Cycling

Thomas De Gendt was victorious during Stage 8 of the 2019 Tour de France on Saturday.

The Belgian took early control at the front in a solo ride and maintained his lead until the finish line in Saint-Etienne.

Julian Alaphilippe claimed the yellow jersey after chasing De Gendt, but the Frenchman backed off to save energy in the final moments, and leads the general classifications by 23 seconds.

Team Ineos suffered a crash, with their lead riders bringing down champion Geraint Thomas. However, Thomas grabbed a new bike and quickly reestablished his position to finish 10th.

Stage 8 Result

1. Thomas De Gendt, Lotto Soudal

2. Thibaut Pinot, Groupama-FDJ

3. Julian Alaphilippe, Deceuninck-QuickStep

4. Michael Matthews, Team Sunweb

5. Peter Sagan, Bora-Hansgrohe

6. Matteo Trentin, Mitchelton-Scott

7. Xandro Meurisse, Wanty-Gobert

8. Greg Van Avermaet, CCC Team

9. Egan Bernal, Team Ineos

10. Geraint Thomas, Team Ineos

Latest General Classifications

1. Julian Alaphilippe, Deceuninck-QuickStep: 34 hours, 17 minutes, 59 seconds

2. Giulio Ciccone, Trek-Segafredo: 0:00:23

3. Thibaut Pinot, Groupama-FDJ: 0:00:53

4. George Bennett, Team Jumbo-Visma: 0:01:10

5. Geraint Thomas, Team Ineos: 0:01:12

6. Egan Bernal, Team Ineos: 0:01:16

7. Steven Kruijswijk, Team Jumbo-Visma: 0:01:27

8. Rigoberto Uran, EF Education First: 0:01:38

9. Jakob Fuglsang, Astana Pro Team: 0:01:42

10. Emanuel Buchmann, Bora-Hansgrohe: 0:01:45

The full results are available from the Tour de France's official website.

The 200-kilometre hill stage was perfect for classic racers, and riders were out of their seats, with the peloton struggling to stick together. Category climbs came thick and fast, and the competitors were gasping for breath as they battled for position.

De Gendt, Niki Terpstra and Ben King formed an early breakaway, but the three riders took the time to discuss their tactics and kept a minimal lead.

Ineos appeared to be going well when their team were involved in a crash. The collective fell at a corner, and Thomas was unseated, forcing the Tour holder to make up 25 seconds on the pack.

De Gendt continued to lead the race and built up a one-minute advantage with impressive climbing and race management.

The action remained laboured and tactical until the 10-kilometre mark from the finish. Alaphilippe was the trigger, and the rider initiated a sprint to spread the leaders.

Alaphilippe appeared to have aspirations of catching De Gendt and winning the stage, and Thibaut Pinot decided to stick with his compatriot.

However, De Gendt was calm at the front, and Alaphilippe and Pinot conceded they would not catch the eventual winner. De Gendt comfortably hung on to take the stage win, and he maintained his lead for the vast majority of the day. 

The Tour de France peloton will make its way to the city of Saint-Etienne on Saturday during Stage 8, a 200-kilometre ride that should serve up plenty of entertainment.

After Friday's bunch sprint in Chalon-sur-Saone, Saturday's ride promises to be far more thrilling. The hilly profile is perfectly suited for breakaway riders and the classic punchers alike, while the final climb of the Cote de la Jailliere may even throw up one or two surprises in the race for yellow.

The top contenders are likely to stay quiet to conserve energy for the high mountains. But just about everyone near the top of the general classification could push their chips forward on Saturday, hoping for some time in the yellow jersey.

Here is a look at the route and stage profile:

The stage will start in Macon and finish in Saint-Etienne. There will be no fewer than seven categorised climbs along the way, although none will be tougher than second category. There will be bonus seconds on offer on the final climb, an interesting twist for the GC:

Viewers from the UK can watch the stage via Eurosport 1 and ITV 4, with live-streaming options available via Eurosport Player and ITV Hub. American cycling fans can watch via NBC and its NBC Sports Live service.

There are two keys to this stage. The first is that the seven climbs don't appear to offer the potential for massive time gaps. Even the shorter hills with narrow, twisty roads aren't particularly daunting, and while riders could lose time if they have a bad day, no one is going to run away from the rest of the field on Saturday.

That means the top contenders―Geraint Thomas, Nairo Quintana and the likes―are likely to stay close to each other rather than risk all-out attacks ahead of the high mountains. With the Alps and Pyrenees still to come, it's far safer to save energy for those challenges.

The second key is the timing. With Sunday being Bastille Day, some French riders may opt to save their energy for that stage, which offers a similar challenge. Winning on the national holiday is one of the biggest honours in French cycling.

One man to keep an eye on will be Julian Alaphilippe, who sits just six seconds behind yellow jersey Giulio Ciccone. Expect him to do whatever he can to regain the yellow ahead of Bastille Day.

Dylan Groenewegen sprinted to his first stage win of the 2019 Tour de France on Friday, winning Stage 7 ahead of his main rivals for the points classification. Giulio Ciccone remains the leader in the general classification.

Groenewegen―who crashed in the opening stage―was the fastest man in an expected bunch sprint, beating Caleb Ewan and Peter Sagan to the finish line.

Here are the results from Friday's stage:

After the fireworks on the flanks of La Planche des Belles Filles on Thursday, fans knew they were in for a far more dull affair on Friday. The longest stage of this year's Tour, at 230 kilometres, had all the makings of a typical transition stage ending in a bunch sprint.

Yoann Offredo and Stephane Rossetto opted for a lengthy adventure:

The two broke away from the pack almost immediately, with no other riders up for joining them. Most of the day was spent with the duo building a steady lead and the peloton gradually increasing the pace.

Despite the slow initial pace, Tejay van Garderen ran into some trouble and fell victim to a heavy crash that left his face bloodied:

He was able to continue, but his cadence was visibly affected. It's a bad sign with more than two weeks of racing still to come.

While little action was expected until the peloton caught up to the two leaders, strong crosswinds surprised the pack immediately after the final intermediate sprint.

Cracks started to appear in the peloton, and top riders like Dan Martin, Jack Haig, Simon Yates, Wout van Aert, Nairo Quintana and Van Garderen all found themselves outside of the lead group.

It all came back together before the leaders were caught, and with 15 kilometres left to go, the sprint trains started to form. 

Groenewegen had been the in-form sprinter entering the Tour, but he needed some time to fully recover from his crash in Stage 1.

He powered his way past the other top sprinters with ease on Friday before narrowly holding off Ewan, signaling he's ready to compete for the green jersey:

Saturday's Stage 8 appears ideally suited for the less-heralded riders hoping for an unlikely win. The hilly profile won't challenge the top contenders for the yellow jersey, who are expected to save their energy for the high mountains. Instead, the adventurous breakaway riders will have a golden opportunity to grab the stage and perhaps a short stint in yellow.

On Sunday, the stage will finish in Brioude, the home town of France's top overall contender Romain Bardet. Expect the French riders to do all they can to win on Bastille Day on a course that once again favours breakaways.  

The focus of the 2019 Tour de France will shift from the general classification back to the points jersey on Friday, when the peloton leaves the Vosges massif behind and makes its way to Chalon-Sur-Saone in the longest stage of this year's race.

Stage 7 will be mostly flat, with three categorised climbs all coming fairly early in the day. The second half of the 230-kilometer ride will likely be at a high pace, and a bunch sprint seems almost inevitable.

Here is a look at the stage route and profile:

The stage will start in Belfort and finish in the commune of Chalon-Sur-Saone. Both are situated in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comte region.

UK viewers can tune into the stage via Eurosport 1 and ITV 4, with live streaming options available via the Eurosport Player and ITV Hub. Viewers in the United States can watch via NBC and its NBC Sports Live service.

The stage is expected to finish between 4-5 p.m. local time (3-4 p.m. BST/10-11 a.m. ET).

The 2019 Tour de France is one of the toughest organisers have put together in some time, with few opportunities for the sprint teams to make an impact. That means the trains of Lotto-Soudal, Deceuninck Quick-Step and Jumbo-Visma are expected to keep tight control of Friday's stage, and a successful breakaway seems almost impossible.

Dylan Groenewegen was the in-form sprinter entering the Tour, but the Dutchman crashed in the opening stage and has not found his rhythm since.

He was well behind Elia Viviani and the other top contenders for the points jersey when they sprinted for the win in Stage 4:

Peter Sagan has become almost synonymous with the points jersey, having won the green in six of the last seven editions. The one time he didn't, in 2017, he was disqualified. He's the obvious favourite to win his seventh this year, but he does the bulk of his damage with consistent podium finishes rather than outright wins.

Unlike the sprint in Nancy, Stage 7 will finish on relatively straight and wide roads. That means this should be a battle of pure strength, and the likes of Viviani, Groenewegen, Caleb Ewan, Fernando Gaviria, Alexander Kristoff and Sagan will fancy their chances.

Dylan Teuns won Stage 6 of the 2019 Tour de France on Thursday ahead of Giulio Ciccone.

The Belgian edged over the line first after the pair fought for the victory during the final climb.

Julian Alaphilippe had started the day in the yellow jersey, and a late charge appeared to keep the Frenchman in the overall lead.

However, Ciccone did enough to top the general classification by six seconds after a magnificent display from Mulhouse to La Planche des Belles Filles.

Tour champion Geraint Thomas completed the stage in fourth after a powerful finish during the final kilometre.

Stage 6 Result

1. Dylan Teuns, Bahrain-Merida, 4 hours, 29 minutes, three seconds

2. Giulio Ciccone, Trek-Segafredo, 0:00:11

3. Xandro Meurisse, Wanty-Gobert, 0:01:05

4. Geraint Thomas, Team Ineos, 0:01:44

5. Thibaut Pinot, Groupama-FDJ, 0:01:46

6. Julian Alaphilippe, Deceuninck-QuickStep, 0:01:46

7. Nairo Quintana, Movistar Team, 0:01:51

8. Emanuel Buchmann, Bora-Hansgrohe, 0:01:51

9. Jakob Fuglsang, Astana Pro Team, 0:01:53

10. Mikel Landa, Movistar Team, 0:01:53

General Classification

1. Giulio Ciccone, Trek-Segafredo, 23:14:55 

2. Julian Alaphilippe, Deceuninck-QuickStep, 0:00:06 

3. Dylan Teuns, Bahrain-Merida, 0:00:32 

4. George Bennett, Team Jumbo-Visma, 0:00:47 

5. Geraint Thomas, Team Ineos, 0:00:49 

6. Egan Bernal, Team Ineos, 0:00:53 

7. Thibaut Pinot, Groupama-FDJ, 0:00:58 

8. Steven Kruijswijk, Team Jumbo-Visma, 0:01:04 

9. Michael Woods, EF Education First, 0:01:13 

10. Rigoberto Uran, EF Education First, 0:01:15

The full results are available from the Tour de France's official website.

The true climbers benefited over the 160.5-kilometre stage, but seven categorised climbs was still a notable challenge to overcome.

Cycling journalist Will Newton highlighted the gradients:

As expected, the peloton was split early, with teams following different strategies within the core pack.

The finishing stretch contained a gravel road, and Ciccone tussled with Mikel Landa and Nairo Quintana over the last 10 kilometres.

The stage then developed into a two-horse race, and Ciccone was chased by Teuns in a breakaway.

Ciccone's legs appeared in great shape, with the Italian out of his seat and pushing. However, the Trek-Segafredo rider was eventually beaten by Teuns, who had saved enough in the tank to prevail.

The final moments were lit up by Thomas' performance, with the Welshman exploding towards the finish line to enhance his GC chances.

Thomas timed his final climb to perfection, and his patience allowed him to ride to his own tactics.

Despite Ciccone's disappointment after being pipped to the stage win, the yellow jersey is a deserved reward for the 24-year-old.   

Julian Alaphilippe remained in the yellow jersey while Peter Sagan claimed victory in the bunch sprint at the end of Stage 5 at the 2019 Tour de France on Wednesday.

Thursday's Stage 6 will be a big one for the general classification riders as there are seven categorised climbs squeezed into the 160.5-kilometre run that begins at Mulhouse before a summit finish at La Planche des Belles Filles.

Eurosport 1 and ITV 4 will provide coverage for UK viewers, with live streams available via Eurosport Player and the ITV Hub. Viewers in the United States can tune in via NBC and its NBC Sports Live service.

Stage 6 could be explosive. It is arguably the toughest day of the entire 2019 Tour, but all the GC riders should still be fresh given the opening week is not yet over.

It will be a day when the favourites to win this year's race come to the fore, and it could prove the end of the line for any contenders who cannot handle the pace.

Early on in the stage the peloton will head into the Vosges via Le Markstein, an almost 11-kilometre climb at an average 5.4 percent gradient. 

The riders will then crest the Grand Ballon before a sharp climb up the Col du Hundsruck.

The Ballon d'Alsace is the stage's longest climb at 11 kilometres before the short Col des Croix. 

And all of that leads to a brutal finish over the Col des Chevreres and up La Planche des Belles Filles.

The former averages nearly 10 percent and tops out at 18, while the final climb has a section at an eye-watering 20 percent.

Stage 6 is the first big day for the GC riders and will be hugely instructive as to who is in the best shape overall.

One interesting subplot will be how the Team Ineos co-leaders Geraint Thomas and Egan Bernal fare.

The 22-year-old Colombian is arguably more suited to the incessant climbing and descending in store, and if he comes out on top he could take a big step on the road to race victory.  

Peter Sagan won Stage 5 of the 2019 Tour de France on Wednesday.

The Bora-Hansgrohe rider crossed the finish line in a sprint finish in Colmar ahead of Wout van Aert and Matteo Trentin.

It is the 29-year-old's 12th Tour de France stage victory.

Here are the results from Stage 5:

Julian Alaphilippe remains the general classification leader while his closest rival is Van Aert, who sits 14 seconds behind.

The peloton began the 175.5-kilometre stage in Saint-Die-des-Vosges.

A hectic start saw multiple early, brief breakaway attempts with Lotto Soudal's Thomas De Gendt heavily involved.

Eventually, four did successfully escape the peloton—De Gendt's Lotto Soudal team-mate Tim Wellens, Mads Schmidt Wurtz, Toms Skujins and Simon Clarke—while Sagan remained at the front of the chasing pack.

Polka dot jersey wearer Wellens took full advantage of being in the breakaway, and he took King of the Mountain points at the Cote de Grendelbruch and the Cote du Haut-Koenigsbourg:

Meanwhile, Clarke won the intermediate sprint at Heiligenstein.

The breakaway was eventually subsumed by the peloton. Skujins was the last one to fall with around 21 kilometres remaining, but not before he took maximum points at the Cote des Trois-Epis.

After a late charge from Rui Costa, Sagan made his move at the death to secure the win:

On Thursday, the riders face a gruelling, mountainous route in Stage 6, as they travel 160.5 kilometres from Mulhouse to La Planche des Belles Filles.

Deceuninck-QuickStep's Julian Alaphilippe remains at the top of the general classification of the 2019 Tour de France heading into Wednesday's fifth stage, which runs from Saint-Die-des-Vosges to Colmar.

The stage will be the most testing so far for the riders who face four climbs over the 175.5 kilometre route before finishing off with a fast and flat run to the finish line.

The Tour provided a guide of Wednesday's stage:

Date: Wednesday, July 10

Time: 1:25 p.m. local, 12:25 p.m. BST, 7:25 a.m. ET

Route: Saint-Die-des-Vosges to Colmar, France 

TV: Eurosport 1, ITV 4, NBC

Stream: Eurosport Player, ITV Hub, NBC Sports

Stage 5 Preview

Belgian team Deceuninck-QuickStep have enjoyed a fine start to the Tour de France. Alaphilippe has the yellow jersey, while team-mate Elia Viviani won Stage 4 on Tuesday.

Alaphilippe knows what to expect from Stage 5 as the riders encounter the first testing climbs of the 2019 Tour, and he is in no mood to relinquish top spot, per the official Tour de France website.

"Tomorrow it will be harder. For sure, we will continue to defend the jersey," he said. "If I lose it, it'll mean someone will beat us, but I won't give up."

Wednesday's stage is shorter and features steep climbs and treacherous descents, which means it would be no surprise to see a breakaway win the stage.

Cycling journalist Will Newton says such a scenario is likely to tempt riders:

The stage may suit Tim Wellens, who is the current King of the Mountains and may be keen to extend his lead over Xando Meurisse and Greg van Avermaet:

The hills mean it will be a good day for attacking, and the action is likely to hot up over the stage's final two climbs over the Cote des Trois Epis and the Cote des Cinqs-Chateaux.

Riders will need to blend strong climbing with skilful descents and find a fast finish into the pretty town of Colmar if they are to scoop victory on Wednesday.

The general classification contenders are expected to hold back ahead of a tough day through the Vosges in Stage 6, which offers the opportunity to really make a mark on this year's race.

Deceuninck - Quick-Step's Elia Viviani won Stage 4 of the 2019 Tour de France on Tuesday, beating Alexander Kristoff and Caleb Ewan in a sprint finish on the narrow streets of Nancy.

The Italian specialist only just managed to hold off his rivals for the green jersey, taking his first-ever win in the Tour. Julian Alaphilippe, who played a key role in Viviani's lead-out, is still the overall leader.

Here are the results from Stage 4:

Tuesday's stage was a mostly flat one, giving the sprint specialists a rare opportunity for a stage win. With the Vosges massif fast approaching, the breakaway specialists and contenders for the general classification were expected to stay quiet.

Michael Schar, Frederik Backaert and Yoann Offredo made up the early break, quickly building a solid lead. The three took advantage of an early toilet break, setting up a dull scenario that did not make for great viewing:

Their lead sat just above the three-minute mark for most of the day, but it had shrunk to roughly one minute with 45 kilometers left to ride. The sprint teams made sure to keep them close, knowing they would not get many more opportunities to grab a stage win.

Schar was the last man caught inside of 20 kilometers, and with plenty of racing still to do, there were chances for a late break. Lilian Calmejane tried his luck and found a gap, but with a headwind blowing and 11 kilometers left, he was doomed from the start. 

The narrow streets of the city of Nancy made it difficult to organise the sprint trains, but 

Deceuninck - Quick-Step still managed a decent lead-out train for Viviani. The Italian narrowly beat power-sprinters Kristoff and Ewan, while green jersey favourite Peter Sagan took fourth place ahead of Dylan Groenewegen. 

Wednesday's stage seems perfectly suited for a long breakaway to succeed, although the punchers will also like their chances. The star climbers and top contenders will take centre stage for the first time on Thursday when the stage finishes on the flanks of the steep La Planche des Belles Filles.

Deceuninck-QuickStep rider Julian Alaphilippe will be hoping to pad his advantage in the general classification at the 2019 Tour de France when the race enters its fourth stage on Tuesday.

The stage should favour the sprinters, with plenty of flat terrain for riders to attack after the hills of Binche and Epernay. It's a chance for defending champion Geraint Thomas to make up some of the time and ground he lost on Monday.

Date: Tuesday, July 9

Time: 11.20 a.m. local, 10.20 a.m. BST, 5.20 a.m. ET

Route: Reims to Nancy, France (213.5 kilometres)

TV: Eurosport 1, ITV 4, NBC

Stream: Eurosport Player, ITV Hub, NBC Sports

Thomas will look to stay in the mix ahead of an appealing final straight. The Welshman chose to preserve energy during the third stage, particularly when it came to attacking the climb at Cote de Mutigny.

While Alaphilippe staked his claim to the yellow jersey on this descent, Thomas didn't fancy it, per Gregor Brown of Cycling Weekly: "Obviously that climb where Alaphilippe went was steep and it was hard, but I just knew I didn't have the legs to go for the bonus sprint, or at least if I had tried, it would've been 100 per cent maximum effort and I wasn't keen for that."

Having something in reserve will be a benefit when the riders engage in what will likely be a bunch sprint as they enter Nancy.

Ironically, Thomas' biggest threat may come from fellow Team Ineos rider Egan Bernal. The Colombian left his more decorated team-mate trailing when the competitors began the uphill sprint to the finish in Epernay.

It was a 500-metre stretch, one kilometre less than the final straight at Nancy. Crucially, though, this sprint will be on a flat, accommodating surface, one riders should be fresh for after tackling just two climbs, both of them manageable, before it.

The course could favour the younger Bernal. Still just 22, he is the "man in form at the moment," according to Sir Bradley Wiggins, who told Alex Terrell of The Sun how both could clash during the sixth stage: "I can't wait to see it. If they both get there on zero time to each other, no time losses, no more crashes in the next few days, it's going to be really interesting."

Bernal leads Thomas by five seconds, but they will need to up their speeds in key moments to keep pace with Alaphilippe's team-mate, Elia Viviani. The latter is proficient on the sprints, as is tour veteran Peter Sagan, who is back wearing the green jersey, an honour he is hoping to win for the seventh time.

Any true sprinter will savour this stage, even though Cycling News believes those vying for the yellow jersey won't make their moves ahead of the last three kilometres.

Such a strategy would guarantee a dramatic finish on a course offering relief to riders ahead of more challenging uphill climbs to follow.