Tour de France: Girmay grabs second stage win with no change for leader Pogacar

Eritrean edges out Philipsen in sprint finish while UAE Team Emirates rider maintains 33-second advantage over Evenepoel

Eritrea's Biniam Girmay crosses the finish line to win Stage 8 of the Tour de France on July 6, 2024. AP

Tadej Pogacar, of UAE Team Emirates, celebrates on the podium after maintaining his 33-second overall lead in the general classification. EPA

Eritrean rider Biniam Girmay celebrates on the podium after winning Stage 8. EPA

Eritrea's Biniam Girmay after winning Stage 8 of the Tour de France, a 183.4-kilometre ride between Semur-en-Auxois and Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises. AP

Intermarche-Wanty's Biniam Girmay crosses the finish line ahead of Jasper Philipsen to win stage 8. Reuters

Biniam Girmay on hs way to the finish line as he wins his second stage of this year's Tour de France. Reuters

The peloton pass a giant inflatable cyclops as dark rain clouds roll in during Stage 8. AFP

UAE Team Emirates rider Tadej Pogacar during Stage 8 between Semur-en-Auxois and Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises. AP

People get up from their table to watch Norway's Jonas Abrahamsen, wearing the best climber's dotted jersey, ride past. Reuters

A broadcast helicopter hovers above the peloton. AFP

Tadej Pogacar wearing the yellow jersey with UAE Team Emirates teammates. AFP

The peloton during Stage 8 of the 111th edition of the Tour de France. AFP

Eritrean rider Biniam Girmay secured his second stage victory in this year's Tour de France after edging out Jasper Philipsen in a sprint finish on Saturday.

Girmay, who became the first black African to win a stage on any of the three Grand Tours in the 2022 Giro d'Italia, waited for his moment to leapfrog Belgian Jasper Philipsen and give his Intermarche-Wanty team their second victory on the world's biggest race. Another Belgian, Arnaud De Lie, took third place.

UAE Team Emirates rider, who saw his general classification lead cut down to 33 seconds yesterday by Remco Evenepoel in the time trial, came though unscathed and his advantage over the Belgian unchanged. Two-time defending champion Jonas Vingegaard is third place, lagging one minute 15 seconds behind Pogacar.

“It is unbelievable to win two times,” said the 24-year-old, who also won Stage 3. “I just want to say thanks God for everything. This victory I need to give to my mother and my father, they gave me all the support to become a professional cyclist.

“I prefer this kind of sprint. This finish with my weight is super nice. My team put me in the perfect wheel. I did not feel super good in the beginning with the weather but I did my best sprint again.”

The stage started with a high-octane pace as three riders – Neilson Powless, Stefan Bissegger, Jonas Abrahamsen – immediately jumped out of the peloton to open a 30-second gap at the front.

Despite having two men in the breakaway, EF Education-EasyPost riders later attacked from the main pack on hilly, wet roads and a group including Mark Cavendish got dropped.

Chasing points in the best climber’s classification, Abrahamsen went solo to the top of the Cote de Vitteaux and added more points on the slopes of the Cote de Verrey-sous-Salmaise and the following hills to further cement his polka dot jersey.

Helped by his teammates, Cavendish later merged with the yellow jersey group while Bissegger and Powless sat up. Meanwhile, Abrahamsen kept pushing hard on the pedals to increase his lead.

The pace of the peloton picked up in the second half of the stage and Abrahamsen’s long solo effort was brought to an end by the chase about 15 kilometres from the finish before the sprinters took centre stage.

The peloton will now be gearing up for a treacherous Stage 9 featuring 14 gravels sections around Troyes.

“I checked it out and it's an interesting stage where a lot of things can happen, I think it's going to be chaotic,” Pogacar told reporters.

Evenepoel knows the risks of riding on white gravel roads for 32 kilometres. “I don't think you can win the Tour on that stage, but you can definitely lose it,” the 24-year-old said.

With a big smile, Pogacar relished the challenge. “I cannot wait to be there. It's not the funniest stage, but I think I'm ready. I like this kind of stages,” he said.

The UAE Emirates rider is familiar with that kind of terrain, having won the Strade Bianche classic at the beginning of the season with a brutal attack 80 kilometres from the finish.

Meanwhile, Norwegian cyclist Andre Drege has died after crashing during the Tour of Austria, the International Cycling Union has confirmed.

The 25-year-old Coop-Repsol rider crashed during a mountain descent on stage four after losing control. In a statement the UCI said it was “devastated” by the news.