Le Tour 2014 – Stage 8

Tomblaine – Gérardmer La Mauselaine

Distance: 161 kilometers.

Now the climbing becomes serious as at the end of this stage are a pair of Category 2 climbs followed by a finish at the summit of a Category 3.

This is where the battle for the Yellow begins to take shape and climbing ability enters the calculus of the race.

Blel Kadri had a very good day – he won the stage, the Polka Jersey, and the Red Numbers. He broke away and led the race for the final 130 kilometers to finish comfortably ahead of Contador and Nibali. The top thirty riders have been significantly altered by the climbs.

Vincenzo Nibali ( Ita – AST – 041 ) [Yellow] 33h 48′ 52″
Peter Sagan ( Svk – CAN – 051 ) [Green] 267 points
Blel Kadri ( Fra – ALM – 086 ) [Polka Dot] 17 points
Michal Kwiatkowski ( Pol – OPQ – 074 ) 4 [White]

Team: Astana Pro ( AST – 041-049 ) [Yellow numbers]
Stage winner: Blel Kadri ( Fra – ALM – 086 )
Combative: Blel Kadri ( Fra – ALM – 086 ) [Red numbers]

Top Ten:

1 Vincenzo Nibali ( Ita – AST – 041 )
2 Jakob Fuglsang ( Den – AST – 042 ) + 01′ 44″
3 Richie Porte ( Aus – SKY – 007 ) + 01′ 58″
4 Michal Kwiatkowski ( Pol – OPQ – 074 ) + 02′ 26″
5 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte ( Esp – MOV – 011 ) + 02′ 27″
6 Alberto Contador ( Esp – TCS – 031 ) + 02′ 34″
7 Romain Bardet ( Fra – ALM – 082 ) + 02′ 39″
8 Alberto Costa Rui ( Por – LAM – 111 ) + 02′ 52″
9 Bauke Mollema ( Ned – BEL – 061 ) + 03′ 02″
10 Jurgen Van Den Broeck ( Bel – LTB – 131 ) + 03′ 02″

The Rest of the Top 30:

11 Tony Gallopin ( Fra – LTB – 134 ) + 03′ 27″
12 Thibaut Pinot ( Fra – FDJ – 127 ) + 03′ 32″
13 Tejay Van Garderen ( US – BMC – 141 ) + 03′ 34″
14 Jean-Christophe Péraud ( Fra – ALM – 081 ) + 03′ 37″
15 Geraint Thomas ( GB – SKY – 008 ) + 03′ 54″
16 Andrew Talansky ( US – GRS – 091 ) + 04′ 22″
17 Yury Trofimov ( Rus – KAT – 029 ) + 04′ 38″
18 Mikel Nieve Iturralde ( Esp – SKY – 005 ) + 05′ 09″
19 Laurens Ten Dam ( Ned – BEL – 067 ) + 05′ 44″
20 Tiago Machado ( Por – TNE – 206 ) + 06′ 07″
21 Christopher Horner ( US – LAM – 114 ) + 06′ 12″
22 Haimar Zubeldia Agirre ( Esp – TFR – 169 ) + 06′ 53″
23 Pierre Rolland ( Fra – EUC – 151 ) + 07′ 34″
24 Leopold Konig ( Cze – TNE – 201 ) + 07′ 35″
25 Cyril Gautier ( Fra – EUC – 154 ) + 08′ 11″
26 Tanel Kangert ( Est – AST – 046 ) + 08′ 13″
27 Brice Feillu ( Fra – BSE – 211 ) + 10′ 23″
28 Frank Schleck ( Lux – TFR – 161 ) + 10′ 43″
29 Steven Kruijswijk ( Ned – BEL – 064 ) + 11′ 20″
30 Tom Dumoulin ( Ned – GIA – 106 ) + 11′ 35″

Did not start:

Mathias Frank ( Sui – IAM – 191 )

Did not finish:

Bart De Clercq ( Bel – LTB – 133 )

Note: Wikipedia has a simple article on the Mountain classification used on the Tour. The basic fact is that climbs fall into five types, with the four numbered types decreasing in difficulty as the numbers get larger, and then there is the Hors Catégorie, literally “without category”, which generally makes you look for an elevator or Sherpas.

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