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Tour de France 2014 stage 8: Tomblaine to Gérardmer La Mauselaine - as it happened

Blel Kadri won his first ever Tour de France stage after going clear on the day's first climb while Vincenzo Nibali protected his overall lead

Stage 8 results and overall standings

Today won't decide the Tour, but it's a day A2GR's Blel Kadri won't forget in a hurry. The French climber timed his getaway to leave his fellow breakaway riders in the dust, and pocketed the polka-dot jersey to boot. Chapeau, sir. Chapeau.

For the peloton, 130km of nothing much gave way to a final 30km of mayhem, particularly up the final climb, as many of the GC leaders ran out of gas in the face of a relentless Saxo-Tinkoff assault. One man who didn't falter was Vincenzo Nibali, who clung to Alberto Contador's wheel on the long grind to home, and still has two minutes on all of his rivals.

That's all from me today. Join me again tomorrow when the Vosges stages really get tough. That's right, today was just a warm up. Good lord. Bye!

Here's the current GC standings

Vincenzo Nibali has stretched his lead over team-mate Jakob Fuglsang to 1min 44sec - although the Dane was never likely to take Nibali on for the yellow jersey. A good day for Richie Porte, who climbs to third, and strong climbers Valverde and Contador, who both move into the top six with two more mountain stages to come before Tuesday.

You can see the full stage results and classifications here .

Here's the Stage 8 result:

1. Blel Kadri (AG2R)

2. Alberto Contador (Tinkoff), 2.17

3. Vincenzo Nibali (Astana), 2.20

4. Richie Porte (Sky), 2.24

5. Thibaut Pinot (FDJ), 2.28

Blel Kadri is already doing interviews, discussing the moment he seized control of the race - halfway up the first climb, the Col de la Croix des Moinats:

"As soon as Chavanel attacked, I went. I knew he went downhill pretty well, so I decided to go for it on my own."

Kadri, for the completists, took 2 points on that final climb, with Contador collecting one. He has 17 in total, picking up 12 points over today's three quickfire climbs.

Contador and Nibali are neck and neck, and have left Chavanel behind in a race for second today. Contador can't get away from the Italian, shaving just a couple of seconds off of his overall lead. Only Sky's Richie Porte is in sight as they get to the line. The GC leaderboard will look very different tonight.

Blel Kadri (AG2R) wins Stage 8 of the Tour de France!

Blel Kadri gets over the line for his first ever Tour stage win.

Here goes Contador! With 1km to go, the Spaniard tears past poor Niki Terpstra, but Vincenzo Nibali is ready, and goes with him. How much time can Contador catch up?

Simon Yates has slowed, and has been reeled in by the peloton. Terpstra and Chavanel are still out there, somewhere. Kadri is toiling up the hill and into the final 500m, while Jurgen van den Broeck is another GC contender who's struggling.

Andrew Talansky is in trouble - the American has crashed and is waiting for a repair. He was likely to lose time on the final climb, and his Tour hopes may fizzle out altogether today.

Blel Kadri is 1km from home, and gets a handshake from the support car. He's taken on these final three climbs superbly, and will win the stage with something to spare.

There's 2min 15sec between Kadri and Chavanel now; the former is heading up the 2km climb to the finish at La Mauselaine. Providing he doesn't grind to a halt altogether, Kadri will take his first stage win in his fourth Tour de France . He's also just been confirmed as the winner of the combative award today. A decent day at the office.

Just 4km left for Blel Kadri, and one more climb - the Côte de la Mauselaine, which strtetches all the way to the finish. The Saxo-Tinkoff team are leading the peloton down the winding descent from Grosse Pierre, through weather that can only be described as utter filth. Astana's Tanel Kangert loses control but stays on his bike, using a poor spectator's deckchair as ballast.

Nibali might cling on, but several front runners in the GC are going to drop down tonight. Nibali's team-mate Jakob Fuglsang, Peter Sagan, Michal Kwiatowski and Tony Gallopin were all in the top six this morning - and all are in trouble now.

Here's the King of the Mountains result for the second climb (hint: it's the same as the first climb - although it guarantees Kadri the polka dot jersey tomorrow)

Result at the col de Gross Pierre:

1. Blel Kadri (AG2R), 5 points

2. Sylvain Chavanel (IAM), 3

3. Simon Yates (Orica), 2

4. Niki Terpstra (OPQS), 1

Kadri takes another five points at the top of the Col de Grosse Pierre and goes through the 10km barrier. He made that look ridiculously easy - and the French public would enjoy a home stage winner the weekend before Bastille Day. Probably. He's two minutes clear of Chavanel now.

The pack are winding up the climb, weaving through fog and drizzle with Michael Rogers driving Saxo-Tinkoff up the hill. Adrien Petit has been reeled in; it remains to be seen whether Simon Yates can keep himself out of their clutches. At the back, Pierre Rolland is struggling.

Kadri and Chavanel are getting their teeth into the Col de Grosse Pierre, a narrow, winding climb that's a 16% gradient for much of its length, rising to almost 25% in places. Oof. Kadri is belting up the slick, winding road; Chavanel, not so much. 90 seconds between them now. It's still Saxo-Tinkoff grinding the peloton forward, keeping Contador in pole position among the leaders. Nibali, and world champion Rui Costa, are both well placed, waiting for him to make a move.

Here's the full King of the Mountains result. Blel Kadri moves to ten points and into the overall lead.

Result at the col de la Croix des Moinats:

The five breakaway riders have been stretched by that first climb - and there's now only a minute and a half between Petit in fifth and the peloton. Kadri, still 50-odd seconds clear of Chavanel and over a minute ahead of Yates, is about to tackle the narrow ascent of Col de Grosse Pierre.

Kadri is over the top of the first climb, and it's a virtual certainty that he will be King of the Mountains tonight. With 50 seconds over the tiring Chavanel, he'll now go after the stage win, thanks very much. There's still two tricky descents and a couple of steep climbs to go, mind you.

The peloton are currently 4min 30secs behind Kadri, but one fancied rider today has fallen off the back. Michal Kwiatkowski, fourth in the GC and expected to overtake Peter Sagan in the white jersey race today (he's wearing it, but only because Sagan has the green jersey lead too), is a surprise straggler.

Blel Kadri has stretched his lead to 25 seconds, with 20km to go. Simon Yates sits third, forty seconds behind Kadri. Furthe back, Peter Sagan and Cyril Lemoine, two of today's jersey wearers, have dropped from the back of the peloton. Vincenzo Nibali and his Astana team-mates are still in amongst it, but they've lost position to their rivals. This could be a tricky spell coming up for the Italian.

The peloton have hit the base of the first climb, and have imploded on impact - several sprinters, including André Greipel, have been thrown from the back of the pack. It's Saxo-Tinkoff doing the legwork, trying to chip into Nibali's GC lead on behalf of Alberto Contador.

Meanwhile, Kadri has overtaken Chavanel, and looks set to take the lead in the King of the Mountains race. Further back, Simon Yates has ditched Terpstra and Petit, and set off in pursuit of the tiring Chavanel. It's all happening!

Sylvain Chavanel makes his move early on the first climb - Blel Kadri, who's in the hunt for the polka dot jersey, goes after him, but the others have been left behind - the breakaway has been cleft in twain. The chasing pack are under six minutes behind as they power through the last of the final stages, with teams working to get their main men into position.

There's 10km or so to the summit of the first climb, the Col de la Croix des Moinats. It's likely that the peloton will be much closer by the time the leaders reach the top - it may come down to how fast they can scale the second ascent - the Col de Grosse Pierre - as to whether the pack can catch them.

Before we hit the final 30km and this race turns from a drab flat stage into a sweaty, rain-lashed free-for-all over the final three hills, a tribute. Tommy Ramone, the drummer and last surviving member of the Ramones, has died. Here's his finest work, and a fitting soundtrack to a short, punchy stage like today's. Hey ho, let's go.

Under 40km to go for the leaders - but one man we can perhaps write off for the stage win is Adrien Petit, the Cofidis rider and perhaps the least well-known among today's breakaway. Here's the Cofidis DS, Jean-Luc Jonrond:

“He crashed two days ago and his knee is in pain. He absolutely wanted to catch this breakaway. He gave his best but he probably hurt his knee again by riding so hard in the first hour. I'm afraid he's paying for it now…”

Petit is clearly in discomfort as he sticks with the breakaway for now. The peloton, spooked somewhat by the rain, have upped the pace and are around 9min 45sec behind now. Their target is still likely to be getting home safely, rather than winning this stage.

11min 11sec between breakaway and peloton now, although the leaders have just cycled into a spot of rain - and apparently it's pelting it down at the finish in Gérardmer. That should keep things interesting, and could play into Sylvain Chavanel's hands. The veteran French rider has just the fourteen Tours of experience on Simon Yates.

Here's Mike Parker, breathing new life into a riff that should perhaps have been put out of its misery:

If the Circle Line is the maillot jaune , then surely Trafalgar Square is King of the Fountains?

Here's the full intermediate sprint result. What it means in the overall green jersey standings is that Peter Sagan is still miles ahead.

1. Niki Terpstra (OPQS), 20 points

2. Adrien Petit (Cofidis), 17

3. Sylvain Chavanel (IAM), 15

4. Blel Kadri (AG2R), 13

5. Simon Yates (Orica), 11

6. Bryan Coquard (Europcar), 10

7. Marcel Kittel (Giant), 9

8. Peter Sagan (Cannondale), 8

9. André Greipel (Lotto), 7

10. Mark Renshaw (OPQS), 6

11. Alessandro Petacchi (OPQS), 5

12. Yohann Gène (Europcar), 4

13. Elia Viviani (Cannondale), 3

14. Fabio Sabatini (Cannondale), 2

15. Andriy Grivko (Astana), 1

The first four out of the bunch to snatch sprint points are Bryan Coquard, Marcel Kittel, Peter Sagan and André Greipel. No surprises there. Here's Andrew Benton, with this:

Is it still the case that British cycle wheels are rounder than their French equivalents? I ask because this would explain why so many British riders have crashed out - French roads (and pre-Tour Yorkshire roads) have clearly not been built for such perfection....

I have to say that this was news to me, and I had suspected Benton was pulling my leg - but it seems there was a genuine accusation from France that Britain's cycling team were using 'special wheels' during their 2012 Olympic domination - leading Sir Dave Brailsford to joke about Britain's superior wheel roundness. As attempts to disguise underachievement go, it's not the best. We'll see if Simon Yates can put that extra roundness to his advantage against three French rivals on the final climbs today.

For what it's worth, the leaders went through the sprint thusly: Terpstra, Petit, Chavanel, Kadri, Yates. More sporting disappointment for Britain. Boo! The race for the rest of the points is winding up, but the breakaway are now getting on for eleven minutes clear.

The peloton can't quite decide on whether they're letting the breakaway go or reeling them in, as the gap wobbles between ten and eleven minutes. The leaders are about to indifferently drift through today's intermediate sprint - expect a bit of movement when the bunch get there for the remaining points in, well, just over ten minutes.

Peter Sagan, who we can expect to come sixth in said sprint, missed out by inches yesterday, as referenced below. It wasn't the closest finish in Tour history (Sagan didn't even win that) - that happened in Gérardmer in 2005, when Pieter Weening held off Andreas Klöden by about a billionth of a second.

There's now double figures between our front five and the peloton. With two tougher mountain stages to come, you can understand the main players' reluctance to chase. That said, they've now reached the halfway point and are about to get a bite to eat at Little Chef the feed zone, so they may try and wind it up a touch now. All three climbs today - two Category 2 hills and a Category 3 finish - are in the last ten miles of the race. Madness.

In other sporting news, Anderson is out for 81 , and England are 495 all out. Can't help but feel partly responsible for that. Soz.

In other sporting news, Joe Root and Jimmy Anderson are putting on quite the last stand at Trent Bridge – in fact, they've broken the world record for a last-wicket partnership, and Anderson is edging towards the first ever Test century by a No.11. John Ashdown has his eye on it - it's well worth a look.

Some slight confusion over just how far ahead the breakaway five have got, as they roll towards Epinal. It was over ten minutes for a time, but now it's back down to nine. Either way, it's a pretty daunting gap, and one that the peloton won't be trying to chase down too hard.

This is therefore quite the opportunity for Simon Yates, the young British rider making his debut. He may have the legs on Chavanel and Terpstra over the late climbs, and while Blel Kadri is the superior climber in the group, he may have an eye on taking the polka dot jersey off of Cyril Lemoine. You can read Sean Ingle's chat with Simon Yates here .

Not a huge amount of note going on at present - the breakaway have covered the first 70km at a fair old whip though. They've done it in just over 90 minutes, powered by a useful tailwind, and they're nearly nine minutes ahead of the peloton.

Robin Lynch makes a fair point - although that would mean that the District Line gets the green jersey, which simply cannot be.

Earlier, we touched on the fact that several Tour contenders have made indifferent starts, and will need to make a move soon to get back in contention. One of said contenders is Movistar's Alejandro Valverde, who is currently 9th in the GC, and is well suited to short, sharp climbs like the ones that await today. Here's a few words from Movistar's director, José Luis Arrieta, on the Spaniard's chances today - his Valverdict, if you will.

"He crashed as he entered a cobbled section in stage 5 and he's still in a recovery process. The assessment for the first seven days of racing is pretty good, even though he has lost some time from Vincenzo Nibali. He's getting better and better though. Today's stage can be interesting for him, shall the favorites be together in the finale."

As the leaders cruise through Baccarat, we'll pick up on a theme from yesterday - namely 'snazzy jerseys', as Nick Christian puts it. Nick, busy cycling round the Hoo Peninsula, has this offering from his own back:

Designed for London Cycling event Ride the Tube it features all the colours of the tube map and two of the finest cycling charities around. It's got to be worth a look, no?

It's a natty number, Nick, although I'm disappointed to see the Victoria Line - for me, the maillot jaune of Tube lines - relegated to a back pocket.

The front five are now a whopping six minutes ahead of the peloton - that's the biggest gap a leading group have had since the start of the race last Saturday. There's a pretty decent chance of a stage win for one of these five riders.

Astana are leading the pack, alongside Team Sky, who are rallying around new leader Richie Porte to the extent that they're waiting while he goes for a 'natural break' at the side of the road. Guys, give the man some privacy. Meanwhile, Bart de Clercq, Lotto-Belisol's Belgian rider who was involved in a breakaway last Sunday, has pulled out of the race altogether today.

Now they are - the peloton have slowed up dramatically, allowing the five breakaway riders to group together and race three minutes clear. There's plenty of talent and experience in that leading group, but with the closest of them to Nibali - Sylvain Chavanel - still 26 minutes behind the Italian in the GC, the favourites won't be too concerned.

Here's the breakaway in full:

Niki Terpstra (OPQS), Blel Kadri (AG2R), Sylvain Chavanel (IAM), Adrien Petit (Cofidis), Simon Yates (Orica).

Chavanel and OPQ's Terpstra have pushed on, and are 12 seconds clear. A group of three riders are in hot pursuit - including Britain's Simon Yates, alongside Blel Kadri and Adrien Petit. They're 13 seconds ahead of the peloton, so this breakaway isn't free and clear by any means.

Yesterday's result was so close, even those in Trentin's support cars had no idea he'd won. They kept their cool while they waited for the result, though...

A breakaway has now formed after 25km - Sylvain Chavanel, team-mate of the departed Matias Frank, was first to move, and he's been joined by five other riders, including Niki Terpstra and Cancellara, who doesn't let a little inconvenience like a puncture get in his way. Andrew Talansky, who was thrown across the road during yesterday's sprint finish, has been dropped.

Po' Peter Sagan

The Slovakian sprinter looks nailed on for the sprinters' green jersey already, and has finished in the top five of every stage so far - the first man to do so since 1930. That will all be cold comfort to Sagan though - he's set out to win virtually every stage, and has come up empty this time. Yesterday was a particular low point, as he tore off in pursuit of Greg van Avermaet, became visibly unsettled by the absence of his Cannondale team-mates, but pushed for the line anyway. He missed out to Matteo Trentin - by about an inch. Oh Peter!

A couple of early incidents - Swiss time trial maestro Fabian Cancellara picked up a puncture after just 5km. Cancellara dropped out of the top ten yesterday, so not the best 24 hours for him. BMC's Daniel Oss went for a breakaway, but the pack were having none of it.

One Swiss rider didn't make the starting line today - IAM Racing's team leader Mathias Frank is out of the race after reportedly breaking his femur in a crash yesterday.

The race is underway, with the peloton pootling away from Tomblaine and out through the suburbs of Nancy, where the race finished yesterday. No early breakaway today, as the riders take it easy early doors.

There's a distinctly weary tone to some riders' tweets this morning, as they face up to three mountain stages before the first rest day on Tuesday.

Way back in October, our resident Tour guru Will Fotheringham picked out the three Vosges stages as potentially crucial in this year's unpredictable race:

The three stages across the Vosges fall on the race's second weekend following the start in Yorkshire and will provide fans will provide fans with the chance to see the race twice in the same place on 13 and 14 July. These are classic "pitfall days", when the Tour might not necessarily be won, but it can certainly be lost with an unlucky fall or puncture. Critically, they are all short – encouraging flat-out action from the gun – and in this they resemble the stage through this area of France into the Swiss town of Porrentruy in 2012, which proved unexpectedly testing.

You can read Will's full preview here , including comments from wily Tour director Christian Prudhomme. Also, here's his stage-by-stage guide to this year's race.

Good afternoon

It's only a week since the riders rolled out from Leeds, and we've already seen our fair share of thrills, and indeed, spills - the first seven days have been peppered with crashes, forcing a few big names into early retirement. Mark Cavendish, Andy Schleck and - most notably - defending champion Chris Froome have all been forced out of the race before it could really begin.

Today's stage is another indication of Tour director Christian Prudhomme's cruel intentions. Prudhomme, along with race planner Thierry Gouvenou, has set out to find new ways to vex and befuddle the riders, outside of the usual Alps/Pyrenees axis of mountain stages. The panic-inducing undulations of Yorkshire and the slimy cobbles of Stage 5 were part of that plan. Next up, it's a long weekend in the Vosges mountains to drive the peloton to new levels of distraction.

Stage 8 is a prologue of sorts, ahead of two more traditional mountain stages on Sunday and Monday, but Gouvenou has still got a few tricks up his sleeve. The second climb, the Col de Grosse Pierre, shuns the wide main road for a narrow scramble to the summit, before the race finishes with a straight, steep barrel out of Gérardmer towards the La Mauselaine ski station, rising all the way to the line.

Yellow jersey wearer Vincenzo Nibali, who snatched the overall lead in Sheffield, should hang onto it today. This stage instead offers a chance for underachieving favourites to claw back some time in the overall standing - and a few shreds of pride while they're at it.

Contador, Talansky, Valverde, Mollema, Rui Costa, van Garderen and even Thibaut Pinot could all fight their way back into contention with a break over one of the three late climbs. What each and every rider will be hoping for is to reach La Mauselaine in one piece. Join me through the afternoon to find out which poor souls won't get their wish.

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2014 Tour de France 101st edition: July 5- July 27, 2014

Stage results and photos.

Back to 2014 Tour de France |

Sunday, July 6: Stage 2, York - Sheffield, 201 km

Live Updates | Stage 2 photos | Stage 2 map and profile |

Vincenzo Nibali wins stage two. Photo ©Sirotti

• Km 47.0: Blubberhouses, 1.8 km @ 6.1% average gradient - category 4
• Km 85.0: Oxenhope Moor, 3.1 km @ 6.4% - category 3
• Km 112.5: Ripponden, 1.3 km @ 8.6% - category 3
• Km 119.5: Greetland, 1.6 km @ 6.7% - category 3
• Km 143.5: Holme Moss, 4.7 km @ 7% - category 2
• Km 167.0: Midhopestones, 2.5 km @ 6.1% - category 3
• Km 175.0: Bradfield, 1 km @ 7.4% - category 4
• Km 182.0: Oughtibridge, 1.5 km @ 9.1% - category 3
• Km 196.0: Jenkin Road, 0.8 km @ 10.8% - category 4

The Race: A group of seven escapees went almost from the start. They were never allowed much rope and by km 140, most were back in the pack and eventually the final holdout, Blel Kadri of Ag2r, was also caught.

Yellow Jersey Marcel Kittel was unable to handle the nine categorized ascents (plus all the unrated climbs that made the day so hard). He finished 166th, about 20 minutes down.

The final climbs reduced the peloton to the 20 best. All the contenders were there and several threw in vicious attacks. But near the end Italian road champion Vincenzo Nibali took off. It was perfect timing and for those few crucial seconds the others just looked at each other. That was enough. Nibali is enjoying the form of his life. He dug deep and crossed the line a couple of seconds in front of the charging pack. Nibali not only won the stage, he is the new yellow jersey. Chapeau!

Complete Results:

Winner's average speed: 39.1 km/hr

Team Classification:

Live Updates:

Weather at York, at 12:25 local time: 19C (67F), wind from the northwest at 16 kph (10 mph), partly and mostly sunny. It will change to cloudy with a 50% chance of rain.

Omega Pharma sprinter Mark Cavendish, who crashed hard during the final meters of yesterday's stage, did not start today. Simon Gerrens, who also fell, did start.

Km 45: The day's break again went early. Today it's bigger than the trio who formed yesterday's escape. Today eventually seven riders came together and have been allowed a gap of 3min 8sec so far. The riders are: Armindo Fonseca (Bretagne-Séché Environnement), Perrig Quémeneur (Europcar), Matthew Busche (Trek), Cyril Lemoine (Cofidis), David De La Cruz (NetApp-Endura), Blel Kadri (AG2R-La Mondiale) and Bart De Clercq (Lotto-Belisol).

Fonseca was the attacker who got the break going.

Km 58: Cyril Lemoine was first over the Blubberhouses climb, taking the only KOM point available from Armindo Fonseca Fonseca's Bretagne team has ambitions to take the KOM classification from Jens Voigt today.

There was a crash that took down Tejay van Garderen, Simon Gerrans (again!), Joaquin Rodriguez. The pack slowed to allow the riders to rejoin. With the Keighley intermediate sprint coming, Marcel Kittel's Giant-Shimano team has taken control of the front of the peloton. Van Garderen has made it back to the pack. The gap to the break is 2min 46sec.

Km 66: The day's parcours is very lumpy, with far more small climbs than just the nine rated ascents listed for the day. Today will be a bit like an Ardennes classic. The riders seems to be nervous with lots of little crashes happening along the way. The crowds might be even larger than yesterday. The break's gap is 2min 16sec.

Km 68: The riders in the break did not contest the intermediate sprint with Blel Kadri (Ag2r) being first over the line. They just kept their well-oiled paceline driving down the road. But back in the peloton, the sprint was taken seriously. Cannondale and Katusha set up sprint trains, but it was FDJ's Bryan Coquard who won the field sprint for eighth place, follwed by Alexander Kristoff, André Greipel and Peter Sagan. The increased speed reduced the break's gap down to 1min 45sec.

Km 85: The stage is 2hr 21min old. Perrig Quémeneur took off on the Oxenhope Moor climb to claim the two KOM points with Cyril Lemoine getting the remaining single point. On the descent the break regrouped. The pack is 3min 6sec back. So far the sky has clouds, but no rain. Average speed so far: 37.1 km/hr.

Km 98: The riders have passed through the Hebden Bridge feed zone. Janier Acevedo and Koen de Kort crashed and the Lampre rider Kristijan Durasek went down. The break seems to be tiring. Without an organized chase, the pack, led mostly by Tinkoff-Saxo, has brought the gap down to 1min 50sec.

Km 106: The race is slightly more than half over and even out in the remote moors, the fans have turned out in huge numbers. Next up, the third category Ripponden at km 112. French champion Arnaud Démare flatted and got a lightning-fast front wheel change and is chasing back on.

Km 112: Matthew Busche (Trek) hung back a bit on the mid part of the Ripponden climb and then attacked. Cyril Lemoine was on him instantly. Lemoine went over first with David De La Cruz second. At this point Lemoine is tied with Jens Voigt for the KOM classification. The pack didn't coast down the climb and Démare, who had just regained the field, was dropped. Démare has help from a teammate who has gone back to the French champion. He's back on and in just a few kilometers he'll face the third category Greetland.

Km 119: Things are getting warmer, the pack is showing still more energy. Riders are getting dropped from the peloton on the Greetland. Démare (and now André Greipel) was dropped again. Up front, Cyril Lemoine and David de la Cruz fought for the two KOM points and Lemoine got it, making him the virtual polka-dot jersey. Next, a real climb, the second category Holme Moss.

Km 126: The break has less than a minute now. The peloton may be together for the Holme Moss ascent and then the race will be truly engaged. Démare (and I assume Greipel) has again gained the pack. The service vehicles have been pulled from behind the break, which is now only 44 seconds ahead of the pack. Sky, Astana and Garmin are moving to the front in preparation of Holme Moss. Something has happened to Peter Sagan, he's picking his way through the follow cars.

Km 136: Another crash. Richie Porte and Nicolas Roche are caught in it and Porte needs (and gets) a new bike. Porte is almost more than a minute back. They will have a hard chase getting back on. The break now has only 18 seconds and the pack can see them.

Km 139: The Holme Moss climb has started. Blel Kadri attacked the break taking Lemoine with him. Back in the pack, riders are getting shelled, including the yellow jersey, Marcel Kittel. The rest of the break has been swept up. Porte has help from Danny Pate chasing the pack.

Km 142: Europcar's Thomas Voeckler has taken off and is closing in on Kadri. He's caught him. Sky leads the peloton, probably not wanting to go too hard with Richie Porte chasing. Porte is at the back of the peloton.

Km 143: Kadri has dropped Voeckler. Kadri goes over the Holme Moss first. Nicolas Edet has caught and passed Voeckler and goes over second, Voeckler third. Marcel Kittel has flatted and got a slow repair. He's three minutes back. Now a hair-raising, fast descent.

Km 154: Five riders have separated themselves from the pack and are chasing Kadri: Tony Martin (OPQS), Marcus Burghardt (BMC), Nicolas Edet (Cofidis), Cyril Gautier and Thomas Voeckler (Europcar)

So, it's Kadri alone, off the front, the gang of five at 45 seconds, the main peloton a further 31 seconds behind and the yellow jersey group three minutes behind the main peloton.

Km 163, 38 km to go: Tinkoff-Saxo is pounding away at the front of the main peloton. Kadri isn't waiting, but the five chasers are only 17 seconds behind and the main peloton (which sprinter Bryan Coquard has just regained) just 13 seconds behind the five. It should come together, though the yellow jersey group is five minutes behind the peloton.

Km 165: The five escapees and then Kadri are caught. The peloton is on the third-category Midhopestones ascent. The relentless climbing is softening the legs of a lot of the riders. Hey, Andrew Talansky is climbing in second position. Something up or just being careful?

Km 167: Tom Jelte Slagter led Talansky over Midhopestones and now comes a technical descent. Froome and Nibali are close by. Now comes and uncategorised climb and the high heat Garmin is throwing is having a big effect on the pack. Riders are getting tossed. The front group might be down to about 25 riders!

Km 173: The pack is on the fourth-category Bradfield. There has been a big regroupment and the pack is up to 60 riders, including all the GC contenders as well as Peter Saga and Simon Gerrans.

Astana rider Andrei Grivko was first over the Bradfield. Geraint Thomas of Sky leads the field with Astana close by.

Km 183: Pierre Rolland (Europcar) amd JC Péraud (Ag2r) got away on the third-category Oughtibridge hill. They have just 15 seconds. Péraud didn't feel like working and Rolland (2011 L'Alpe d'Huez winner) has gone off alone.

Km 190, 10 km to go: Rolland has just seven seconds before the short, steep Jenkin Road ascent. Cannondale, working for Peter Sagan, is massed at the front and leads the chase.

Rolland is caught and Orcia-GreenEdge leads with Sky right next to them.

Km 196: Hoo Ha! Here comes Contador. This is STEEP! Nibali is next to him. Contador makes a dig and Sagan matches him. Froome goes and is first over Jenkin Road with Tejay Van Garderen on his wheel. Sagan leads on the descent with 4 km to go, taking chances on the technical descent.

Bam! The attacks are coming one after another. Nibali launches a perfectly timed attack and the others watch each other. No one wants to drag Sagan to the line.

The finish: Nibali makes it stick! The champion of Italy wins the second stage of the Tour de France. Nibali is also the new leader of the Tour de France.

Stage 2 photos:

Mark Cavendish talks with Omega Pharma team boss about abandoning the 2014 Tour de France because of his stage one crash. Cavendish did not start today's stage. Photo ©Sirotti

Vincenzo Nibali gets ready to head to the start. Photo ©Sirotti

Race leader Marcel Kittel signs an autograph before the start. Photo ©Sirotti

André Greipel heads off to a day in the Yorkshire hills. Photo ©Sirotti

Tejay van Garderen is showing excellent form this Tour.

Alejandro Valverde has been quiet these two stages, but he's had a superb season so far.

Jens Voigt got to spend only a single day in polka dots.

The scene at the York departure. Photo ©Sirotti

Alberto Contador leads Vincenzo Nibali up the day's last climb, Jenkin Rd. Photo ©Sirotti

Chris Froome. Photo ©Sirotti

Vincenzo Nibali not only timed his attack perfectly so that no one wanted to drag Peter Sagan to the line, he had the suds to stay away. Photo ©Sirotti

Nibali gets help putting on his new leader's jersey from an expert on the subject, Bernard Hinault. Photo ©Sirotti

Blel Kadri holds up his well-earned combativity prize. Photo ©Sirotti

Stage 2 map and profile:

Stage 2 map

Stage 2 profile

© McGann Publishing

Classement par équipe Tour de France 2014

A Comprehensive Guide to the 2024 Giro d’Italia

[table-of-contents] stripped

It’s late April, which means it’s almost time for one of the sport’s hardest races in one of the world’s most beautiful locations: the Giro d’Italia , the first of pro cycling’s trifecta of three-week “grand tours.” While not as prestigious as the Tour de France , the Tour of Italy is considered by many to be the hardest grand tour of the season, a race known for its challenging terrain, stunning scenery, and the iconic maglia rosa , the “pink jersey” that’s awarded each day to the leader of the Giro’s General Classification.

Here’s everything you need to know about the 2024 Giro d’Italia:

Dates: Saturday, May 4 - Sunday, May 26

How to Watch

If you’re a Max subscriber ($9.99/month), then you have access to the streaming platform’s B/R Sports package, which is the only legal way to stream the Giro d’Italia in the USA. For now, the package is free to all regular Max subscribers, but at some point, it will cost an additional $9.99 each month. That’s not as affordable as GCN+ used to be, but considering everything else you get with the B/R Sports package (such as MLB, NHL, NBA, NCAA Men’s March Madness, U.S. Soccer, and 24 Hours of Le Mans coverage) it’s a pretty good deal.

Max has a user-friendly app for smartphones, streaming devices, game consoles, and smart TVs. There’s also an easy-to-navigate website, which is a helpful option for streaming the race from work. (Don’t worry, we won’t tell your boss.)

You could cancel your monthly subscription at the end of the race, but remember that Max will be offering live streams of many road, mountain, track, and cyclocross races throughout the rest of the year. If that floats your boat, consider getting an annual subscription for $99.99 (or $149.99 for ad-free streaming).

The 107th edition of the Giro d’Italia covers 3,386.7K (2,138 miles) over 21 stages, with two individual time trials, seven stages with uphill finishes, and six to eight stages expected to end with field sprints.

This year’s Grande Partenza takes place in Piemonte, near the French-Italian Alps, with two challenging road stages that will force the Giro’s GC contenders to be at their best right away. Stage 1, a 136K stage from Venaria Reale to Torino, features three categorized climbs–including the Superga and the Colle Maddalena–but it’s a short, punchy, uncategorized ascent just before the finish that could determine the stage winner.

Stage 2 begins in San Francesco al Campo and ends after 150K with this year’s first summit finish–on the Category 1 Santuario di Oropa, the climb on which deceased Italian legend Marco Pantani took one of his most famous stage wins in 1999. By the end of the first weekend, the GC battle will already be in full swing.

The race then begins working its way south, and Stages 3, 4, and 5—which finish in Fossano, Andora, and Lucca, respectively—should be days for the Giro’s sprinters. (Although the finishes of Stages 3 and 4 feature ramps inside the final 10K that could thwart the fast men.) Stage 6 brings the race from the coast into Tuscany (it finishes in Rapolano Terme) and features 12K of the strade bianche (“white gravel roads”) that give March’s Strade Bianche road race its name. If there’s one stage during the first week that has the potential to cause a few surprises, it’s this one.

Stage 7 is the first individual time trial of the Giro, and it’s a tough one: beginning in Foligno, the 37.2K race against the clock starts with over 30K of flat roads. But there’s a nasty sting in the course’s tail: a 6.5K climb to the finish line that starts steep and then ascends more gradually to the line. Riders who don’t pace themselves on the flat part of the course could explode on the final climb. There could be large time gaps here.

Starting in Spoleto, Stage 8 brings the second summit finish of the first week–on the Category 1 Prati di Tivo, a 14K climb in the Umbrian Apennines with an average gradient of 7%. With a field sprint expected in Napoli at the end of Sunday’s Stage 9 (after a 214K stage that starts in Avezzano), Stages 7 and 8 will determine which rider will wear the maglia rosa into the Giro’s first Rest Day.

The second week begins in Pompeii with Stage 10, a 142K stage that features a summit finish on a new climb, the Category 1 Bocca della Selva, a 20.9K climb with a deceiving 4.6% average gradient. The first few kilometers are actually downhill, so the climb is actually harder than its statistics suggest.

We expect Stage 11 (207K) to end with a field sprint in Francavilla al Mare, and Stage 12—with a jagged 190K stage through the Marche region (an area known for its muri or “walls”)—looks like the perfect day for a breakaway filled with puncheurs and riders who perform well in the spring classics. Friday’s Stage 13 is the flattest stage of this year’s race, which is probably a good thing considering the next two stages. This 179K stage from Riccione to Cento will be an active rest day for much of the peloton.

And they’ll need one because the third weekend begins with Stage 14–the Giro’s second individual time trial–a generally flat, 31K course from Castiglione delle Stiviere to Desenzano del Garda. This is a day for the Giro’s time trial specialists; the pure climbers will struggle to stay within shouting distance of their more powerful colleagues.

But they’ll have a chance for revenge on Sunday, when the race heads into the Alps for Stage 15, a 220K monster stage (the longest in this year’s race) with five categorized climbs, including back-to-back 2000m summits (both Category 1 ascents) at the end of the day, with a summit finish at the Mottolino ski resort just above Livigno. This weekend should blow the Giro wide open, leaving just a handful of riders still in contention to win the race overall.

The third week begins the same way the second week ends, with a 200K, high-altitude mountain stage. Stage 16 features the granddaddy of them all: the Stelvio, this year’s “Cima Coppi” as the highest summit in the race. Topping out at over 2700m, the climb comes early in the stage but will nonetheless offer a rude awakening to a peloton that’s coming out of the second Rest Day. After a long ride down into and through a valley, the day ends with the Category 1 Passo Pinei and then a summit finish on the Category 2 Monte Pana, in Santa Cristina in Val Gardena.

At “just” 159K, Stage 17 is much shorter than the previous two mountain stages, but it’s jammed with five categorized climbs, including the Category 2 Passo Sella and the Category 1 Passo Rolle. The day ends with two ascents of the Category 1 Passo Brocon, which the riders climb for a second time on their way to the finish line. This will be an intense stage, and it could pose a challenge for the team defending the pink jersey to control. The riders will be either climbing or descending from start to finish and if someone’s going to stage a third-week ambush, it could come here.

The next two stages offer a break from the mountains. Stage 18 brings a 166K downhill ride from Fiera di Primiero to Padua that should end with a field sprint. Stage 19 looks like the perfect chance for a small group of opportunists–who have likely been saving themselves in the high mountains–to escape and fight for a breakaway stage win in Sappada.

The 154K stage begins in Mortegliano and climbs steadily throughout the day, culminating with three categorized climbs in the second half stage, the last of which the riders summit just 7K from the finish. After so many days of intense climbing–and with one more day in the mountains still to come–the peloton could just sit back and let the break go all the way to the finish.

That sets the stage for Stage 20, the last chance for anyone hoping to steal the 2024 Giro d’Italia from whoever's been leading it. And–as the last two editions have shown us–that’s a realistic possibility. Starting in Alpago, the stage rolls along for about 85K before the first of two ascents of the Monte Grappa, an 18K climb with an average gradient of 8.1%–that’s steep . This isn’t a stage with a summit finish–the race finishes in Bassano del Grappa after a long descent from the top of the Monte Grappa down into the valley below–but even without one, the stage should still provide a dramatic conclusion to the Giro’s GC battle.

The race concludes Sunday in Rome with a 122K road stage featuring several circuits through the Eternal City. The day will begin with clinking glasses of prosecco, and end with one last chance for the sprinters to grab some glory.

You can find the elevation profiles and course maps for each 2024 Giro d’Italia stage here .

What Happened Last Year

For the second year in a row, the 2023 Giro d’Italia was decided on the grand tour’s penultimate day. In 2022, Australia’s Jai Hindley (BORA-hansgrohe) took the pink jersey from Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz (INEOS Grenadiers) on Stage 20. Hindley won a mountain stage at the end of the grand tour’s first week, then hung around near the top of the General Classification before seizing his moment late in the Giro’s final mountain stage and winning the race overall.

In 2023, Slovenia’s Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) followed the same formula, albeit without an early-stage win. After Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step)—who had won two stages and was wearing the pink jersey as the Giro’s overall leader—was forced to abandon the race after testing positive for Covid-19 on the eve of the Giro’s first Rest Day, Great Britain’s Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers) took the maglia rosa . With the exception of the two days straddling the second Rest Day, Thomas held the jersey for much of the second and third weeks.

But he cracked on Stage 20, an 18.6K uphill time trial from Tarvisio to the summit of the Monte Lussari. Roglič, who entered the day just 26 seconds behind Thomas on GC, won the stage by 40 seconds, taking the pink jersey–and the 2023 Giro–by a slim margin.

Thomas held on to finish second, and Portugal’s João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) finished third. Italy’s Jonathan Milan (Bahrain-Victorious) won the Points Classification, France’s Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) won the King of the Mountains Classification, and Almeida was the Giro’s Best Young Rider.

Riders to Watch

Tadej pogačar (uae team emirates).

With most of the sport’s best grand tour riders (including Roglič) racing the Tour de France this summer, this year’s Giro has a short list of overall contenders, a list that’s headlined by one of the sport’s true superstars: Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates).

The 25-year-old has never raced the Giro, and he takes the starting line this year as the favorite to win and dominate it. Then he’s planning to head to the Tour, where he’s hoping to become the first rider since Italy’s Marco Pantani in 1998 to win the Giro and the Tour in the same season.

Geraint Thomas (INEOS-Grenadiers)

Pogačar’s biggest challenger will likely be Geraint Thomas, who’s coming back to the Giro after last year’s disappointment. The 37-year-old (he’ll turn 38 during the race) will have a strong and experienced team supporting him–and the course suits him–but he’ll have a hard time overcoming Pogačar.

Cian Uijtdebroeks (Visma-Lease a Bike)

We’ll also be keeping an eye on Belgium’s Cian Uijtdebroeks (Visma-Lease a Bike), who made headlines last December when it was announced that he was breaking his contract with BORA-hansgrohe (who had recently signed Roglič away from Jumbo) to join the Dutch superteam.

The winner of the Tour de l‘Avenir in 2022, Uijtdebroeks just turned 21 and is widely considered to be a future grand tour contender. Without Belgium’s Wout van Aert, who’s skipping the Giro due to injuries he sustained in a crash at a race in Belgium a few weeks ago, Uijtdebroeks becomes the focus of the team’s Giro plans. And with a strong squad alongside him, he could finish on the podium and is the easy pick to become the Giro’s Best Young Rider.

Ben O’Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale)

Other GC contenders include Australia’s Ben O’Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), a former fourth-place finisher at the Tour de France and Giro stage-winner; Italy’s Damiano Caruso (Bahrain-Victorious), a former Giro podium-finisher; Colombia’s Daniel Martinez (BORA-hansgrohe), a former fifth-place finisher at the Giro; Great Britain’s Hugh Carthy (EF Education-EasyPost), a two-time top-10 finisher; and France’s Romain Bardet (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL), a former Tour de France podium finisher who was seventh at the Giro in 2021 but might be more of stage hunter this year.

Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek)

Other stage hunters include Italy’s Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek), a three-time stage winner who was the Giro’s King of the Mountains in 2019; France’s Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal-Quick Step), who’s riding his first Giro; and Canada’s Michael Woods (Israel-PremierTech), who’s hoping to complete a hat-trick of grand tour stage victories with a win in Italy.

Nairo Quintana (Movistar)

One of the most controversial riders in this year’s Giro will be Colombia’s Nairo Quintana (Movistar), winner of the Giro in 2014. But the 34-year-old hasn’t raced since finishing sixth overall in the 2022 Tour de France and then having his results disqualified after testing positive for tramadol, a painkiller that’s banned by the UCI (but not banned by WADA). He’s now back in the WorldTour with the team that made him famous. His return has not been a popular one , though, and it will be interesting to see how he’s received in Italy.

The Giro also offers several stage win opportunities for field sprinters, and that–plus the fact that the Tour de France is very not sprinter-friendly–means there will be lots of them taking the start, including Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek); Belgium’s Tim Merlier (Soudal–Quick Step); Dutch sprinters Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Fabio Jakobsen (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL), and Australia’s Sam Welsford (BORA-Hansgrohe), Caleb Ewan (Jayco AlUla) and Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck); and Eritrea’s Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty).

Last but not least, the Giro will see several North Americans taking the start, with Americans Larry Warbasse (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Magnus Sheffield (INEOS Grenadiers), and Will Barta (Movistar) joining Woods on the starting line, with more expected to join them as teams finalize their rosters.

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Points at finish

Youth day classification, team day classification, race information.

• Date: 23 April 2024
• Start time: 14:50
• Avg. speed winner: 46.903 km/h
• Race category: ME - Men Elite
• Distance: 2.28 km
• Points scale: 2.WT.Stage
• UCI scale: UCI.WR.C1.Stage
• Parcours type:
• ProfileScore: 0
• Vert. meters: 3
• Departure: Payerne
• Arrival: Payerne
• Race ranking: 27
• Startlist quality score: 688
• Avg. temperature: 6 °C

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2014 Report Card: AG2R La Mondiale

Banner year for the French squad

AG2R La Mondiale WorldTour ranking : 7th (Up five places from 2013) Win count : 17 (Up from 8 in 2013) Top riders : Jean-Christophe Péraud (10th), Romain Bardet (18th), Domenico Pozzovivo (27th)

Betancur will stay at AG2R, says Lavenu

Bakelants signs for Ag2r-La Mondiale

Lavenu plans Ag2r’s long-term future

Q&A: Romain Bardet

First week of 2015 Tour de France is delicate for Péraud and contenders, says Lavenu

Video: Bardet reacts to 2015 Tour de France route

News shorts: Bouet's step to Etixx-QuickStep a dream come true

Pozzovivo targets Grand Tour podium and Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2015

For too many years the AG2R La Mondiale team's presence in the peloton has been about as exciting as their investment banker brown and blue kits, but in 2014 they rode as if clad in something considerably brighter.

The French team threw off the shackles of fighting to earn enough points to survive in the WorldTour and employed an assertive, if not aggressive, strategy that provided an impressive return on its investments of the past few years.

Jean-Christophe Péraud, the oldest member of the team but only in his sixth season on the road after switching from mountain biking, signaled that something was different for the AG2R team when he won the Mont Faron stage of the Tour Méditerranéen and placed second overall in February.

Although coming into the season noticeably heavier, Carlos Betancur defied gravity by claiming both the Tour du Haut Var and Paris-Nice, giving the squad its first WorldTour general classification victory since Christophe Moreau won the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré in 2007. That was a pretty huge step for a team that has had single-digit totals in the win column for the past two years - and the season was still young.

The squad's up-and-coming climber Romain Bardet confirmed his promise with a strong second place finish on the key mountain stage in the Volta a Catalunya to Vallter 2000/Setcases. While he was out-kicked by Tejay van Garderen on the stage, Bardet notably came in ahead of Alberto Contador, Nairo Quintana and Chris Froome and went on to take fourth place overall.

Péraud again demonstrated his consistency with a solid third place finish in Vuelta al Pais Vasco, and although his climbing was not up to the standards of Contador on the opening stage, he time trialed his way onto the podium, dispatching Alejandro Valverde from second place perhaps foreshadowing the Tour de France.

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Although Domenico Pozzovivo showed good form with second place in the Giro del Trentino, his Giro d'Italia podium hopes were scuttled by illness in the harsh-weather race, but he finished fifth overall - equalling the feat of Carlos Betancur a year earlier, and moving himself up from 10th the previous year. AG2R's first place in the teams classification was another bit of Tour de France foreshadowing.

The team's performance in the Tour de France proved to be a true turning point not only for AG2R La Mondiale, but for French cycling in general.

When Blel Kadri claimed AG2r's morale-boosting solo stage victory in Gerardmer, Bardet was the team's top man on the general classification, but manager Vincent Lavenu stuck to his guns on who was the team's leader for the general classification.

Péraud slowly clawed himself back into a podium position over the course of the second half of the race, finally jetting ahead of Alejandro Valverde on stage 18 to Hautacam and then surpassing the race's best young rider Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) in the time trial to secure the runner-up position behind the untouchable Vincenzo Nibali (Astana).

Bardet hung on to sixth overall, with the promise of more to come in future years.

Their results, along with their commanding victory in the team classification, secured another four years of sponsorship from the two investment and insurance firms, and gave more time for Lavenu to further develop his talented young riders, who will replace the 37-year-old Péraud over the next few years.

Best signing : The addition of Jan Bakelants will give the team more options for Grand Tour stage wins and short stage races. The Belgian is most famous for winning stage 2 of the 2013 Tour de France with a cagey solo attack that also earned him the maillot jaune for two days. He has also won a stage in the Critérium du Dauphiné and the GP de Wallonie. The addition of Johan Vansummeren will give the team more of a presence in the Classics.

Biggest loss : Lavenu has retained most of his top talent, only letting go of his top sprinter Yauheni Hutarovich, who heads to Bretagne - Séché Environnement, and Maxime Bouet who turned heads in the Dauphiné. The loss of Hutarovich might mean the team's win column might shrink somewhat, but if you can get on the podium in the Tour de France, does it matter if you win 15 instead of 17 races?

Man to watch : All eyes will be on Carlos Betancur, who flaked out on Lavenu this year and spent more time in his native country than following his prescribed race programme. A rider can't win Paris-Nice and then vanish for four months without being scrutinized, but Lavenu's light but firm approach will hopefully keep the Colombian on an upward trajectory rather than a downward spiral.

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Laura Weislo has been with Cyclingnews since 2006 after making a switch from a career in science. As Managing Editor, she coordinates coverage for North American events and global news. As former elite-level road racer who dabbled in cyclo-cross and track, Laura has a passion for all three disciplines. When not working she likes to go camping and explore lesser traveled roads, paths and gravel tracks. Laura specialises in covering doping, anti-doping, UCI governance and performing data analysis.

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Onze victoires et un nouvelle réputation : Pourquoi Decathlon-AG2R plane aussi haut

Publié 26/04/2024 à 00:11 GMT+2

Et une de plus qui fait onze victoires. Mercredi, Dorian Godon a remporté la première étape du relevé Tour de Romandie, qui plus est devant son coéquipier Andrea Vendrame, dans une nouvelle démonstration de force et de maîtrise et la formation Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale. Quatrième équipe du World Tour, la formation française a changé de dimension et fait évoluer sa réputation.

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