Tour de France 2019: Julian Alaphilippe regains yellow jersey as Geraint Thomas survives late crash

The Tour returns to the hills for a tough, undulating stage

Tour de France 2019: stage 7 highlights

Thomas De Gendt soloed to victory on stage eight of the Tour de France in Saint Etienne as Julian Alaphilippe regained the yellow jersey and Geraint Thomas survived a dramatic crash which snapped a team-mate's bike in half.

Lotto-Soudal's Thomas De Gendt was the last survivor of a four-man breakaway on the 230km stage from Macon, and had the power to hold off a late attack from Deceuninck-Quick Step's Alaphilippe and Thibaut Pinot of Groupama-FDJ.

Late in the stage the Team Ineos train was derailed in frightening fashion on a downhill bend, though Thomas was quickly back on his way and caught the peloton on the last of the day's seven categorised climbs. Re-live the live action:

Click on stage 8 to refresh the live tracker

Then again, it is the kind of stage which could offer someone like Julian Alaphilippe or Greg van Avermaet the platform to surge away from the main group in the final 10km, just as Alaphilippe did on stage 3 so impressively. He will be motivated to try and regain the yellow jersey from Giulpo Ciccone, if the opportunity arises.

There are bonus seconds available – eight, five and two – for the first three riders to reach the final summit of the day, and that could also tempt some of the lead riders towards the front late in the day. But realistically for GC contenders like Geraint Thomas, this is the kind of tough day to simply get through with as little fuss as possible.

Contenders

Peter Sagan – If he is in contention in the final few kilometres, he almost certainly wins this kind of stage. ****

Julian Alaphilippe – It is hard to know how much stage six took out of him as he fought and to keep the yellow jersey, but he will be extra motivated to regain it today if the chance comes his way. ***

Greg van Avermaet – Always dangerous on a stage like this one which requires strategy, strength and speed in the finish. **

Wout van Aert – He has impressed so far during this Tour but would love to grab a stage to really leave his mark on the race. *

Thomas De Gendt – He has looked lively in the breakaway over the past few days. *

Key Points

• Current race standings | Stage-by-stage guide
• Highlights as Groenewegen powers to stage 7 win
• What is it really like to ride the Tour de France?

[13 July 2019 16:49 · Lawrence Ostlere]

Here's the overall standings. A great day for Pinot and Alaphilippe. Fuglsang climbs into the top 10, while Uran, Kruijswijk and Bernal are all within striking distance of Geraint Thomas in fifth. 

[13 July 2019 17:07 · Lawrence Ostlere]

We leave you with our stag report from a superb day of racing: