Beating the odds, the breakaway succeeded in Stage 8 of the Tour de France. A nine-man break whittled down to one rider, Rui Alberto Costa, who survived to cross the finish line in first place. The contenders for the yellow jersey kept pace with one another, while the current race leader, Thor Hushovd, impressed by staying in the mix.
The day started with good news about American Chris Horner. The RadioShack rider crashed hard on yesterday’s Stage 7. While he finished the race, he was taken to the hospital to investigate a possible head injury. Luckily, the 39-year-old from Oregon suffered only a broken nose and hematoma on his leg. With Horner at the best form of his career, it was unfortunate that he was forced to withdraw from the race due to his injuries, but the important thing is that he is well. A tweet on his behalf today reads, “Chris is doing well today. Has a sore face and leg, but is in good spirits and is looking forward to 2012 TdF. Thanks for the support!”
The stage through central France began in Aigurande, and as usual, a breakaway went off the front. This is when a small group of riders from different teams or one solo rider rides hard to get in front of the peloton. The goal is to stay ahead until the finish line, but this is rarely successful. Because the break is composed of a small group or solo rider, it does not have the advantage of the main pack, who take turns cutting the wind and have the opportunity to draft and save precious energy. Teams often take responsibility for leading the peloton to catch the break when they want to win the stage; they don’t want the men in the break to snatch it. However today, no squad was eager to expend the energy to catch the break. Garmin-Cervelo did not expect that Thor Hushovd could keep the yellow jersey, given the last two climbs. With Cadel Evans currently in second place, BMC was not interested in grabbing yellow this early in the race, as it takes extra effort to defend it and there are many miles to go before Paris. As a result, the peloton drove just slow enough to allow Costa to ride to victory.
The break started off with nine riders, a larger group with a better chance to survive. The group included the 22-year-old from HTC-Highroad, Tejay Van Garderen, who impressed with hard riding at the front and several smart attacks. Astana’s Alexander Vinokourov launched off the peloton, aiming to reach the break, win the stage, and grab the yellow jersey. At one point, he was the virtual leader of the Tour. The break was down to four riders including Costa and Van Garderen, and they were attacking each other. In the end, only the Portugese rider had the legs to beat the power of the peloton, as he crossed the line alone in first place.
The stage win was good news for a team receiving too much bad news lately. Team leader Xavier Tondo died in an accident involving his garage door in May, then at the Tour de Suisse, Mauricio Soler suffered a horrible crash and was in a medically induced coma for several weeks. At the 2011 Tour de France, Jose Joaquin Rojas has provided the first positive results for the Spanish team, as he wore the green jersey for two days and has been competitive in the sprints. Now Costa’s victory gives them more to celebrate.
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| Horner & Van Garderen at Tour of Calif. |
In addition, the Norwegian Thor Hushovd demonstrated the special powers the yellow jersey seems to bestow upon its wearer. Because his specializes in flatter stages, Hushovd surprised everyone by staying with the peloton through today’s significant climbs and retaining the race lead for another day. The riders favored to take the jersey to Paris sized each other up and kept pace. Australian Cadel Evans produced extra effort at the finish to come in second on the stage, perhaps another little chip in his arsenal of confidence.
Stage 8 top finishers:
1. Rui Alberto Costa (Movistar)
2. Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto)
3. Cadel Evans (BMC)
4. Samuel Sanchez (Euskatel-Euskadi)
5. Peter Velits (HTC-Highroad)
Post-race interview with Tejay Van Garderen: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/43696760#43696760
View complete Stage 8 results: http://www.letour.fr/2011/TDF/LIVE/us/800/classement/index.html
View Stage 9 map and profile:
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