Tour de France: Thomas de Gendt wins stage eight, Geraint Thomas falls back after crash

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Thomas de Gendt has won stage eight of the Tour de France after finishing the 200km hill stage in 5:00:17.

The Lotto-Soudal rider gained a 35-second lead and held off a late attack from Thibaut Pinot and Julian Alaphilippe to finish six seconds ahead.

With 14km remaining, reigning champion Geraint Thomas was involved in a crash with Ineos teammate Gianni Moscon but recovered to finish 10th.

The result sees Alaphilippe reclaim the yellow jersey from Giulio Ciccone who finished 26 seconds back in the main peloton.

“I’m fine but it was just frustrating. It was a key moment in the race. [Michael] Woods crashed and took out Gianni [Moscon] and me and I just got tangled in Gianni’s bike,” Thomas told ITV 4.

“By the time I got up to the group I was gassed for a bit and obviously that’s when they started to sprint away. It’s annoying and frustrating but to come back like I did (is pleasing).

“If I hadn’t crashed I could have followed and it’s a totally different story then. Still a lot of racing to go though. Thibaut Pinot and Julian Alaphillipe have a good kick and punch they are the guys to watch and beat.”

The Tour continues on Sunday with a 170.5km hill stage from Saint-Etienne to Brioude.

Cover Photo: Soldatryan58 [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons

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