Yesterday’s eighth stage saw UAE Team Emirates’ rider Dan Martin crash, losing almost all his hopes to winning some valuable time after a poor performance at seventh stage right after winning the previous one.
It seems the happiness of winning the sixth stage on Thursday did not last for long after the Irishman got involved in an unexpected late crash that pretty much put him out of the list of potential stage winners.
? The calm before the storm. Between Dreux and Amiens where Groenewegen grabs a second win in a row. But tomorrow will be different… ➡ Watch the summary of stage 8 of Le Tour 2018!#TDF2018 pic.twitter.com/SBL73gYPXs
— Le Tour de France (@LeTour) July 14, 2018
Not all hopes lost
However, for Dan Martin’s fellow rider Alexander Kristoff, yesterday’s eight stage was not so bad after all. He managed to finish fourth, three positions behind stage winner Dylan Groenewegan from lotto NL-Jumbo.
Even though yesterday’s 181-km stage from Dreux to Amines, France, was perfect for sprinters, giving stage six’s champion Dan Martin the ideal opportunity to show his skills and grab another victory, the crash made squad’s dreams fell apart while watching Martin drop more than a minute from the general classification and arriving at the finish line with several injuries.
“Obviously I’ve felt better. But it could have been a lot worse. It was just a case of wrong place, wrong time,” Martin said.
“There was a break ahead of us, someone moved across and took my front wheel away. I couldn’t do anything about it. I know the time loss isn’t the best thing, but the guys did a great job of bringing me back up,” he added saying that fortunately, nothing is broken so he will now have to focus on the next stage.
“I’ve already won a stage and as I’ve said – anything else is just a bonus.”
? Gaviria downgraded, @petosagan secures his green jersey.
? Gaviria déclassé, @petosagan conforte un peu plus son maillot vert.@WeLoveCyclingFR#TDF2018 #MaillotVert pic.twitter.com/0NllPLUjte— Le Tour de France (@LeTour) July 14, 2018