NOS Wielrennen•zaterdag, 17:33
On a drizzly cycling day through France, with lots of wind and rain, Biniam Girmay won the eighth stage of the Tour de France in his green jersey. In an uphill sprint, something that suits the Eritrean rider, he just stayed ahead of the Belgian sprinters Jasper Philipsen and Arnaud De Lie.
It is the second stage win for Girmay in the Tour de France: he also won the third stage of this Tour. “When the light rises, I know it’s my day”, Girmay smiled followingwards. The Eritrean strengthened his lead in the points classification with this victory. Number two in that classification, Philipsen (who is now 88 points behind), finished second for the second time in this Tour.
In a fine fifth place, Marijn van den Berg was the best Dutchman. For the other Dutch sprinters Dylan Groenewegen (25th) and Fabio Jakobsen (146th) the uphill sprint in Colombey-les-Deux-Églises was too tough.
The 184 kilometres in stage eight were labelled ‘flat’ by the Tour organisation, but in reality it was not flat anywhere all day. Constantly up and down, twisting and turning. Even the finish, two revolutions from the place where Charles de Gaulle is buried, had a three or four percent incline.
Ideal for attackers who can also sprint, or for sprinters with the substance of an attacker. Then you say: Mads Pedersen. But the Dane decided this morning that quitting following his fall in the bunch sprint of the fifth stage was pointless. With the Games in mind, the top sprinter went home.
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Pedersen’s departure increased the chances for men like Girmay, Wout van Aert, Arnaud De Lie, Maxim van Gils and Michael Matthews. Alberto Bettiol certainly too. His EF team clearly had plans at the start of the second Tour weekend.
Failed EF plan?
Tested by summer rain and wind, Bettiol’s EF teammates Neilson Powless and Stefan Bisseger attacked from kilometer zero. Jonas Abrahamsen (UNO-X) joined them, the polka dot jersey wearer looking to grab mountain points on the five categorized stages ribs of the day. And then things got weird.
AFPAbrahamsen (l), Powless (m) and Bisseger (r) attack in the early stages of stage 8
From the peloton, Bettiol himself attacked and another EF rider, Ben Healy, jumped along. Stephen Williams and Van Gils, also two dangerous customers for this stage, quickly dove into their wheel. The peloton woke up, attack following attack followed and Bettiol and Healy never really got away from the peloton.
Powless and Bisseger realized that the EF plan had failed and called off the break, leaving Abrahamsen to continue on his own. The Norwegian powerhouse began a heroic solo of almost 140 kilometers, jerking and pulling on his bike. Yes, collecting mountain points, but secretly also dreaming of the stage win, because at one point the Norwegian had six minutes.
Pogacar keeps yellow
The peloton took it easy for a long time following a chaotic opening phase. But it never really calmed down: the GC riders did not want to lose time in this tricky stage and therefore it was often crowded at the front of the peloton. A hectic day in the saddle, which did not result in any changes in the top ten of the general classification. Tadej Pogacar retains the yellow jersey.
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The general classification following the eighth stage
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The results of the eighth stage of the Tour de France
The brave Abrahamsen kept cycling ahead of the hectic peloton for a long, long time. But the Norwegian might do nothing once morest the hungry sprint teams that were chasing him. The peloton swallowed him up with 15 kilometers to go. After that, the peloton raced at a punishing pace to the finish.
If you thought stage eight was hectic, stage nine will be a big stressful day. Tomorrow, the peloton will have to cross fourteen gravel sections in 199 kilometers. A stage in which a general classification is thrown away. And a stage that seems made for world champion Mathieu van der Poel.