No changes atop Tour de France as peloton, defending champion Tadej Pogačar take it easy in Stage 8

Boston Globe

a day ago

After Friday's tough grind, the peloton set off at a slower pace on a sun-baked Stage 8, starting from the Brittany commune of Saint-Méen-le-Grand and taking riders 106 miles to Laval in western France.
The main teams had no will to set a high pace, so the peloton trundled along through country roads until two riders — French teammates Mathieu Burgaudeau and Matteo Vercher — broke away with about 80 kilometers left.
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The peloton did not respond, continuing to roll at a lethargic pace for a long time with no team deciding to lead the chase.
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'It was a much more relaxing stage than the previous ones,' Pogačar said. 'It has been a good day out in order to recover from the many efforts we have already done.'
🗣️"You come to this race with some expectations, some dreams to bring home, and then to bring them home - they're two different things but I was confident with the team. We really deserve it." - 🇮🇹 Jonathan Milan
Interview with Jonathan Milan on his first
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour)
Pogačar even had time to check how his girlfriend Urška Žigart was doing on the women's Giro. She finished seventh on Stage 7.
'I'm always nervous on the bike when she is racing, and it's great to hear about her,' he said. 'When she does well, I feel super happy.'
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The pack was taking it a bit too easy in his race, though.
When sprinters realized they were in danger of missing out on a stage win, the peloton's speed had to increase eventually, and the two riders were finally caught with nine kilometers left.
After a sinewy route near the finish, Stage 2 winner Mathieu van der Poel accelerated to put his Alpecin–Deceuninck teammate Groves into a good position, but they attacked a little too soon.
Milan anticipated this, made his own move, and withstood Van Aert's late attack behind him. The trio clocked 3 hours, 50 minutes.
'It was a tough finale. I was in the front positions and I waited for the right moment to launch my sprint,' Milan said. 'I gave it all and it worked out.'
In the overall standings, double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel remained 54 seconds behind Pogačar in second place. Frenchman Kévin Vauquelin was third at 1 minutes, 11 seconds, and two-time Tour champion Jonas Vingegaard sat 1:17 behind in fourth spot.
Stage 9 of the three-week race on Sunday heads into central France on a 158-kilometer flat stage for sprinters finishing in Châteauroux.