Stage 8 brings the second mountainous challenge of the 2017 Tour de France. Join The Roar tonight to follow the live coverage from 9:30pm (AEST).
Three categorised climbs are on the menu in today’s 187.5km journey from Dole – Sation des Rousses culminating in a category one ascent cresting near the finish, a day that could see another GC showdown or maybe the first successful breakaway of the race.
The first 95km of today’s route is best described as lumpy tailor-made for a strong breakaway to form on the undulating terrain.
After 95km of hard racing the riders face the first categorised climb of the day a category 3 ascent measuring 6.1km at a gentle 4.7 per cent.
The lengthy descent of the Col de la Joux takes the riders to the foot of the category 2 Cote de Viry 7.6km in length and averaging a modest 5.2 per cent.
After completing the Cote de Viry the riders have an undulating descent to the final climb of the day the Montée de la Combe de Laisia les Molunes (11.7km, 6.7 per cent).
The gradient of the climb fluctuates throughout the ascent with its steeper sections reaching 12 per cent.
The combination of the climb summiting 12km from the finish and its moderate difficulty shouldn’t see much of a shakeup in the GC and doesn’t lend itself to attacks from the main contenders.
The riders face a 6km descent after the summit followed by a 3km incline to the finish.
Prediction
The route today should see the first breakaway of the race succeed as the GC teams keep their powder dry for the more stern mountain tests that await.
The overall contenders will be content to let a large group ride away for the stage win while closing marking each other on the final climb ensuring no time gaps.
With a breakaway more the likely to succeed picking a stage winner is really a shot in the dark.
However a rider like Steve Cummings is known for targeting stages like this at big races and more often than not he takes the win.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of Stage 8 from 10pm (AEST) and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.
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General classification after stage 8 1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 33:19:10 2 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:12 3 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:00:14 4 Daniel Martin (Irl) Quick-Step Floors 0:00:25 5 Richie Porte (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:00:39 6 Simon Yates (GBr) Orica-Scott 0:00:43 7 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:47 8 Alberto Contador (Spa) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:52 9 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team 0:00:54 10 Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:01:01
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Stage Top 10 1 Lilian Calmejane (Fra) Direct Energie 4:30:29 2 Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 0:00:37 3 Guillaume Martin (Fra) Wanty - Groupe Gobert 0:00:50 4 Nicolas Roche (Irl) BMC Racing Team 0:00:50 5 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Orica-Scott 0:00:50 6 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:00:50 7 Michael Valgren Andersen (Den) Astana Pro Team 0:00:50 8 Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:50 9 Nathan Brown (USA) Cannondale-Drapac 0:00:50 10 Romain Hardy (Fra) Team Fortuneo - Oscaro 0:00:50
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Stage recap: A fast and furious start saw the riders cover 120km in under 3 hours as riders and teams desperately tried to get into the breakaway with a stage win their reward. After much attacking a massive group of 50 emerged at the front. A group of that size was never going to stay together and over the categorised climbs was whittled down to a group of 8. Lilian Camejane, Michael Valgren, Robert Gesink, Nicholas Roche, Greg Van Avermaet, Serge Pauwels, Simon Clarke, and Jan Bakelants. Camejane, Gesink, Roche and Pauwels proved the strongest on the final climb. The young Frenchman Camejane proved the strongest as he made a decisive solo attack halfway up the climb, Gesink gamely chased but couldn't couldn't reel him in, with Camejane taking a brilliant solo victory. In the race for the overall it was status quo today with Team Sky showing their strength controlling the peloton as we have seen in previous editions. However the final climb on paper was never going to be difficult enough to see serious attacks from the overall favourites. A sterner test awaits tomorrow and no one wanted to burn their matches today. Thank you for joining The Roar for our live coverage of stage 8. Be sure to check back in tomorrow night for our live coverage of Stage 9. Good night.
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The main peloton with all the favourites finishes 53 seconds down on stage winner Camejane. No change in the GC all the overall contenders present and accounted for in the peloton.
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Calmejane in the finishing straight and he can take his time to celebrate the biggest win of his career. Lilian Camejane of Direct Energie takes Stage 8 of the Tour de France with his arms aloft. France has another promising young climber for the future. Gesink finishes a brave second.
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Martin quickly caught.
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Dan Martin has attacked from the peloton and has joined Tony Gallopin.
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1.5km to go and Calmejane has stuck out his tongue for the camera. What a win this will be for him and Direct Energie.
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Now Gesink is losing time, 3km to go. Lead back out to 37 seconds.
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The gap has started to increase again as Calmejane finds his rhythm again. 3.6km to go.
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Calmejane appears to have returned to his regular cadence. The cramping appears to have subsided for the moment.
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What a disaster for the young man. The gap is dropping quickly as the cramping continues for Camejane.
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Both Calmejane and Gesink on the final climb. Calmejane cramping badly in his legs
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6km to go as Calmejane approaches the uphill approach to the finish. The stage appears to be his as his lead nudges 40 seconds.
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8km to go and Calmejane continues to ride away from Gesink. Gap still 30 seconds.
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10km to go and Calmejane looks on track for a career defining victory. Gesink now trails by 30 seconds
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Henao leads the peloton to the top with all the favourites together. The climb proving too easy for any decisive attacks. Team Sky has shown their strength today.
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Calmejane reaches the top and now has a plateau before the uphill finish. Gesink grinds to the top and he is leaking time.
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500m to the summit for Calmejane he may have broken the rubber band between Gesink who trails by 28 seconds now.
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1km to the summit. Calmejane holding Gesink at bay as the gradient increases slightly again.