A superb victory for the French Nans Peters during the first Pyrenean stage.
The 26-year-old rider from the AG2R La Mondiale team completed a long breakaway in the 8th stage on Saturday at Loudenvielle, where Briton Adam Yates (Mitchelton) kept the yellow jersey and Thibaut Pinot lost his chances of victory.
In the category of favorites, the outgoing winner, the Colombian Egan Bernal, appeared vulnerable in Peyresourde, the last pass of the day.
But the Slovenian Primoz Roglic, the most comfortable with the Colombian Nairo Quintana, did not insist.
In the general classification, Adam Yates, struggling in the last pass, maintained his position.
He gave up around forty seconds to Slovenian Tadej Pogacar and a few seconds to Frenchman Romain Bardet, who started in the final.
For French cycling, the results are ambivalent.
He can congratulate himself on the success of Peters (AG2R La Mondiale), who signed the second French victory after that of Julian Alaphilippe last Sunday in Nice, but deplore the heavy failure of Pinot, his best chance at the start for the final classification.
On arrival, under the eyes of Prime Minister Jean Castex, Peters was 47 seconds ahead of Latvian Toms Skujins and Spaniard Carlos Verona.
The French (26 years old), already winner last year in a mountain stage of the Giro but neophyte in the Tour, attacked 9 kilometers from the top of the port of Balès, the first pass classified out of category of this Tour, and has then left behind Russian Ilnur Zakarin in the descent.
Zakarin, also a member of the breakaway of 13 riders launched from the first kilometers, approached ten seconds in Peyresourde before lowering the flag.
In the group of favorites, Slovenian Tadej Pogacar attacked three times in the last climb and got the go-ahead from Roglic, who was content to neutralize the start of Quintana near the top of Peyresourde.
Pinot, for its part, was left behind very early, 45 kilometers from the finish.
Suffering from his back since his fall on the first day in Nice, the Frenchman, surrounded by his teammates from Groupama-FDJ, sank to the point of falling more than seven minutes from his rivals at the top of Balès.
The European champion, the Italian Giacomo Nizzolo, retired during the stage, as did his compatriot Diego Rosa, after a fall in the descent of Balès, and the French William Bonnet and Lilian Calmejane, according to information given on the race.
Sunday, on the eve of the first day of rest, the 9th stage crosses the Béarn between Pau and Laruns with mainly two first category passes, Hourcère and Marie-Blanque, over the 153 kilometers of the course.
With AFP
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