cycling
That brings the day at the Tour de France
After two stage wins in a row, Tour dominator Tadej Pogacar should let the competition cheer on the eighth section. Photo: David Stockman/BELGA/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The Bora-hansgrohe team wants to recover, and Tadej Pogacar shouldn’t be aiming for another stage win either. Thus, the runaways could let off steam in the Switzerland guest performance of the tour.
Eighth stage, fourth country: After days in Denmark, Belgium and of course France, the Tour de France moves on to Switzerland on Saturday. A challenging finish awaits in Lausanne.
From the lake to the stadium
The finale of the 186.3 kilometers from Dole to Lausanne is a tough one. From the shore of Lake Geneva, the field is led up to the Olympic Stadium. The last kilometer alone has sections with gradients of up to 13 percent. The favorites need to be vigilant once again.
Break for Bora
After Lennard Kämna’s furious ride at the first mountain finish, the German team Bora-hansgrohe has to catch his breath. “We have to collect ourselves first,” said sports director Rolf Aldag. It is rather unlikely that a driver from the Bavarian team would end up in a breakaway during the trip to Switzerland.
Pogacar hat trick
Although the finale of the stage lies with the leader, after back-to-back victories Tadej Pogacar should let the competition celebrate. “So far, they’ve taken what’s possible,” said Aldag about the tactics of Pogacar’s team UAE. But the team will take a break and concentrate on controlling the race. It cannot be ruled out that Pogacar will still try to gain a few seconds against the competition for overall victory.