OFFICIAL Stage 8 Results
Laurens De Jong
Hello, Tour de France Gamers!
STAGE Grade: B+
I rate today’s stage a B+. The only interesting bit about the route was that it was an exact copy of stage 10 in the 2017 Tour de France. One star. Nothing going in the GC, the tactics were a little more interesting than yesterday’s stage, the sprint was 10 stars if I could give them — I’ll add them to the surprise factor because I’ve never been more surprised by a sprint. Read all about it below!
Route: 1/5 GC: 1/5 Tactics: 3/5 Sprint: 5/5 Surprises: 3/5
Tim Merlier is the fastest rider in the peloton. There’s no doubt about that. But today, again, he found himself in a spot where it was impossible to win.
The sprint trains had come out of that final right turn I mentioned yesterday. With 400 meters to go, though, there was a break in the peloton. Eight riders, and then I counted eight bike lengths, and then Tim Merlier.
Ahead of them were Mike Teunissen, leading out Max Kanter. I saw Olav Kooij. Rick Pluimers, racing for Tudor Pro Cycling Team but I had honestly never heard of him. Pavel Bittner. And in the front, Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen.
You cannot make up eight bike lengths on a full-steam-ahead van der Poel, it can’t be done. And van der Poel kept his pace very long this time. Past 200 meters, past 175 meters, and finally with 150 meters to go he launched Philipsen.
Philipsen had won the intermediate sprint from the peloton (behind the three breakaway riders) and with a launch like that, he was going to win the stage. I was wrong yesterday, I shouldn’t have written him off.
I write it like that because that is what most of us saw. Because our human-sized brains could not comprehend what was actually happening. From 250 meters, Merlier had decided to go to the front and then go as fast as he could. That’s 90% of sprinting, I’ve told you this before. At 200 meters, he had almost caught van der Poel. I’ve rarely seen a sprinter pass a lead-out rider so fast.
At 175 meters Merlier was in front. The fastest man in the peloton. I’ve
watched this sprint on every channel I could — the US, Belgium, the
Netherlands, Germany, Australia, France, Italy, the UK. Nobody noticed Merlier
until he was in front here, at 175 meters. It can’t be done, it’s impossible.
Our human-sized brains can’t comprehend.
What you saw today is "du jamais vu" — never seen before. Tim Merlier. The fastest man in the peloton. No doubt about it. In the interview after yesterday’s stage win, Merlier dedicated his victory to Bertrand De Keyzer. De Keyzer was Merlier’s first junior coach, when he was 12 years old and racing cyclocross. “He is on his death bed, but this win is for him. I hope he got to see this.” And then he started crying. There is crying in cycling, after all. De Keyzer passed away an hour before Merlier’s sprint yesterday. I’m not crying, you’re crying.
Liam Slock was selected by Team Wesley* and he’s our focus rider today. Slock is 25 and he won his first race as a pro cyclist this year: the GP Gippingen in Switzerland. He beat Aleksandr Vlasov and Richard Carapaz, but only in the most curious fashion. Celebrating with both hands off the bars, a gust of wind caused him to crash just before the finish line. Vlasov slipped by him and seemed to take the win. It looked as if Slock had crossed the line first, but his bike had not. It was the finish photo that proved that his front wheel had in fact crossed the line — the rest of his bike had not, but the front of the front wheel is what counts. Slock had his first pro cycling win.
Today he played his part in the now smoldering feud between his team, Lotto Intermarché, and Caja Rural – Seguros RGA. Jakub Otruba was in the breakaway yesterday for Caja Rural, with Baptiste Veistroffer. To Otruba’s disbelief, Veistroffer took the intermediate sprint, the KOM sprint, and the combativity award. This goes against the most basic cycling etiquette: two riders in a breakaway share the spoils. Maybe one rider is doing well in the mountain competition — he gets the KOM sprint, the other gets the intermediate sprint.
Remember the feud between Einer Rubio and Lidl – Trek in stage 19 of the Giro d’Italia this year? Cyclists have unbelievably long and accurate memories. “You hurt me today, I hurt you back … one day.”
Otruba was in the breakaway again today, with Slock and Thibault Guernalec, an unfortunate bystander. Slock took the first KOM, Otruba took the subsequent intermediate sprint. All good, you would think, but no: that intermediate sprint was 100% contested. Slock seemed to win it but Otruba came around in the last centimeters.
We knew at that point that the feud was absolutely on. This will fester for the rest of the 2026 Tour de France, and it festered for the rest of the stage. At the next KOM, the Côte du Buisson-de-Cadouin, Otruba decided to drop his fellow breakaway riders. This infuriated Slock, who came back on the climb and then pulled a Ciccone: the Italian kept going after the KOM to Passa Falzarego, hoping to race to a solo victory. Slock did the same and he came closer than any of us thought possible.
I thought all this was mildly interesting and then I started to do the math. Remember: the peloton gains one minute in 10 kilometers. Or 12 seconds per kilometers towards the end, when the sprint trains go 60 km/h. With 10 kilometers to go, Slock had a lead of just over one minute. The peloton was a kilometer behind, and they had been using up their rouleurs already. The chase was on!
With 9 km to go, the gap was one minute. Advantage Slock, who was pedaling well. Eight km to go: 55 seconds. Seven km: 45 seconds. He still had the advantage, by seconds, but the road was going uphill and he began to buck. I worried. You already know the outcome, but I’m telling you how to watch a bicycle race the proper way. These moments count.
Watch for moments like just now: Uno-X Mobility was pulling with Jonas Abrahamsen, but behind him were two Lotto riders. These moments can change the race. Blocking the peloton, the second Lotto rider slowing down to create a gap. Disrupt the flow as much as possible. This is real racing. (At this point, Peacock cut to commercials. I’ve yet to see a commercial in the middle of Tom Brady throwing a deep pass, but okay, I’ll let it go. Not everyone understands bike racing.)
Six km: 35 seconds. The peloton had him by one second, but so what? It’s not over yet. Five km: 28 seconds. The same one, two second margin. I thought the peloton would catch him with 1,500 meters to go. Remember, the peloton does speed up in the final kilometers.
Four km: 25 seconds. Slock was visibly struggling now, but the gap wasn’t shrinking a lot. That said: the peloton in full flight can close 25 seconds in two kilometers.
Now 3.5 km and 20 seconds; but the seconds seemed to disappear with every 100 meters. Still Slock got out of the saddle and stomped on the pedals. All heart. All grit.
Three km: 13 seconds. That seems like a lot, but that gap is too much. The peloton needs just 1500 meters to close that gap and they had double that.
Two km: 10 seconds. The peloton was no longer chasing Slock, they were organizing their sprint trains. It might look like Slock had a chance, but the peloton just calculated that it’s better to catch him in the last kilometer.
Slock knew that. At 1500 meters, he sat up. He finished 114th, a minute and twenty seconds behind Merlier.
Guernalec, by the way, deserved to be a focus rider himself: he’s on Team Cameron*. In a different world, TotalEnergies could be upset that the other two took all the prizes today, but they understand that the feud between Caja Rural and Lotto comes first. And it will continue, mark my words.
Watch the final kilometer HERE.
Watch the FloBikes highlights HERE.
Watch NBC Sports’ Extended highlights HERE.
Read the TNT Sports report HERE.
Spoiler alert: there were no changes in the standings today.
Team Josh had the right sprinters for today’s stage, including Olav Kooij and Dorian Grodon. Most riders in the top-25 (eight), most points from the stage, most points overall. In second were Team Ansel, without Grodon. Next were Team Charles and in fourth were Team Tadej, without Kooij — but they earned most points from classifications.
Team Hugo took fifth and Team Amalia sixth, Team Oliver seventh. Team Caleb and Team Matthew again shared eighth place.
The others missed the boat. Team Grace in tenth, Team Wesley in eleventh, Team Cameron in twelfth.
Stage 9 will be shortened by 30 kilometers because of the heat. I don’t know how that changes the nature of the stage. It’ll still be a big breakaway kind of day. Mads Pedersen will be in that breakaway, no doubt about it. The intermediate sprint is early, all he has to do to defend his green jersey is get there first. But what then?
On paper, Mathieu van der Poel is a favorite for this kind of race. His lead-outs have been phenomenal, the rest of his racing not so much. So, as with stage 4, we have to look at two others: Mathias Vacek and Quinn Simmons. Both race for Lidl – Trek, both can win this race. What will Lidl – Trek decide? Do they need every single point for Pedersen? I think they do. I wish Simmons could win this race, but I think the win will go to Pedersen.
Standings after stage 8:
|
Rank |
Name |
Points |
WAS |
MOVES |
|
1 |
Team Tadej* |
1854 |
1 |
0 |
|
2 |
Team Ansel* |
1830 |
2 |
0 |
|
3 |
Team Josh* |
1819 |
3 |
0 |
|
4 |
Team Hugo* |
1664 |
4 |
0 |
|
5 |
Team Charles* |
1571 |
5 |
0 |
|
6 |
Team Caleb* |
1486 |
6 |
0 |
|
7 |
Team Matthew* |
1447 |
7 |
0 |
|
8 |
Team Oliver* |
1347 |
8 |
0 |
|
9 |
Team Amalia* |
1340 |
9 |
0 |
|
10 |
Team Wesley* |
911 |
10 |
0 |
|
11 |
Team Grace* |
686 |
11 |
0 |
|
12 |
Team Cameron* |
543 |
12 |
0 |
Standings after stage 8 (including dogs and adults):
|
Rank |
Name |
Points |
WAS |
MOVES |
|
1 |
Team Tadej* |
1854 |
1 |
0 |
|
2 |
Team Ansel* |
1830 |
3 |
1 |
|
3 |
Team Josh* |
1819 |
5 |
2 |
|
4 |
Team Kent |
1808 |
4 |
0 |
|
5 |
Team Amelia |
1803 |
2 |
-3 |
|
6 |
Team Kari |
1775 |
6 |
0 |
|
7 |
Team Melanie |
1747 |
7 |
0 |
|
8 |
Team Rob |
1694 |
8 |
0 |
|
9 |
Team Eric |
1686 |
9 |
0 |
|
10 |
Team Jon |
1684 |
11 |
1 |
|
11 |
Team Hugo* |
1664 |
10 |
-1 |
|
12 |
Team Kurt |
1663 |
14 |
2 |
|
13 |
Team Craig |
1655 |
12 |
-1 |
|
14 |
Team Julie |
1622 |
15 |
1 |
|
15 |
Team Jonwaine |
1577 |
13 |
-2 |
|
16 |
Team Charles* |
1571 |
19 |
3 |
|
17 |
Team Ed |
1563 |
17 |
0 |
|
18 |
Team Corsa |
1537 |
16 |
-2 |
|
19 |
Team Laurens |
1533 |
18 |
-1 |
|
20 |
Team Caleb* |
1486 |
20 |
0 |
|
21 |
Team Matthew* |
1447 |
21 |
0 |
|
22 |
Team Ambrose |
1446 |
22 |
0 |
|
23 |
Team Kate |
1387 |
26 |
3 |
|
24 |
Team Grace |
1362 |
23 |
-1 |
|
25 |
Team Ellie |
1360 |
24 |
-1 |
|
26 |
Team Oliver* |
1347 |
27 |
1 |
|
27 |
Team Adam |
1342 |
29 |
2 |
|
28 |
Team Amalia* |
1340 |
30 |
2 |
|
29 |
Team Charlotte |
1299 |
28 |
-1 |
|
30 |
Team Jonathan |
1286 |
25 |
-5 |
|
31 |
Team Cameron |
1273 |
31 |
0 |
|
32 |
Team Erin |
1166 |
32 |
0 |
|
33 |
Team Suzanne |
1161 |
33 |
0 |
|
34 |
Team Lichterman |
1142 |
35 |
1 |
|
35 |
Team Furner |
1138 |
34 |
-1 |
|
36 |
Team Allison |
1124 |
36 |
0 |
|
37 |
Team Wesley |
1087 |
37 |
0 |
|
38 |
Team Izzy |
949 |
39 |
1 |
|
39 |
Team Senna# |
933 |
40 |
1 |
|
40 |
Team Wesley* |
911 |
38 |
-2 |
|
41 |
Team Valerie |
782 |
41 |
0 |
|
42 |
Team Grace* |
686 |
42 |
0 |
|
43 |
Team Cameron* |
543 |
43 |
0 |
|
44 |
Team Sam |
528 |
44 |
0 |
Complete breakdown of points from stage 8:
|
STAGE RESULTS |
YELLOW JERSEY |
GREEN JERSEY |
POLKA DOT JERSEY |
WHITE JERSEY |
POINTS/CLASS |
TOTAL |
PREVIOUS |
CUM. TOTAL |
TODAY |
NOW |
WAS |
MOVES |
TOP25 |
WINNER |
|
|
Team Amalia* |
119 |
38 |
6 |
9 |
5 |
58 |
177 |
1163 |
1340 |
6 |
9 |
9 |
0 |
5 |
1 |
|
Team Ansel* |
140 |
51 |
14 |
10 |
12 |
87 |
227 |
1603 |
1830 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
7 |
1 |
|
Team Caleb* |
84 |
43 |
11 |
10 |
8 |
72 |
156 |
1330 |
1486 |
8 |
6 |
6 |
0 |
5 |
1 |
|
Team Cameron* |
27 |
13 |
1 |
8 |
2 |
24 |
51 |
492 |
543 |
12 |
12 |
12 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
|
Team Charles* |
140 |
43 |
14 |
10 |
8 |
75 |
215 |
1356 |
1571 |
3 |
5 |
5 |
0 |
7 |
1 |
|
Team Grace* |
35 |
19 |
2 |
9 |
0 |
30 |
65 |
621 |
686 |
10 |
11 |
11 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
|
Team Hugo* |
99 |
49 |
11 |
10 |
12 |
82 |
181 |
1483 |
1664 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
|
Team Josh* |
152 |
50 |
14 |
10 |
13 |
87 |
239 |
1580 |
1819 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
8 |
1 |
|
Team Matthew* |
84 |
43 |
11 |
10 |
8 |
72 |
156 |
1291 |
1447 |
8 |
7 |
7 |
0 |
5 |
1 |
|
Team Oliver* |
104 |
38 |
14 |
9 |
4 |
65 |
169 |
1178 |
1347 |
7 |
8 |
8 |
0 |
5 |
1 |
|
Team Tadej* |
116 |
52 |
14 |
13 |
14 |
93 |
209 |
1645 |
1854 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
6 |
1 |
|
Team Wesley* |
4 |
36 |
0 |
6 |
8 |
52 |
56 |
855 |
911 |
11 |
10 |
10 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
Complete breakdown of points from stage 8 (including dogs and adults):
|
TODAY |
MOVES |
TOP25 |
WINNER |
||||||||||||
|
103 |
38 |
9 |
10 |
12 |
69 |
172 |
1170 |
1342 |
21 |
27 |
29 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
|
|
Team Allison |
54 |
33 |
8 |
5 |
8 |
54 |
108 |
1016 |
1124 |
32 |
36 |
36 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
|
Team Amalia* |
119 |
38 |
6 |
9 |
5 |
58 |
177 |
1163 |
1340 |
18 |
28 |
30 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
|
Team Ambrose |
140 |
39 |
14 |
10 |
8 |
71 |
211 |
1235 |
1446 |
6 |
22 |
22 |
0 |
7 |
1 |
|
Team Amelia |
99 |
54 |
11 |
13 |
14 |
92 |
191 |
1612 |
1803 |
14 |
5 |
2 |
-3 |
4 |
1 |
|
Team Ansel* |
140 |
51 |
14 |
10 |
12 |
87 |
227 |
1603 |
1830 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
7 |
1 |
|
Team Caleb* |
84 |
43 |
11 |
10 |
8 |
72 |
156 |
1330 |
1486 |
24 |
20 |
20 |
0 |
5 |
1 |
|
Team Cameron |
86 |
35 |
7 |
13 |
9 |
64 |
150 |
1123 |
1273 |
26 |
31 |
31 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
|
Team Cameron* |
27 |
13 |
1 |
8 |
2 |
24 |
51 |
492 |
543 |
43 |
43 |
43 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
|
Team Charles* |
140 |
43 |
14 |
10 |
8 |
75 |
215 |
1356 |
1571 |
5 |
16 |
19 |
3 |
7 |
1 |
|
Team Charlotte |
60 |
39 |
6 |
13 |
10 |
68 |
128 |
1171 |
1299 |
29 |
29 |
28 |
-1 |
3 |
1 |
|
Team Corsa |
83 |
49 |
10 |
10 |
12 |
81 |
164 |
1373 |
1537 |
23 |
18 |
16 |
-2 |
4 |
0 |
|
Team Craig |
103 |
49 |
14 |
10 |
12 |
85 |
188 |
1467 |
1655 |
16 |
13 |
12 |
-1 |
4 |
1 |
|
Team Ed |
116 |
43 |
14 |
10 |
8 |
75 |
191 |
1372 |
1563 |
14 |
17 |
17 |
0 |
6 |
1 |
|
Team Ellie |
78 |
40 |
10 |
9 |
9 |
68 |
146 |
1214 |
1360 |
28 |
25 |
24 |
-1 |
4 |
0 |
|
Team Eric |
114 |
49 |
14 |
10 |
12 |
85 |
199 |
1487 |
1686 |
12 |
9 |
9 |
0 |
6 |
1 |
|
Team Erin |
41 |
34 |
3 |
13 |
5 |
55 |
96 |
1070 |
1166 |
35 |
32 |
32 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
|
Team Furner |
25 |
38 |
2 |
10 |
12 |
62 |
87 |
1051 |
1138 |
39 |
35 |
34 |
-1 |
2 |
0 |
|
Team Grace |
79 |
40 |
10 |
9 |
9 |
68 |
147 |
1215 |
1362 |
27 |
24 |
23 |
-1 |
5 |
0 |
|
Team Grace* |
35 |
19 |
2 |
9 |
0 |
30 |
65 |
621 |
686 |
41 |
42 |
42 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
|
Team Hugo* |
99 |
49 |
11 |
10 |
12 |
82 |
181 |
1483 |
1664 |
17 |
11 |
10 |
-1 |
4 |
1 |
|
Team Izzy |
48 |
27 |
7 |
9 |
5 |
48 |
96 |
853 |
949 |
35 |
38 |
39 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
|
Team Jon |
113 |
52 |
14 |
13 |
14 |
93 |
206 |
1478 |
1684 |
10 |
10 |
11 |
1 |
5 |
1 |
|
Team Jonathan |
11 |
46 |
0 |
9 |
9 |
64 |
75 |
1211 |
1286 |
40 |
30 |
25 |
-5 |
2 |
0 |
|
Team Jonwaine |
36 |
54 |
4 |
13 |
14 |
85 |
121 |
1456 |
1577 |
31 |
15 |
13 |
-2 |
2 |
1 |
|
Team Josh* |
152 |
50 |
14 |
10 |
13 |
87 |
239 |
1580 |
1819 |
1 |
3 |
5 |
2 |
8 |
1 |
|
Team Julie |
114 |
45 |
14 |
10 |
12 |
81 |
195 |
1427 |
1622 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
1 |
6 |
1 |
|
Team Kari |
114 |
52 |
14 |
13 |
14 |
93 |
207 |
1568 |
1775 |
8 |
6 |
6 |
0 |
6 |
1 |
|
Team Kate |
114 |
36 |
14 |
9 |
4 |
63 |
177 |
1210 |
1387 |
18 |
23 |
26 |
3 |
6 |
1 |
|
Team Kent |
114 |
52 |
14 |
13 |
14 |
93 |
207 |
1601 |
1808 |
8 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
6 |
1 |
|
Team Kurt |
139 |
44 |
14 |
13 |
10 |
81 |
220 |
1443 |
1663 |
4 |
12 |
14 |
2 |
6 |
1 |
|
Team Laurens |
95 |
51 |
6 |
10 |
12 |
79 |
174 |
1359 |
1533 |
20 |
19 |
18 |
-1 |
4 |
1 |
|
Team Lichterman |
68 |
29 |
10 |
13 |
5 |
57 |
125 |
1017 |
1142 |
30 |
34 |
35 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
|
Team Matthew* |
84 |
43 |
11 |
10 |
8 |
72 |
156 |
1291 |
1447 |
24 |
21 |
21 |
0 |
5 |
1 |
|
Team Melanie |
139 |
49 |
14 |
10 |
12 |
85 |
224 |
1523 |
1747 |
3 |
7 |
7 |
0 |
6 |
1 |
|
Team Oliver* |
104 |
38 |
14 |
9 |
4 |
65 |
169 |
1178 |
1347 |
22 |
26 |
27 |
1 |
5 |
1 |
|
Team Rob |
114 |
51 |
14 |
10 |
12 |
87 |
201 |
1493 |
1694 |
11 |
8 |
8 |
0 |
6 |
1 |
|
Team Sam |
24 |
15 |
0 |
6 |
3 |
24 |
48 |
480 |
528 |
44 |
44 |
44 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
|
Team Senna# |
49 |
26 |
7 |
9 |
0 |
42 |
91 |
842 |
933 |
38 |
39 |
40 |
1 |
4 |
0 |
|
Team Suzanne |
41 |
39 |
3 |
10 |
8 |
60 |
101 |
1060 |
1161 |
34 |
33 |
33 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
|
Team Tadej* |
116 |
52 |
14 |
13 |
14 |
93 |
209 |
1645 |
1854 |
7 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
6 |
1 |
|
Team Valerie |
71 |
19 |
7 |
11 |
0 |
37 |
108 |
674 |
782 |
32 |
41 |
41 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
|
Team Wesley |
48 |
29 |
7 |
9 |
1 |
46 |
94 |
993 |
1087 |
37 |
37 |
37 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
|
Team Wesley* |
4 |
36 |
0 |
6 |
8 |
52 |
56 |
855 |
911 |
42 |
40 |
38 |
-2 |
1 |
0 |
-Laurens.