Two long transition stages from the north-west to the north of France, two sprint victories for Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo). Despite being the sprinter with the most pre-Tour victories this year, the Dutchman came in as something of an underdog in the fast finishes. He’s well and truly silenced his critics by now.
Stage 8 was very much a traditional transition stage: a doomed breakaway formed from the smaller local teams, an inevitable catch, and the predicted sprint finish. From here though, the Tour starts to get considerably more interesting. Stage 9’s visit to the pave of northern France is one of the race’s most anticipated stages, and after a rest day on Monday the race resumes in the Alps. We can’t wait.
For now though, here are some images from stage 8 of the Tour de France, courtesy of Jered & Ashley Gruber and Cor Vos.
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- Long transitional stages force photographers to get a little creative with their photography.
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- On stage 8, an abandoned train car provide an interesting vantage point.
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- Marco Minnaard (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) and Fabien Grellier (Direct Energie) formed the day’s main breakaway.
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- Greg Van Avermaet was riding in yellow for the fifth day in a row. He’ll wear the maillot jaune again on the cobbles of northern France on stage 9 — a stage where he’ll be one of the big favourites (assuming BMC allow him to ride for his own interests, rather than protecting Richie Porte).
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- Small-town France. Quiet stunning.
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- The pace increased in the closing kilometres.
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- With QuickStep Floors present as ever.
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- A crash with 17km to brought down several riders, including Dan Martin. The stage 6 winner sustained cuts to his elbow and back and finished the stage 1:16 down. Thankfully he’s been cleared of more serious damage, but he’ll still find it tough on the cobblestones of stage 9.
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- Simon Clarke also took a tumble …
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- … but he was eventually able to get up and going again, ultimately finishing the stage more than 11 minutes down on the winner.
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- Groenwegen was too good for the second day in a row.
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- That’s two stage wins in a row for the Dutchman and a total of three stage wins at the Tour de France (he won on the Champs Elysees last year).
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- Another day, another podium appearance for Van Avermaet. He even picked up a bonus second late in the stage, to put him seven seconds clear of Geraint Thomas (Sky). Bring on the cobbles!