Finish – Milan wins the stage!
500 meters left – Van Aert is in a good position. Will the Belgian do it?
1 km left – It doesn’t look like it will be a mass sprint, but a sprint from a small group.
1.5 km left – The pace is increasing, so the peloton is thinning out considerably. What tension!
3.1 km left – Alpecin-Deceuninck seems to be in a good position, just like Merlier’s team.
4.6 km left – Oh, there’s the first roundabout and a team guesses wrong. They go left, while right is faster. Now try to get a good position for the sprint.
7.2 km left – The trains are being prepared for the sprint soon. It’s still exciting, because a number of roundabouts have to be passed in the final phase.
11 km left – Burgaudeau is going to try it himself and rides away from Vercher. Can the Frenchman hold the gap of 15 seconds?
12 km left – Merlier is unlucky, which means he cannot position himself well for the sprint. Can he limit the damage?
15 km left – The only climb of the day (Cote de Nuillé-sur-Vicoin, 900 meters at 3.8 percent) is behind the escapees and the peloton. 38 seconds still need to be made up before a mass sprint will follow.
18 km left – In Rutsch’s crash, another rider also falls and lands on the German’s head. He seems a little ‘dizzy’.
18 km left – A very nasty fall by Jonas Rutsch. What happened is not entirely clear.
23 km left – The gap has widened again to 52 seconds between the peloton and the escapees. It seems that the peloton is letting the escapees struggle and there will be ‘just’ a mass sprint.
Pogacar was curious during the stage how his girlfriend had ridden in the Giro d’Italia. It says enough about how strenuous this stage is. By the way, she finished seventh in the queen stage.
31 km left – Last convulsions of Burgaudeau and Vercher. They seem to be getting caught, but suddenly ride away again by twenty seconds.
34 km left – The two French escapees are being caught. We are heading towards a mass sprint, although we have to wait 45 minutes for that.
Didi Senft is also present at the Tour again. He jumps a slightly smaller gap in the air than in other years.
50 km left – The difference is getting smaller and is going back to 40 seconds. The two French riders don’t seem to be going to make it.
The intermediate standings in the points classification:
61 km left – The difference between the peloton and the two leaders is now almost a minute. That is also not alarmingly large during a flat stage.
Burgaudeau and Vercher are trying their luck. The chance seems small that they will stay away, but the difference has increased to half a minute.
An impressive sprint by Milan for twenty points.
75 km left – The gap is now 18 seconds, which indicates that the peloton still has everything under control.
78 km left – It is Mathieu Burgaudeau and Mattéo Vercher who have a gap of ten seconds. Will more riders join them?
80 km left – Do we have the first real breakaway of the day there? Two riders from TotalEnergies ride away from the peloton.
85 km left – It is Jonathan Milan who pulls the sprint and is the first to cross the line in the intermediate sprint. He gets twenty points for that, which means Pogacar is still leading the rankings.
88 km left – We are slowly heading towards the place where points can be earned for the green jersey. Will a breakaway arise afterwards?
Sometimes we think: how slow are those riders going. In reality, they are gone in a flash.
Crêpes for lunch on a Saturday afternoon in France. Is there anything better?
102 km left – Tension and sensation, because Jordy Meeus has a flat tire. The contender for the stage win seems to be able to rejoin the peloton quickly.
Madhouse in the stands, but that is not yet the case on the course.
120 km left – When circulating tractors are shown on screen, you know what time it is: time for the peloton to take action.
The Tour is also being watched on the water. It is a wonderful day to combine fun on the water with watching beautiful sport.
129 km left – The pace is around 42 kilometers per hour. It is not going extremely fast, but no one has yet managed to launch an attack. It may be that there are riders who are waiting until kilometer 80.
There are also fans of Pogacar present. Great to see that all supporters get along well with each other.
Dylan Groenewegen is one of the contenders for the stage win today. After a tough week, he is allowed to sprint. “It was difficult days. Finally we can sprint again,” he says at the NOS. “On paper it looked easier than it was.” Yet it remains difficult as a sprinter in this stage. “The last kilometer runs dirty,” says the Dutchman.
143 km left – There are many people along the side to catch a glimpse of their heroes. It is a long weekend in France, so many French people have the chance to stand along the road in the coming days.
151 km left – The riders are enjoying the weather and almost have cocktails in their hands. There are no escape attempts to report yet. Do we have to wait long for that today?
Children were also welcome at the team presentation for this stage. Meanwhile, no one has yet managed to drive away.
164 km left – The peloton is still together, although a number of riders are trying to get away. At 85 kilometers from the finish, points can also be earned in the battle for the green jersey. That is also interesting for a number of riders.
Eddie Dunbar crashed yesterday together with Almeida. The Irishman, unlike the Portuguese, cannot continue this Tour, because Dunbar is suffering too much from his wrist.
Départ réel! We are definitely on our way in the French countryside. It is very hot with about 30 degrees on the thermometer.
Just a selfie before the riders went on their way. There is a good chance that the yellow will remain around Pogacar’s shoulders today.
Départ fictif! The riders are on their way in the eighth stage. It is still 6 kilometers to wait until the riders are allowed to attack.
Despite a broken rib, João Almeida is simply starting today. Tadej Pogacar’s elite servant crashed yesterday and had a very hard time afterwards. So it will be survival for the Portuguese in the coming days.
Dylan Groenewegen is also one we are going to watch. The Dutch sprinter is also one of the contenders for the stage win today. So he could once again ensure Dutch success in this Tour.
Tim Merlier is the big favorite for today, after Jasper Phillipsen dropped out earlier this Tour. But there are several rivals on the coast for the stage win. For example, Jonathan Milan, Kaden Groves and Jordi Meeus will also have circled this stage in red.
Today’s start is in Saint-Méen-le-Grand. Geraint Thomas, the 2018 Tour winner, seems to be looking forward to it. The 39-year-old Welshman was previously in a leading group earlier this Tour. Will he attack again today?
These fans are present for Jonas Vingegaard. The Dane seems to be Tadej Pogacar’s biggest competitor in the battle for the Tour win. So far, the Slovenian has not understood anything about the tactics of Vingegaard and Visma-Lease a Bike. Vingegaard was not unhappy about that, although he has to make up 1.17 minutes on Pogacar in the coming two weeks.
After a few tough days in the Tour, the sprinters are back in action today. Yet it can also be a difficult day for them, because the last kilometer is false flat. With also a chance of echelons and many roundabouts in the last few kilometers, it can be a spectacular stage again.