After Denmark, France and Belgium, the Tour de France took the direction of Switzerland this Saturday on the occasion of the eighth stage. An explosive final in Lausanne, on the Côte du Stade Olympique (5 km at 4.6%), strongly skimmed the peloton in the run up to the sprint.
Despite a profile suited for breakaways, the three leaders of the day didn’t receive a chance to go for the win, as the peloton maintained the gap under 2 minutes. The riders of Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux were united around Louis Meintjes and brought the South-African climber in a good position towards the foot of the final climb.
This climb of 5 kilometer was ridden at a high pace, resulting in a group of 20 riders sprinting for the victory. Meintjes finished 7 seconds after stage winner Wout Van Aert and continues his progression in the general classification of the Tour de France. He is provisionally 22nd at the end of this eighth stage.
« After a first nervous week, I felt that this eight stage was the less intense day for the riders in the peloton. In the beginning, we were attentive for the race moves and the making of the breakaway of the day, but in the end, only three riders escaped. So we focused on protecting Louis Meintjes and Andrea Pasqualon towards the final climb, which was ridden at a very high pace. I gave everything until the line and I'm satisfied about my feeling, giving me confidence for the two last weeks, which contain several opportunities. » « I'm satisfied about the perfect balance in terms of task division among the riders of our team since the start of this Tour. Our sports directors established several strategies to ensure that all of us receive chances to go for a result. For me, this would rather be from a breakaway. That's why I'll continue racing aggressively, hoping to be part of an interesting group. When we're not part of a breakaway, like today, we're united to protect our leaders. In this way, each of us is helpful and our cohesion is reinforced. »
