Wout van Aert may have had to go around the long way in the final sprint to the line on Tour de France stage 8 today but the Jumbo Visma rider proved unbeatable on the uphill finish into Lausanne.
At the end of the 186.3km stage, the terrain in the finale, coupled with the pace on the front that closed down the daylong breakaway, saw a bunch of only 30 riders finish on the same time.
In the sprint to the finish line, Van Aert found himself boxed in twice in the final 300 metres as Michael Matthews (BikeExchange) and race leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) were to the fore on the front and trying to take the stage victory.
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However, while it took the eventual stage winner a little time to pick his way through the traffic, once he got a clear run at the line and kicked for it the victory was a foregone conclusion.
He won ahead of Matthews, 2nd for the second time on this, with Pogačar taking 3rd and picking up a four-second time bonus.
More to come.
