Tour de France, Preview 8th stage to the Olympic Stadium in Lausanne: steep finale in Switzerland on Saturday

The first week of this tour was not particularly sprinter-friendly and the eighth leg to Lausanne should see a breakaway group or a lively puncher as the winner at the end.

After the start in Dole and the intermediate sprint of the day after 41.4 kilometers in Montrond, the terrain gradually starts to get bumpier. The Côte du Maréchet (4th category) is the first mountain classification of the day after 75.6 kilometers – Simon Geschke could score there for the first time in the fight for the mountain jersey.

Shortly thereafter, at kilometer 101.3 kilometers, the route climbs up to 1000 meters more altitude to the Côte des Rousses (3rd category), after which the field of riders leaves France for Switzerland – after Denmark and Belgium, this is the third trip abroad on this tour. After 136.9 kilometers there is another mountain classification on the Col de Pétra Félix (4th category), followed by a 30-kilometer descent.

Along Lake Geneva, the riders reach their destination of Lausanne. The route planners have picked the Olympic Stadium as their destination. The way there leads via the final climb to the Côte du Stade Olympique (3rd category), which is 4.6 kilometers long and has an average gradient of 4.8 percent. The home stretch is around 700 meters long, but moderate with a gradient of around three percent.

On the other hand, the final climb has a kilometer with a gradient of over 12%, which speaks against a mass sprint and should also make all contenders for the overall ranking be vigilant.

Tour, Stage 8: The Favorites

(Almost) everything is possible on this stage: From the third day’s win in a row for Tadej Pogacar to victory for a sprinter with strong mountaineering like Michael like Matthews or Wout Van Aert or even a breakaway. Maybe Mathieu van der Poel can turn his previously disappointing Tour here, Alexis Vuillermoz can ensure the first French stage win of the 2022 Tour or let the German fans cheer for riders like Jonasrutsch, Georg Zimmermann or John Degenkolb.

Incidentally, the stadium in Lausanne does not deserve the name “Stade Olympique” because the Olympic Games were once held there, but because Lausanne has been the seat of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) since 1915.

Tour shock: Two drivers positive for Corona

Before the start of the 8th stage, the tour had to process its first corona cases in the field of riders. French professional cyclist Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R-Citroen) and Norwegian Vegard Stake Laengen from defending champion Tadej Pogacar’s UAE team tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the start of Stage 8 from Dole to Lausanne. Bouchard, 30, and Stake Laengen (33) were immediately isolated from their teams.