On Saturday, Quebecers Guillaume Boivin and Hugo Houle (Israel–Premier Tech) saw their New Zealand teammate Corbin Strong take ninth place in the eighth stage of the Tour de France. This is the very first top 10 of Strong’s Grand Tour career.
About forty riders fought for victory in the final sprint where Dane Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) won ahead of Belgian Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceunink), who was trying to win a fourth stage since the start of the Tour .
PHOTO ISRAEL–PREMIER TECH
Guillaume Boivin
“The final was very difficult with several climbs, but it was perfect for Corbin. Unfortunately, I lost him a bit at the very end, but he was very strong in the last 500 meters to come back in the top 10. We can see that we have the legs to fight for a victory in this kind of stage”, commented Guillaume Boivin.
Boivin finished 46e, just behind the group of leaders with a delay of 22 seconds on the winner. For his part, Houle took the 102e square of the day (+ 4 min 49 s).
PHOTO THIBAULT CAMUS, ASSOCIATED PRESS
This is the second stage victory in the Tour de France for Mads Pedersen after that won last year in Saint-Étienne.
The provisional general classification has not changed with the presence of the yellow jersey Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and his closest pursuer, the Slovenian Tadej Pogačar (UAE Emirates) in the leading group. The Dane is still 25 seconds ahead of Pogačar.
The end for Cavendish
What also caught the eye during this eighth stage is the abandonment of Briton Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan), second Friday, after a heavy fall.
PHOTO THOMAS SAMSON, FRANCE-PRESSE AGENCY
Mark Cavendish winces in pain as he receives first aid.
The one who won 34 stages in the Tour de France during his career had announced that it would be his last participation in the Grande Boucle.
Nobody wanted to see that. We never wish that on anyone, but it’s particularly sad because it’s his last Tour and we could see that he still had the aggressiveness for the competition. I wish him a speedy recovery.
Guillaume Boivin
The ninth stage of the Tour will take place on Sunday in the mountains, in particular with the ascent of the Puy de Dôme. Cyclists will then enjoy a first day off on Monday.
