaten]. The guy is physically better than anybody else, but the Tour is the Tour and you just don’t know what’s around the corner. Obviously Pogačar is where he was last year, which isn’t a surprise really.”
You can read Jeremy Whittle’s full report from stage seven here:
Preamble
After yesterday’s stage saw Tadej Pogačar take the stage win in the first mountain test of this year’s Tour de France - the Slovenian’s second win a row - the writing looks on the wall for the rest of the competition. However, Jonas Vingegaard’s efforts on La Planche des Belles Filles should not be ignored and Ineos Grenadiers have a number of well-placed riders in the top ten.
Today’s punchy stage is unlikely to produce a slug-fest among the general classification contenders but the short 12% climb likely rules out a true sprint finish. There are some lumps along the route into Lausanne and a lot of the stage is ridden uphill but nothing that should inconvenience the leading pack. The descent into Lausanne will require concentration, but perhaps Tom Pidcock could eye an opportunity to steal a few seconds on a stage route that suits his strengths but more likely is that we see a rider such as Wout van Aert take the win.
