Stage 8 of the Tour de France was arguably the most challenging day of racing so far at the French Grand Tour in 2017 for Team Sky. The chaotic start to the day's stage from Dole to Station des Rousses saw several GC aspirants try to steal a march on Sky, but the British team proved equal and controlled affairs.
There were still stressful moments for Sky as Chris Froome overcooked a corner and Geraint Thomas spectacularly crashed. Both riders escaped without injury and ended the day as they started, first and second overall.
The crash wasn't the first of the Tour for 31-year-old Thomas who added that like his previous falls, it wasn't as a bad as the TV coverage suggested.
ADVERTISEMENT
"I went back for bottles and had just made it back to the front. The boys had gone in a bit hot and I obviously I just looked back and I was a second late in breaking," said Thomas. "Then I was off the road and had the choice of going down and crashing into the woods or going into the hay bale. I chose the hay and I flipped over the bars but luckily I was back up and fine."
"It's the same scab as a few days ago, so it looks worse than it is. When I was on the bike it felt fine," he added.
With stage 8 a day for the breakaway artists to make hay, a tactically flexible Sky sent riders up the road and also controlled the tempo from the peloton. Having riders ahead on the road helped in Sky's efforts to control the race as Thomas explained, adding it was still a hard day in the saddle and one which will have consequences at some point in the next two weeks.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest News http://ift.tt/2u55cKC
No comments:
Post a Comment