Tour de France – 8th stage live in the ticker today: Will Van Aert blow on the day of the punchers to attack the day’s victory?

A chaotic high-speed sprint was on the agenda in Bordeaux on Friday and Jasper Philipsen denied Mark Cavendish the record victory in the sprinting metropolis. And also on Saturday on the 8th stage, some fast men could fight for the day’s victory again – but probably not all.

The finale of Stage 8 is hilly, with two Category 4 climbs in the last 15 kilometers. This offers opportunities to attack for puncheurs. Or will a breakaway group prevail anyway?

3:45pm – Cavendish gets into the ambulance

That’s it! Mark Cavendish’s Tour de France career ends around 60 kilometers before the end of the 8th stage. What a dramatic story!

3:41pm – Cavendish down!

Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) falls from the back of the field and immediately grabs his shoulder. It looks like a broken collarbone for the British sprint legend.

3:31 p.m. – 3 minutes only for the top

The Lidl – Trek team leads the peloton over the summit of the Bergpreis, exactly three minutes behind the three escapees.

3:28 p.m. – Turgis takes the mountain points

Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies) wins the 3rd category mountain prize ahead of Tim Declercq (Soudal – Quick-Step) – two mountain points for the French, one for the Belgian.

3:25 p.m. – Cofidis and Lidl – Trek get into the tempo work

In addition to Jumbo – Visma, Cofidis and Lidl – Trek are now also taking the lead in the main field. The lead of the top three has dropped to 3:25 minutes.

15:22 – The top climbs to the Cote de Champs-Romain

2.8 kilometers at 5.2 percent – not a really difficult mountain, but at least category 3 for the first climb of the day. Now it’s off into the hills – 73 kilometers to go.

3:10pm – Next 4 minutes for the top

80 kilometers to the stage finish in Limoges and there are still four minutes ahead for the three front runners.

3:00 p.m. – 48.5 km/h in the first two hours of racing

After the extremely fast start, the race is still very fast in the second hour of racing. However, the average has now dropped from over 50 km/h from hour 1 to 48.5 km/h.

2:48 pm – 30 kilometers until it gets hilly

Jumbo – Visma and Alpecin – Deceuninck now have the situation under control. The gap to the top is four minutes and there are still 30 kilometers to go before the hilly finale begins with the 4th category climb to the Cote de Champs-Romain.

2:39 p.m. – Jumbo and Alpecin are working together

Jumbo – Visma continues at the front of the pack. The Yellow Blacks are now teaming up with Alpecin – Deceuninck to pursue the breakaways. With 107 kilometers to go, there are still 4:10 minutes on the clock.

2:33 p.m. – Main field closed again

Jumbo – Visma brings back the ten men around van der Poel and the main field is together again. The only real effect of the whole action: The lead of the three outliers of the day has shrunk to four minutes.

2:27 p.m. – Hectic in the field – van der Poel and Co pull through

Now that’s exciting! The group that sprinted away from the field pulls through. The sprinters are together with Mathieu van der Poel. And that calls Jumbo-Visma on the scene at the back. They are now going full throttle for Wout van Aert’s chances of winning.

2:25 p.m. – Philipsen just ahead of Meeus in the sprint

The main draw also sprints for the remaining 13 points. Philipsen has Cavendish on the back wheel, but Danny van Poppel surprisingly comes flying in with Jordi Meeus on the right. But then Philipsen is just a step ahead.

2:20 p.m. – Delaplace takes the intermediate sprint

The two French in the top group sprint for around 20 points for the green jersey and, above all, the 1,500 euros for the team fund. Delaplace prevails.

2:08 p.m. – Five minutes ahead

The three leaders approach the intermediate sprint and the hole continues to open. Five minutes now for Declercq, Delaplace and Turgis.

1:55 p.m. – 20 kilometers to the intermediate sprint

Declercq, Delaplace and Turgis still have 140 kilometers to go – and a gap of 4:30 minutes behind them. The intermediate sprint awaits in 20 kilometers, then the peloton will accelerate a little more for the first time.

1:40 p.m. – The distance remains constant for the time being

Just over four minutes – the gap between the leaders and the peloton is quite stable. Intermarché is currently more in control than chasing after the trio.

1:31 p.m. – Intermarché takes responsibility

The Intermarché – Circus – Wanty team takes the lead in the peloton, four minutes behind the three leaders. The men in neon yellow want to win the stage today with Biniam Girmay.

1:28pm – Consultation with the sporting directors

A lot is now being said behind the peloton: numerous drivers are returning to their team vehicles and talking to their sport directors. What’s next? Who will do the tracking work behind the three escapees? So far, no team has taken responsibility and the gap is widening very quickly. 3:30 minutes are already on the clock with 161 kilometers to go!

1:21 p.m. – 1:30 a.m. – the group stands

The breakaway trio has now significantly increased their lead in a very short time because the peloton is calm. That leaves the breakaway of the day with Declercq, Delaplace and Turgis.

1:18 p.m. – The lead is growing

Declercq, Turgis and Delaplace now have 33 seconds and the peloton is quiet for the first time. At the front, they ‘drive broadly’, using the entire road, and at the back of the convoy the first drivers pick up supplies.

1:13 p.m. – 15 seconds ahead for the trio

27 kilometers have been driven and the breakaway trio has a 15-second lead. But there is still a long way to go in the peloton. It continues to be attacked.

1:08 p.m. – Three men break away

A trio now have a small gap: Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergie) Anthony Delaplace (Arkéa – Samsic) and Tim Declercq (Soudal – Quick-Step).

1:05 pm – 22 kilometers in 20 minutes

The tailwind pushes the peloton through the prairie at breakneck speed. 20 minutes after the sharp start we have already covered 22 kilometers – unbelievable!

13:02 – Traaen crashes at roundabout

Torstein Traeen falls at a road divider just before a roundabout. However, the Norwegian can continue and is now trying to get back to the speeding main field in the vehicle convoy. This is going to be difficult!

12:50 p.m. – The group is not standing yet

6 kilometers have been driven and so far there is no breakaway group. Many drivers attacked, but just as many have closed the gaps again so far.

12:44 – Let’s go and attack!

Now Prudhomme clears the start and almost half the field attacks immediately. A lot of people want to join the group today.

12:43 PM – KM 0, but not yet underway

Laurent Pichon (Arkéa – Samsic) has a defect and therefore tour boss Christian Prudhomme waits a moment before the sharp start. Kilometer 0 has happened.

12:40 p.m. – “Don’t start in the back of the peloton”

In the EF Education – EasyPost team, the drivers are already warned via radio in the neutralization: If they don’t start at the end of the field, they will be informed. Because the wind comes from diagonally behind for the first few kilometers. So there could be wind edge racing right at the start here.

12:35 p.m. – How is this stage going?

In Limoges today, the mass sprint of a field decimated by the mountain prizes could wait – or breakaways come through. Two hot candidates today are definitely Wout van Aert, who announced yesterday that he would calculate something today, and Mathieu van der Poel. The stage ends only 22.5 kilometers from the grave of his grandfather Raymond Poulidor and suits the Dutchman very well in terms of the route profile.

12:32 p.m. – The peloton begins to move

With a delay of two minutes, the field of drivers started to roll. We are now moving 3 miles neutralized out of Libourne before the sharp start.

Tour de France live: Chance for the punchers