Key events
150km to go: It’s all still very calm in the peloton. After yesterday’s bumpy stage, the riders are taking the more relaxed moments where they can – who can blame them? Intermarché-Wanty and Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) are still driving the bunch.
One of the team’s has radioed its riders to say that this region is known for having lots of cows. I think that sums up the level of action right now.
153km to go: According to the Tour race centre, the wind as well as the heat will make things uncomfortable for the peloton today.
Blowing from the north-east, it will be in their faces for practically the entire stage, at an average speed of 15 km/h, slowing the peloton down.
159km to go: It’s hot out there. The temperature is 30C at the front of the race, in fact. It’s also very exposed as they ride through towns. Lots of supporters are out for the riders, which is great to see.
162km to go: Today, after Dunbar’s withdrawal, there are 176 riders in the bunch. They’re very much chilling as they roll through the picturesque French countryside. Intermarché-Wanty and Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) are up at the front of the pack.
Eddie Dunbar withdraws from the Tour de France 2025
Jayco Alula have said that the Irishman Eddie Dunbar will withdraw from the Tour as he wasn’t able to start today. On social media, the team said:
Following a crash in the final kilometres of yesterday’s stage, Dunbar has been suffering with pain in his wrist and a decision was taken to stop, for his safety.
The racing has begun!
171km to go: The flag has dropped but the peloton is staying together, casually rolling. No takers for an early attack yet.
Third placed on yesterday’s stage, the 22-year-old Oscar Onley (Picnic-PostNL) has caught the attention of Tour pundits as one to watch. The Scot spoke to TNT Sports about yesterday’s result and also his hopes for Monday’s mountain stage:
On yesterday’s third place finish:
It’s a little bit of a suprise but these kind of stages suit me well. To be behind Pogačar and Vingegaard yesterday gives you a bit of confidence … It’s nice to be able to pay the team back.
Looking ahead:
[I’m going to] take it easy and try to recover. [I’m] looking forward to Monday, it should be another one that suits me.
And here’s a reminder of the GC rankings before the proper action starts today:
The top 10 on GC after stage seven
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Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates XRG), 25hr 58min 04secs
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Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step), +54secs
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Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), +1min 11secs
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Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), +1min 17secs
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Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), +1min 29secs
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Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) +1min 34secs
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Oscar Onley (Picnic-PostNL) +2min 49secs
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Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +3min 2secs
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Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +3min 6secs
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Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) + 3min 43secs
Today’s rollout has begun
Stage eight of the Tour de France 2025 is under way. The peloton have rolled out from a Saint-Méen-le-Grand. There’s a 6.4km neutralised section before the racing begins at about 1.25pm CEST/12.25pm BST.
Jonas Vingegaard’s fans are out in force ahead of stage eight:
There’s been a medical update on Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) and João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates XRG) from the Tour de France race centre:
Santiago Buitrago “did not have concussion, but has superficial abrasions and contusions to the right thigh”. He should start today.
The same goes with Joao Almeida. “It’s confirmed he has an uncomplicated left-sided rib fracture, as well as some profound abrasions to his body”, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG doctor explained yesterday evening. “Fortunately no concussion. We will be monitoring him carefully going forward. The next few days will be difficult for him, but at this point, he should be able to start.”
Yesterday, Bahrain Victorious’s Jack Haig and Soudal-Quick-Step’s Mattia Cattaneo had to withdrew from the Tour de France 2025. Haig’s team confirmed that he had suffered a concussion after a crash, while Cattaneo’s team said he would not be continuing due to injuries.
Here are all the withdrawals so far:
Stage one:
Stage three:
Stage five:
Stage seven:
Here is the route profile of stage eight:
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Today’s official race briefing comes from French ex-professional cyclist, Jean-Marc Marino:
Stage eight, Saint-Méen-le-Grand to Laval Espace Mayenne, 171.4km, [is] a mostly flat stage with a final one kilometre climb at 2%. But it will take a sprinter who’s not worn out from previous days to win this stage.
The stage starts in Saint-Méen-le-Grand, birthplace of Louison Bobet, one of Brittany’s legends. Then we pass through Romillé, the home town of Gérard Huet, and Ballots, birthplace of Jacky Durand.
There will be an intermediate sprint in Vitré, a finish location of the Route Adélie. There’s a very slight bump, 15km from the finish, but it’s only 900m at 3.8%. Then a technical section through Laval leads into the finale, with a one kilometre uphill false flat in front of the Espace Mayenne. A fairly fresh sprinter will be needed to take the win.
Stage eight: Saint-Méen-le-Grand to Laval, 171km
Here’s a look at today’s stage, Saturday 12 July: Saint-Méen-le-Grand to Laval, 171.4km, with William Fotheringham’s preview:
The start tips its hat to the triple winner Louison Bobet, the baker’s boy from Saint Méen, then the route heads east; if the prevailing wind – westerly – does its thing, this will be very fast, but the scenario is well trodden: early doomed break featuring lowly French teams cheered on by the local crowd – think Arkéa, Cofidis, Total Energies – and a sprint finish for Philipsen and company after five days’ waiting.
The preview was written before the Tour, so Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) won’t be in the mix today after having to withdaw from the race on stage three. It’ll be a day for the sprinters though, so keep an eye out for Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) and Tim Merlier (Soudal-Quick-Step).
Preamble
After a series of hilly stages over the past couple of days, the peloton will head out today on a 171.4km flat route from Saint-Méen-le-Grand to Laval, with an elevation gain of 1,700m. There’s only one climb, the category four Côte de Nuillé sur Vicoin, coming 16km before the finish. It’s a short climb at 900m with an average gradient of 3.8% so it shouldn’t be a problem for the sprinters who will be eyeing up a stage win today.
With that in mind, sprinters such as Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) and Tim Merlier (Soudal-Quick-Step) are expected to be in the mix, but there could also be a surprise from lesser known names. I’ll also be keeping an eye out to see how Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates XRG), Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) tackle that short climb before the finish. As always, I’d love to hear your predictions so please do email them to me.
The peloton are scheduled to roll out at 1.10pm CEST (12.10am BST) and the finish is estimated to be at about 5.04pm CEST (4.04pm BST).
If you want to catch up on yesterday’s stage first, here is Jeremy Whittle’s stage seven race report from Mûr-de-Bretagne:
And a refresher of who’s who and the teams competing in this year’s Tour:
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