Tour de France stage 8 live – A challenge for the sprinters

For now, Packer is closer to the peloton than the three riders ahead of him, who already have a 30-second lead.

Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ) is chasing the trio, after setting off from the peloton.

Powless’ teammate Stefan Bissegger is also with them and has formed a three-man group a few seconds ahead of the peloton.

EF Education-EasyPost kicks off immediately, with Nelson Powless attacking with Uno-X’s Jonas Abrahamsen.

183 KM TO GO

Here we go !

There is only one kilometer left before the start! It will be much more exciting than the previous days, where no one tried to force their way into the breakaway – I promise.

Some runners are pulling out to remove some of the rain gear they wore at the start. They plan to warm up very quickly once the race starts.

Despite the weather, Pogačar appeared in good spirits at the start of the match. He is seen here greeting the crowd during the warm-up.

There are still 5 km left before the officialization. The neutralized zone is long today. The runners must be eager to get started and warm up.

It may be cold now, with 16 degrees, but it won’t be for long. With a good chance of a breakaway success today, we can expect a big fight from the chequered flag to get there – and therefore some pretty intense racing to warm up.

They set off from the starting line and are waiting for the official start.

Many gloomy faces await the neutralized start. They are not looking forward to riding in this weather.

We are about five minutes from the neutralized start.

And then there is the weather. It is raining at the start here in Semur-en-Auxois, which will add stress and complications, and make the race difficult to control.

Today’s stage is not a simple sprinters’ day. Unlike the days that have ended with bunch sprints so far, there are many more climbs, with an undulating road all along the course, which represents more than 2,000m of elevation gain. And echelons are also possible, if the wind blows in the right direction.

One of the most heartwarming moments of the Tour so far came during yesterday’s time trial, when Julian Bernard stopped briefly to greet his family and friends. UCI officials fined him, but thankfully Bernard himself wasn’t too bothered, describing it as a “dream moment”.

And in fact, the live broadcast of the registrations at the finish of the Tour paints a rainy picture of the riders.

Follow the sign on the video below.

We are about an hour from the start of the stage in Semur-en-Auxois, with Cycling news The team on the ground reports a rainy reception at the starting village.

Meanwhile, the drama surrounding Jasper Philipsen’s relegation on stage 6 continues as the Belgian rider speaks defensively about his sprint tactics in his Het Belang van Limburg column.

“After what happened on Thursday, I feel targeted. Much worse things have happened in the past,” he said.

The team revealed that the Dane had been in pain during stages 6 and 7, but “it was in Mads’ best interest to stop racing in order to undergo more detailed examinations to further assess his injuries and give him the appropriate rest and recovery needed to focus on his remaining goals this summer and the final part of the season.”

Read our full story here.

It’s already been a tragedy at the Tour, as green jersey contender Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) was forced to abandon the race due to injuries sustained in his fall on stage 5.

Hello and welcome to Cycling news Live coverage of stage 8 of the 2024 Tour de France!