[themaclad]

Always a masssive shame when someone goes on a 100 plus kilometre break to be caught in the last 20 of the race, some great scenery also however cut the face of De Gaulle in a field deserves a prize

Biniam Girmay claimed his second win in the Tour de France in a sprint finish on stage eight as Tadej Pogacar retained the leader's yellow jersey.

Intermarche-Wanty's Girmay, who won stage three to become the first black African to triumph on the Tour, timed his effort to perfection on the uphill finish in Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises.

Alpecin-Deceuninck's Jasper Philipsen and Arnaud de Lie, riding for Lotto-Dstny, were second and third respectively on the 183.4km route from Semur-en-Auxois.

UAE Team Emirates rider Pogacar crossed the line in the main bunch and remains 33 seconds clear of second-placed Remco Evenepoel in the general classification (GC).

In the home and final resting place of former French president Charles de Gaulle, Eritrean Girmay extended his lead in the green jersey competition over Philipsen to 88 points.

"It is unbelievable to win twice," said Girmay. "I just want to say thanks God for everything.

"This victory I need to give to my mother and my father. They gave me all the support to become a professional cyclist.

"I liked this slightly uphill finish because the heavier sprinters cannot really compete."

Uno-X Mobility's Jonas Abrahamsen, who spent more than 165km at the front of the race before being reeled in by the peloton with 14km remaining, continues to lead the king of the mountains classification.

The GC riders are expected to feature more prominently on Sunday's 199km stage around Troyes, which includes 14 gravel sections.


Stage eight results
1. Biniam Girmay (Eri/Intermarche-Wanty) 4hrs 04mins 50secs

2. Jasper Philipsen (Bel/Alpecin-Deceuninck) Same time

3. Arnaud de Lie (Bel/Lotto-Dstny) "

4. Pascal Ackermann (Ger/Israel Premier Tech) "

5. Marijn Van Den Berg (Ned/EF Education-EasyPost) "

6. Ryan Gibbons (SA/Lidl-Trek) "

7. Anthony Turgis (Fra/TotalEnergies) "

8. Fred Wright (GB/Bahrain-Victorious)

9. Alex Aranburu (Spa/Movistar) "

10. Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Soudal-Quick Step) "

General classification after stage eight
1. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) 31hrs 21mins 13secs

2. Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Soudal-Quick Step) +33secs

3. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Visma-Lease a Bike) +1min 15secs

4. Primoz Roglic (Slo/Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +1mins 36secs

5. Juan Ayuso (Spa/UAE Team Emirates) +2mins 16secs

6. Joao Almeida (Por/UAE Team Emirates) +2mins 17secs

7. Carlos Rodriguez (Spa/Ineos Grenadiers) +2mins 31secs

8. Mikel Landa (Spa/Soudal-Quick Step) +3mins 35secs

9. Matteo Jorgenson (US/Visma-Lease a Bike) 4mins 03secs

10. Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus/Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe) +4mins 46secs

[ritchiebaby]

I've missed most of the last few days thanks to my local Civic Week events. Back to normal today for the gravel sections on Stage 9. A difficult day ahead for some when the TdF will not be won, but might be lost for one or two riders.

[themaclad]

On today's route the town of Essoyes were Renoir was buried, bit of agravelly stage lots of getting off the bike and running at one point, top four still cruising. Ben Healy is a good up and coming rider

[themaclad]

Britain's Tom Pidcock was pipped on the line as France's Anthony Turgis won the ninth stage of the Tour de France.

The Ineos Grenadiers rider was narrowly beaten in the final sprint at the end of a frantic 199km stage in Troyes that included 14 gravel sections.

Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar retained the leader's yellow jersey and animated the stage with attacks on several occasions on a day that tested the credentials of all the general classification riders.

Pogacar, of UAE-Team Emirates, leads Remco Evenepoel of Soudal-Quick Step by 33 seconds overall, with defending champion Jonas Vingegaard of Visma-Lease a Bike in third, one minute 15 seconds further back.

While Pogacar and Evenepoel sought to get up the road at various times prior to Monday's rest day, the Dane was less adventurous and content to neutralise their moves having had to swap bikes with Jan Tratnik after an early mechanical issue.

On the one occasion he was caught out, with about 20km remaining, his American team-mate Matteo Jorgenson superbly dragged him back onto the wheel of Pogacar as all the general classification riders came back together at the end.

"I ride with my heart and today was a day to do it," said Pogacar, who appeared bemused by Visma-Lease a Bike's strategy.

"They only look at me and they underestimate the others. It could backfire," added the 25-year-old, who is attempting to complete the first Giro d'Italia-Tour de France double since 1998.

While there was little movement towards the top of the overall standings, Canada's Derek Gee - who was also in the breakaway with Pidcock and Turgis - was rewarded by moving inside the top 10 by finishing third.

Adam Yates, who is riding in support of Pogacar, is the highest-placed British rider overall, sitting almost five minutes behind his team-mate.

Prior to the start of the stage the Uno-X Mobility team led a moment of applause in memory of Andre Drege, the Norwegian cyclist who died aged 25 in a crash at the Tour of Austria on Saturday.

The race now travels west to Orleans in the heart of France and continues on Tuesday with a 187.3km run into Saint-Amand-Montrond.

Tour de France stage nine results
Anthony Turgis (Fra/Total Energies) 4hrs 19mins 43secs

Tom Pidcock (GB/Ineos Grenadiers) Same time

Derek Gee (Can/Israel-Premier Tech) "

Alex Aranburu (Spa/Movistar) "

Ben Healy (Ire/EF Education-EasyPost) "

Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz/Astana Qazaqstan) "

Javier Romo (Spa/Movistar) +12secs

Jasper Stuyven (Bel/Lidl-trek) +18secs

Biniam Girmay (Eri/Intermarche-Wanty) +1min 17secs

Michael Matthews (Aus/Jayco AlUla) Same time

General classification after stage nine
1. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) 35hrs 42mins 42secs

2. Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Soudal-Quick Step) +33secs

3. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Visma-Lease a Bike) +1min 15secs

4. Primoz Roglic (Slo/Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +1mins 36secs

5. Juan Ayuso (Spa/UAE Team Emirates) +2mins 16secs

6. Joao Almeida (Por/UAE Team Emirates) +2mins 17secs

7. Carlos Rodriguez (Spa/Ineos Grenadiers) +2mins 31secs

8. Mikel Landa (Spa/Soudal-Quick Step) +3mins 35secs

9. Derek Gee (Can/Israel-Premier Tech) +4mins 02secs

10. Matteo Jorgenson (US/Visma-Lease a Bike) 4mins 03secs

[ritchiebaby]

Trust me to be available for viewing on the first rest day!

Some of my predictions have fallen (some literally) in the opening week. Mads Pedersen eventually retired on Stage 8 after his pile-up on Stage 5, Derek Gee is still pointless in the KOM and Team Visma are way behind.

Now that the weather forecast here is dire for the rest of the week, I'll be glued (not literally) to the TV.

[ritchiebaby]

A bit boring today. Full credit to Girmay who's getting into great positions.

[themaclad]

Belgium's Jasper Philipsen powered to victory in a sprint finish on stage 10 of the Tour de France as Tadej Pogacar retained the leader's yellow jersey.

Philipsen, who was led out superbly by his Alpecin-Deceuninck team-mate, world champion Mathieu van der Poel, comfortably held off Eritrea's Biniam Girmay and Germany's Pascal Ackermann, who finished second and third.

Slovenia's Pogacar finished safely in the main bunch, as the threat of crosswinds and echelons failed to materialise on an uneventful 187.3km run from Orleans to Saint-Amand-Montrond.

The UAE-Team Emirates rider leads Remco Evenepoel of Soudal-Quick Step by 33 seconds, with defending champion Jonas Vingegaard of Visma-Lease a Bike in third, one minute 15 seconds further back in the general classification.

Philipsen was the dominant sprinter 12 months ago, claiming victories in four of the first 11 stages at La Grande Boucle.

But until now it had been a largely frustrating Tour for the 26-year-old this year.

A crash on stage three left many riders - including Philipsen - out of position and he was pipped to the line as Mark Cavendish claimed his record 35th stage win two days later in Saint-Vulbas.

A demotion from second to 107th came on stage six after he deviated from his sprinting line - almost colliding with Wout van Aert - and he was unable to match Girmay on stage eight in Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises.

However, with Van der Poel expertly providing assistance, Philipsen finally secured a stage win as he narrowed the gap to Girmay from 96 points to 74 in the race for the green jersey.

"We had some bad luck. I am really happy - it is a big relief. We can finally show our strength, with our lead-out train and did finally what we came for," he said.

"Mathieu is a really strong guy. When he can show his power and play his part, there aren't many riders who can emulate him. Having the world champion as your lead-out guy is fantastic."

On Wednesday, the race crosses the rolling terrain of the Massif Central as it travels 211km from Evaux-les-Bains to Le Lioran.

Stage 10 results
1. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 4hrs 20mins 06secs

2. Biniam Girmay (Eri/Intermarche-Wanty) Same time

3. Pascal Ackermann (Ger/Israel-Premier Tech) "

4. Wout van Aert (Bel/Visma-Lease a Bike) "

5. Fernando Gaviria (Col/Movistar) "

6. Sam Bennett (Ire/Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) "

7. John Degenkolb (Ger/DSM-firmenich PostNL) "

8.Phil Bauhaus (Ger/Bahrain Victorious) "

9. Dylan Groenewegen (Ned/Team Jayco-AlUla) "

10. Axel Zingle (Fra/Cofidis) "

General classification after stage 10
1. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) 40hrs 02mins 48secs

2. Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Soudal-Quick Step) +33secs

3. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Visma-Lease a Bike) +1min 15secs

4. Primoz Roglic (Slo/Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +1mins 36secs

5. Juan Ayuso (Spa/UAE Team Emirates) +2mins 16secs

6. Joao Almeida (Por/UAE Team Emirates) +2mins 17secs

7. Carlos Rodriguez (Spa/Ineos Grenadiers) +2mins 31secs

8. Mikel Landa (Spa/Soudal-Quick Step) +3mins 35secs

9. Derek Gee (Can/Israel-Premier Tech) +4mins 02secs

10. Matteo Jorgenson (US/Visma-Lease a Bike) 4mins 03secs

[themaclad]

Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard won stage 11 of the Tour de France following a sprint to the line with rival and overall leader Tadej Pogacar.

Defending champion Vingegaard, of Visma-Lease a Bike, edged out Pogacar of UAE-Team-Emirates as the pair raced for the line after several climbs on the 211km stage to Le Lioran in France's Massif Central region.

Pogacar remains in the yellow jersey and is now one minute six seconds ahead of Remco Evenepoel, who was third on the stage, with Vingegaard a further eight seconds behind.

When Slovenian Pogacar attacked with 32km to go he pulled away from the rest of the field but Vingegaard reeled him back in on the penultimate climb.

Denmark's Vingegaard, 27, suffered a major crash in early April which left him with multiple serious injuries and he said through tears after the stage: "It is very emotional for me, coming back from the crash...

"It means a lot and all the things I went through in the last three months... I would never have been able to do this without my family."

On Monday's rest day Pogacar had suggested that Vingegaard was "a little afraid" of him and his team, following Sunday's stage nine in which Vingegaard chose only to follow Pogacar's wheel.

But Vingegaard was the first to launch the sprint on Tuesday as they accelerated to the line, and stayed ahead of the straining Pogacar, 25.

"Now we can all see it's a fair fight and [Vingegaard] is in top shape," said Pogacar afterwards.

"He beat me really good on the line. Let's continue to do it like this."

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Of the 'big four' contenders for the overall win, Belgium's Evenepoel of Soudal-Quick Step lost touch when Pogacar attacked on the Puy Mary Pas de Peyrol, but recovered well to finish just 25 seconds behind.

Slovenia's Primoz Roglic of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe was tracking Evenepoel before crashing late on when his rear wheel slid out on a tight left-hand downhill bend, but as it was inside 3km to the finish he was given the same time as Evenepoel.

Britain's record-breaking Tour stage winner Mark Cavendish of Astana-Qazaqstan finished near the back of the field, 41 minutes behind the leaders.

But countryman Fred Wright of Bahrain-Victorious is out of the race after finishing beyond the time limit of 53 minutes, 38 seconds.

Tour de France stage 11 results
1. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Visma-Lease a Bike) 4hrs 58mins 00secs

2. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) Same time

3. Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Soudal-Quick Step) +25secs

4. Primoz Roglic (Slo/Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe +55secs

5. Giulio Ciccone (Ita/Lidl-Trek) +1min 47secs

6. Joao Almeida (Por/UAE Team Emirates) +1mins 49secs

7. Adam Yates (GB/UAE Team Emirates) Same time

8. Mikel Landa (Spa/Soudal-Quick Step "

9. Carlos Rodriguez (Spa/Ineos Grenadiers) +1min 55secs

10. Felix Gall (Aut/Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) +2mins 38secs

Tour de France general classification
1. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) 45hrs 00mins 34secs

2. Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Soudal-Quick Step) +1min 06secs

3. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Visma-Lease a Bike) +1min 14secs

4. Primoz Roglic (Slo/Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +2mins 45secs

5. Joao Almeida (Por/UAE Team Emirates) +4mins 20secs

6. Carlos Rodriguez (Spa/Ineos Grenadiers) +4mins 40secs

7. Mikel Landa (Spa/Soudal-Quick Step) +5mins 38secs

8. Adam Yates (GB/UAE Team Emirates) +6mins 69secs

9. Juan Ayuso (Spa/UAE Team Emirates) +7mins 09secs

10. Giulio Ciccone (Ita/Lidl-Trek) +7mins 36secs

[ritchiebaby]

Amazing how the gap just opened up in the centre, allowing Birmay to charge through for another stage victory. He was decent last year, but has really come of age this year. If anyone is to challenge Cav's record of stage wins, it could be him.

[themaclad]

Primoz retires after sniffing Tarmac yesterday

History-maker Biniam Girmay sprinted to his third victory at this year's Tour de France but overall contender Primoz Roglic lost significant time after a late crash on stage 12.

Eritrean Girmay became the first black African to win a Tour de France stage with his opening win on stage three and also triumphed on stage eight.

Intermarche-Wanty rider Girmay, 24, beat Wout van Aert in a frantic bunch sprint in Villeneuve-sur-Lot, with Mark Cavendish originally finishing fifth before being relegated.

Tadej Pogacar retained the leader's yellow jersey and remains one minute six seconds ahead of Remco Evenepoel, with defending champion Jonas Vingegaard a further eight seconds behind.

But podium contender Roglic, who finished with a ripped jersey and bloodied shoulder, dropped from fourth to sixth in the general classification after he lost two minutes 27 seconds on the leaders after being caught up in a late crash.

Pogacar, of UAE Team Emirates, was also held up behind a crash in the peloton early in the stage, and required a bike change, but re-joined the main group without issue.

The 203.6km route from Aurillac to Villeneuve-sur-Lot offered one of the few remaining opportunities for a bunch sprint - assuming the sprinter's teams could control any potential breakaway.

A four-man group featuring Groupama-FDJ riders Valentin Madouas and Quentin Pacher, Jonas Abrahamsen of Uno-X Mobility and Total Energies' Anthony Turgis managed to open up a three-and-a-half-minute advantage over the peloton.

But that move was shut down with more than 40km remaining to set up a long-inevitable dash to the line, in which Girmay prevailed to further assert himself as the fastest sprinter at this year's race.

In doing so he also extended his lead in the green jersey points battle, opening up a likely unassailable 111-point advantage over Jasper Philipsen.

"The green jersey gives me wings - I feel super fast. It's in the head. I've had my ups and downs in recent seasons but I changed things this year and it's working," Girmay said.

A rare moment of calm in the peloton was interrupted with 12km remaining when Alexey Lutsenko crashed and took down Slovenian Roglic.

The Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe rider had been one minute 31 seconds adrift of the podium but that deficit now stands at three minutes 28 seconds.

Reacting to Roglic's incident, race leader Pogacar said: "It is really devastating. He was in very good shape already and I could feel he was getting better with every stage.

"I’m pretty sure he would have been fighting for the GC in the next few days."

Both Astana Qazaqstan rider Cavendish and Arnaud Demare, of Arkea-B&B Hotels, were relegated following illegal moves they made in the sprint.

Stage 13 on Friday is a relatively flat 165.3km route from Agen to Pau but, as the race enters the Pyrenees, hilly terrain approaching the finish could prove difficult for the sprinters.

That is one of only two expected remaining opportunities for the sprinters - including Cavendish, who claimed a record 35th Tour de France stage win last week - to take victories at this year's race, along with stage 16 in Nimes.

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Tour de France stage 12 results
1. Biniam Girmay (Eri/Intermarche-Wanty) 4hrs 17mins 15secs

2. Wout van Aert (Bel/Visma-Lease a Bike) same time

3. Pascal Ackermann (Ger/Israel Premier Tech) "

4. Jasper Philipsen (Bel/Alpecin-Deceuninck) "

5. Arnaud de Lie (Bel/Lotto-Dstny) "

6. Alexander Kristoff (Nor/Uno-X) "

7. Phil Bauhaus (Ger/Bahrain Victorious) "

8. Bryan Coquard (Fra/Cofidis) "

9. Dylan Groenewegen (Ned/Team Jayco-AlUla) "

10. Ryan Gibbons (SA/Lidl-Trek) "

Tour de France general classification
1. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) 49hrs 17mins 49secs

2. Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Soudal-Quick Step) +1min 06secs

3. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Visma-Lease a Bike) +1min 14secs

4. Joao Almeida (Por/UAE Team Emirates) +4mins 20secs

5. Carlos Rodriguez (Spa/Ineos Grenadiers) +4mins 40secs

6. Primoz Roglic (Slo/Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +4mins 42secs

7. Mikel Landa (Spa/Soudal-Quick Step) +5mins 38secs

8. Adam Yates (GB/UAE Team Emirates) +6mins 59secs

9. Juan Ayuso (Spa/UAE Team Emirates) +7mins 09secs

10. Giulio Ciccone (Ita/Lidl-Trek) +7mins 36secs