169
16:15
Feld follows Asgreen
As a good time trialist, Kasper Asgreen can have a say in winning the stage. Of course, the main field also knows that and doesn’t want to let him go. His lead remains steady at 15 to 20 seconds.
165
16:12
Kasper Asgreen attacks!
Asgreen jerked forward from the peloton. The field lets him drive away on his own.
162
16:06
Lead under two minutes
The peloton continues to drive a little faster and is getting closer and closer to the trio in front. The lead has now dropped to less than two minutes.
156
15:56
Cavendish is the fifth failure
With the tragic retirement of the sprinter, the fifth driver was eliminated this year. As bitter as that is for the individual drivers, this is an average value compared to the last few years. Fortunately, there have been no major mass falls so far.
152.
3:50 p.m
Sprinter teams set the pace
In the meantime, the sprinter teams have once again taken the lead in the peloton. Due to their speed, the gap to the leading trio is slowly melting towards the two-minute mark.
146
15:46
Cavendish must cancel!
That was it! Cavendish has now officially resigned. The pain in my shoulder is too bad. The legend has to end his last Tour de France prematurely and is left with a total of 34 stage wins. So he has to end his record hunt for the 35 in the most bitter way.
142.
15:43
Is that bitter for Cavendish!
This is so bitter! Yesterday he just missed out on second place, today it will be really painful for the Tour legend. So close to his record stage win, it looks like that wouldn’t happen today. His bike was carried away and Cavendish is in the ambulance car. He wears a bandage to stabilize his shoulder. It really doesn’t go any further!
140
15:32
Cavendish crashed badly!
Geez! That doesn’t look good at all! On his last Tour de France, Mark Cavendish crashed because there was a small change in pace in the field that carried through to the back. He stays in bed for a long time, holding his right collarbone. It’s a very bad sign that he stays seated for so long…
134
15:31
Main field over the mountain
The peloton has also climbed the mountain. There are no more points, but the gap to the three drivers in front of them has shrunk to just under three minutes.
132
15:25
Mountain rating for Turgis
The escapees have scaled the mountain. While the lead has now shrunk to three minutes, Turgis secures the two points for the mountains classification. Behind him, Declercq secures the one point. For both, however, this is not relevant in the overall rating.
128
15:22
first mountain classification
The leading group has meanwhile arrived in the first mountain classification of the 3-person category. It is probably not that difficult, but the viewers can look forward to a first stimulus after a long rest. Recently it was so flat that there was hardly any reason for excitement.
120
15:02
stable lead
At the front, the three drivers Delaplace, Turgis and Declercq continue to drive with a lead of four minutes. The field maintains this distance steadily.
110
14:49
Jasper Philipsen already with three stage wins
After his sprint success yesterday, Jasper Philipsen has already celebrated three stage wins. Marcel Kittel was able to win the most successful stages within a tour in the last ten years in 2017 with five victories. That should of course be a motivation for the big favorite for the green jersey.
101
14:45
Half is gone!
The first 100 kilometers have been completed. So far it’s been the expected calm race, also because it’s been very flat so far. Despite the four-minute lead, the three escapees at the front shouldn’t have much of a chance of winning, but we can’t be sure until the end of the race.
95
14:35
Jumbo Visma caught in front!
With Jumbo-Visma closing the gap after the breakaway attempt, the field knows they want to attack for the stage win today. Accordingly, the team at the top of the peloton is simply used as a pacemaker. This is obviously not ideal for Wingegaard and van Aert’s team.
87
14:33
Results of the intermediate sprint in the peloton
Due to the fact that it was very close, the result of the peloton’s intermediate sprint was delayed a bit. In the end, however, Jasper Philipsen was a touch ahead of Jodi Meeus and Danny van Poppel from the Bora-Hans Grohe team.
85
14:24
Hustle and bustle in the main field
Directly after the intermediate sprint, a group of around 20 riders forms at the front of the peloton. They also go away about 20 seconds, but Jumbo-Visma immediately takes over the pace in the peloton to catch up. This speaks for their interest in winning the stage and also ensures that the group in front loses about half a minute.
80
14:19
intermediate sprint
Of course, the three drivers at the front will make up the big points of the intermediate sprint among themselves. Delaplace secures the highest score ahead of Turgis and Declercq. The sprinter teams should slowly position themselves five minutes behind, even though Philipsen is already 70 points behind at the top of the sprint ranking. But he has to bring the green jersey to Paris first, so he can’t be eliminated beforehand. Therefore, the peloton will probably still fight for the smaller points.
75
14:05
Spectators make for beautiful shots
Today, the people on the sidelines of the streets once again offer a fantastic environment. Whether it’s photographers in sunflower fields or gigantic bicycles made of hay bales: the fans manage to make the stages something special again!
65
14:00
Team car with a dent
The Jumbo-Visma team car has a dent in the trunk. There was probably a rear-end collision with the cars behind the field. It was probably not an easy impact, but the car can continue.
60
1:47 p.m
van Aert as favorite of the day?
In addition to Girmay, who has already been described, Wout van Aert from Jonas Vingegaard’s Jumbo Visma team is named as the favourite. van Aert is an excellent sprinter and will certainly be among the front runners today if his team gives him free rein. It’s time for that, because last year’s winner of the green jersey has not yet won a stage this year.
53
13:36
Little movement!
At the moment there is little movement apart from the feet on the pedals. With a light tailwind, everyone rides at a higher 50 km/h average without the distances changing much.
45
1:30 p.m
Girmay in focus
Yesterday Biniam Girmay was braked hard in the sprint, today he is the focus again. The steeper finish might be too much for some sprinters, but that might suit the lightweight Girmay. At the beginning of the day, his team boss stated that he wanted to win a stage of this tour with the Intermarché Circus Wanty team. Maybe it’s time for the Eritrean today. His teammates are currently setting the pace in the peloton.
40
13:23
Træen back in the field
The fallen Torstein Træen made it back to the peloton. The pace allowed him to do that, but that also means that the three breakaways in front are getting farther and farther away. Soon we’re four minutes ahead for Delaplace, Turgis and Declercq.
35
13:17
Outliers at a distance!
The pace at the front is high and the peloton is not interested in catching up. So the lead is currently growing very quickly! In just a few minutes, 15 seconds turned into two minutes.
30
13:15
Breakaway group in front!
At the front, three riders have formed a breakaway group. You drive about 20 seconds ahead of the main field, from which individual drivers try to catch up to the front again and again. The drivers in front are Turgis, Delaplace and Declercq.
24
13:05
Fall of Træen
Torstein Træen falls after a roundabout. He has a scraped back, but manages to get back on his bike after a short break. He is then treated while driving by a car, who tend to his left arm. Of course, that puts him far behind the peloton.
17
12:56
Zingle makes it back onto the field
For a moment it looks like Zingle is being dropped, but he manages to come back from behind.
10
12:46 p.m
No distance yet
The pacemakers at the front can’t escape yet. The peloton stays tuned, also because nobody wanted to join Boasson Hagen, who had advanced a few meters.
2.
12:45 p.m
Breakaway attempt at the start!
Immediately a smaller group picks up speed in front. In the first kilometers the distance is of course still small, but that promises excitement immediately!
1.
12:34
Sharp start!
Now the race is on. After five kilometers it is the second longest stage of this tour. Since it seems to be windy, the team radio that can be heard announces that the drivers should better start further up in the peloton. In addition, the start is slightly delayed due to a puncture, but after less than a kilometer in the race, the race starts.
12:32
The wheels are rolling!
The start has happened, the wheels are rolling. East of Bordeaux, the drivers started on the flat straight and are waiting for the sharp start, which will be signaled by the race director with a flag.
12:29
Trouble at the sprint yesterday
Before we start, let’s look back at yesterday: Because the winner Philipsen fought hard against Girmay in the finish sprint and almost pushed him into the fence, the decision went to a jury after the race. However, this decided against a penalty and so the rating remained unchanged.
12:22
Tremor story in Limoges
At the last arrival in Limoges in 2016, Marcel Kittel won the sprint by a narrow margin! At the end of the photo finish his lead was 28 millimeters. He had to shiver for a long time after arrival and, crouching on the ground, learned of his triumph. That promises excitement, even if the course is a bit different today and there could be more opportunities for breakaways.
12:17
mountain ratings
Even over the 200 kilometers before it is a bit hillier than the day before, even if, as already described, it shouldn’t be too demanding. After all, after 130 kilometers there is a climb in the 3-category and after 184 and 191 kilometers there are two short climbs in the 4-category. So all these climbs are at a rather later stage of the stage.
12:06
Finish with an incline
Today, like yesterday, the final of the stage will probably be decided with a sprint, but there could be a different constellation. The reason for this lies in the profile of the route, because the finish line is slightly uphill to Limoges.
11:56
Welcome to the 8th stage
Welcome to the live ticker of the 8th stage of this year’s Tour de France. This Saturday we’re going from Libourne to Limoges. It should again be a stage for sprinters, because there are no really big climbs on today’s route and the three mountain classifications. The route is 200.7 kilometers in total.