Stage eight was officially the most challenging and harsh race of this year’s Tour de France especially for team Sky.
First @LeTour & first win for @L_Calmejane ? Premier @LeTour et première victoire pour Calmejane ?#TDF2017 pic.twitter.com/0QQ9PV6Bey
— Le Tour de France (@LeTour) July 8, 2017
Yesterday’s stage which started at Dole and finished in Station des Rousses, saw many riders trying to surpass and steal the position of Sky’s team members. However, the British team proved itself to be stoic and completely in control of the race.
Even though Chris Froome was able to retain his yellow jersey while Lilian Calmejane took the stage’s victory, yesterday’s race saw another dangerous event that made Thomas and others as well to fear for their life.
One of the most stressful moments for Britain’s Team Sky was when a Froome’s tactical but uncalculated move towards the corner made Geraint Thomas to crash pretty hard.
Even though, fortunately, both riders didn’t suffer any serious injury, the consequences could have been more serious if it wasn’t for Thomas who was able to move in the right direction controlling the crash as much as possible.
When asked about the race events, Thomas added: “I went back for bottles and had just made it back to the front. The boys had gone in a bit hot and I obviously I just looked back and I was a second late in breaking. Then I was off the road and had the choice of going down and crashing into the woods or going into the hay bale. I chose the hay and I flipped over the bars but luckily I was back up and fine.”
Another #YellowJersey & lion for Kellan ??? #TDF2017 #TDF @letour @MaillotjauneLCL #maillotjaune pic.twitter.com/BOmHGfmpax
— Chris Froome (@chrisfroome) July 8, 2017
Now, the only thing to do is expecting the results of stage nine which is considered to be the ‘hardest’ stage of this season’s Tour.
Stage 8 results
Lilian Calmejane (Fra) Direct Energi -> 4:30:29
Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo -> 0:00:37
Guillaume Martin (Fra) Wanty – Groupe Gobert -> 0:00:50
Nicolas Roche (Irl) BMC Racing Team
Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Orica-Scott
Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team
Michael Valgren Andersen (Den) Astana Pro Team
Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe
Nathan Brown (USA) Cannondale-Drapac
Romain Hardy (Fra) Team Fortuneo – Oscaro
