2013 Tour de France Stage 8 Results & Recap
Stage 8 of the 2013 Tour de France is in the books. The final results and standings are below, followed by our recap of how the race unfolded.
Race Recap
Sky rider takes over the race lead in Pyrenees
Chris Froome put his stamp on the Tour de France, claiming the win in the first high mountain stage of this year's race. He soloed to finish at Ax 3 Domaines after a five kilometer solo flight to claim not only the stage but also the leader's yellow jersey. It was a double win for Team Sky, as Richie Porte finished second at 50 seconds, with Alejandro Valverde taking third at 1:08.
Most of the other favourites suffered and showed weaknesses on the climb in high summer temperatures. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) was the best of the bunch, with Belkin's Bauke Mollema and Laurens Ten Dam putting in surprisingly strong performances, but Alberto Contador, Andy Schleck, and Cadel Evans all lost much time.
"I couldn't be happier," said Froome after the stage. "It has been a nervous week leading up to this." He thanked his teammates and said that he wanted to win today "to pay them back."
Froome now leads the race by nearly minute over Porte, with Valverde third at 1:25 down. Mollema and Ten Dam jumped to fourth and fifth, with Kreuziger one spot ahead of his captain in sixth, both with a time of 1:51. Former race leader Daryl Impey lost 7:50 and dropped out contention in 31st place overall.
It was an impressive show by Froome, who along with Porte, appeared not to struggle at all on the closing climb, when compared to the rest of the field. One by one, Froome's rivals dropped back, but the two Sky riders pedaled along easily and quickly.
Contador lost a surprising 1:45, with Schleck at 3:34 down and Evans losing more than four minutes. It was a brutal shake-up of the GC and the favourites on only the first real climbing test.
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