Chris Froome in yellow after daring downhill attack to win stage 8
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ByEurosport
Updated 09/07/2016 at 18:23 GMT
British defending champion Chris Froome made a huge statement of intent as he powered into the yellow jersey with an opportune downhill attack in the Pyrenees to win stage eight of the Tour de France, writes Felix Lowe.
Chris Froome wins stage 8 of the Tour de France
Image credit: Eurosport
Best known for his supreme climbing and time trialling skills, Team Sky's Froome caught his rivals napping by attacking over the summit of the Col de Peyresourde – the fourth and final climb of a thrilling 184-kilometre stage from Pau – before putting in a heart-in-mouth descent to win at Bagneres-de-Luchon.
Froome punched the air in celebration as he crossed the line to deliver a fifth stage win of the race for Great Britain following the opening week victories for Mark Cavendish (three) and Steve Cummings of Dimension Data.
Adding the cherry on the cake for Britain, Froome now leads compatriot Adam Yates – the white jersey – by 16 seconds in the overall standings after the Orica-BikeExchange rider finished in a select chasing group which was led over the line by Ireland’s Dan Martin (Etixx-QuickStep) 13 seconds in arrears.
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Final moments of Chris Froome's break on stage 8
Asked whether his attack was planned, Froome – the 2013 and 2015 Tour champion – said, “Not really – it was just a bit of fun, really. I thought I’d give it a try.
“I had a go on the climb and nothing was sticking and I thought I’d give it a go and see what I could do on the descent – see if I could catch someone out. It was real old-school bike racing, just fun. Maybe I spent a bit too much, let’s see, tomorrow is hard day but I’ll take every second I can get at this stage.”
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Tour de France Stage 8: Froome makes move on Pau to Bagnères-de-Luchon stage
Alberto Contador’s Tour de France went from bad to worse after the Spanish veteran was dropped on the final climb en route to conceding 1:41 to Froome. With team-mate Roman Kreuziger finishing in that main chasing group, Tinkoff team leadership may well now switch to the Czech rider after the well-documented disagreements in the Tinkoff camp.
But it was not all doom and gloom for Tinkoff, whose Polish climber Rafal Majka took the polka dot jersey after picking up KOM points over the first three summits of the day having attacked with Frenchman Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) ahead of the famous Col du Tourmalet.
Despite his strong early showing, Pinot – who won the Souvenir Jacques Goddet for cresting the summit of the Tourmalet in pole position – faded in the business end of the stage.
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Meanwhile, Froome’s big rival Nairo Quintana (Movistar) will be kicking himself after his lapse of concentration – slowing to pick up a water bottle over the summit of the Peyresourde – provided the spark for the Sky rider’s unexpected attack. The Colombian finished in the chasing group alongside team-mate Alejandro Valverde and now trails Froome by 23 seconds on GC ahead of Sunday’s all-important stage into Andorra.
Third place Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) joins Froome, Yates, Martin and Valverde in a new-look top five after overnight race leader Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) cracked on the succession of Pyrenean peaks in the fierce heat to concede more than 25 minutes to the race favourites.
How the stage was won
Break: World champion Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) was one of numerous riders who tried their luck in a fast opening hour which saw the peloton cover 51 kilometres without any break sticking. A dozen or so riders managed to force a small split ahead of the intermediate sprint before Poland’s Rafal Majka (Tinkoff) and French duo Arnold Jeannesson (Cofidis) and Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) rode clear at the start of the Tourmalet.
Jeannesson was quickly dropped as Majka and Pinot rode clear with an advantage of 2:30 over a group of main favourites which had shed a cluster of big names including 2014 champion Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) and the yellow jersey Greg Van Avermaet (BMC).
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Thibault Pinot and Rafal Majka on the attack in stage 8 of the Tour de France
Image credit: Eurosport
Pinot danced clear of Majka to take maximum points over the summit of the Tourmalet before the leading duo was joined by Germany’s Tony Martin (Etixx-QuickStep) on the descent. The trio stuck together on the Cat.2 Hourquette d’Anzican climb as Pinot again took maximum points over the summit to move into the virtual polka dot jersey.
Meanwhile, Team Sky set the tempo on the front of a chasing pack which reduced the gap to less than a minute ahead of the third climb, the Cat.1 Col de Val Louron-Azet, with 50 kilometres remaining. Pinot, Martin and then Majka were caught as the race came back together.
Turning point: Team Sky had already indicated that they were giving no gifts when Wout Poels and Froome boxed out Majka – much to the Pole’s chagrin – for third place over the summit of the third climb with 36 kilometres remaining. The Pole's six points were enough to see Majka move ahead of Pinot on the polka dot standings – but a heated exchange ensued.
Exploiting their numerical advantage, Sky whittled down the pack as Poels, Vasil Kiryienka, Mikel Landa, Mikel Nieve, Sergio Henao and Geraint Thomas all took turns to pull hard on the front. When Colombian Henao attacked three kilometres from the summit of the Peyresourde a key selection was made as the likes of Contador, Warren Barguil (Giant-Alpecin) and Pierre Rolland (Cannondale-Garmin) all fell by the wayside.
Romain Bardet (Ag2R-La Mondiale) had a dig near the summit but was reeled in by Quintana before Froome and Henao both came to the front. Froome then attacked as he approached the summit – and carried on his momentum after Quintana slowed to take on a fresh water bottle. This was the moment the stage was won.
Finale: The gap was slight but Froome’s daredevil descending skills were enough to see the Briton extend his cushion on the technical drop off the back of the Peyresourde. Hunched over the frame and hugging his handlebars, Froome took risks aplenty – but it paid off after he reached the valley below with a telling gap.
The chase behind never gelled and Froome time trialled the final few kilometres to take the sixth Tour stage win of his career and pocketed a 10-second bonus on top of the 13 seconds he gained over the line. Job well done for the defending champion – although at what cost? Focus now shifts to Sunday’s queen stage in Andorra and its succession of towering peaks.
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Chris Froome with his Team Sky team-mates in stage 8 of the Tour de France
Image credit: Eurosport
Good day
Froome showed another weapon in his armoury with an unexpected downhill dig which took his rivals completely unawares. Traditionally, Froome relies on the first big summit finish to take his first yellow jersey; on Saturday he did it on a dangerous descent. Chapeau.
As for Mark Cavendish, the Dimension Data sprinter suffered in the heat and on the climbs but finished safely in the gruppetto almost 40 minutes in arrears to retain his green jersey. Phew.
Bad day
Where to start? Besides Bardet, the French pretenders suffered a torrid day in the saddle with Pinot imploding after his early attack, Barguil getting distanced on the Peyresourde and Rolland taking a tumble on the final descent. As for Contador, he now trails Froome by 3:12 on GC and must be thinking of cutting his losses and concentrating on a tilt at the Vuelta.
A final note on the first rider to withdraw from the 103rd edition of the Tour: Denmark's Michael Morkov – the Katusha rider who was badly injured in a fall in the opening stage – struggled ahead of the broom wagon for the majority of the stage before throwing in the towel on the third climb of the day.
Coming up: Stage 9 – Vielha Val d'Aran to Andorra-Arcalis, 184.5km
What is arguably the queen stage of the Tour takes place entirely outside France, starting in Spain and ending in the mountain micro-state of Andorra five climbs later. Chris Froome will be extra attentive: it was crashing in the Principality on today's penultimate climb – the Collada de Beixalis – where his Vuelta hopes were extinguished last September.
Bookending this Hispanic showpiece is the 19-kilometre Porte de la Bonaigua – tackled right from the gun – and the arduous ascent to Arcalis, the highest point of this year's race (2240m) where Jan Ullrich and Brice Feillu have won in the past.
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Tour de France stage 9 preview: Summit finish awaits
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