The Jura mountains should provide the perfect place for a breakaway to succeed on Stage 8. – By Whit Yost
The first of two hard stages in the mountainous Jura region of eastern France, Stage 8 of the 2017 Tour doesn’t count as a true summit finish—but it might as well. The summit of the Category 1 Montée de la Combe de Laisia Les Molunes comes only 12km from the finish line at the Station des Rousses ski resort, and the roads in between the summit and the finish are rolling. So any gaps by the top of the climb will be tough to close before the line.
It’s a good day for a breakaway to go the distance, as the route is much too hard to produce a sprint but not quite hard enough to bring-out the Tour’s GC contenders. Expect a breakaway filled with riders who have already lost time to go on the attack early, both for a chance to win the stage and to collect points in the Tour’s King of the Mountains competition. With three categorised climbs throughout the day, it’s the perfect day for such a move. Riders to watch include Dimension Data’s Steve Cummings, FDJ’s Thibaut Pinot, Cannondale-Drapac’s Pierre Rolland, and Team Sunweb’s Warren Barguil.
But this doesn’t mean the stage won’t have GC implications. While it’s far from the most fearsome climb in the 2017 Tour de France, the Montée de la Combe de Laisia Les Molunes is hard enough that certain GC contenders might try and test Froome and his team with an attack. For example, Trek-Segafredo’s Alberto Contador is already 52 seconds down on Froome and has made a living of attacking when no one expects it. If he’s feeling good, he could try and gain back some time.
It might also be a day in which Team Sky purposely gives up the yellow jersey to a rider who’s close enough to take it but not expected to be an overall contender. Lotto Soudal’s Tim Wellens sits 1:51 behind the yellow jersey, and is perfectly suited for a finish like tomorrow’s. Don’t be surprised if he or someone else is given a chance to steal yellow from Froome, thus relieving Team Sky of the burden of controlling the race during Sunday’s Stage 9 over a course with seven categorised climbs including the first Beyond Category summits of the 2017 Tour de France.
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