Jonas Vingegaard remains 2:42 behind Tadej Pogacar at the 2026 Tour de France after Team Visma | Lease a Bike deliberately moved its leader away from the chaotic sprint battle in Bergerac. With consecutive flat stages completed, Vingegaard remains Pogacars nearest challenger before the race turns b...

Saturday was one of those stultifying days at the Tour de France where the energy appeared to have been sucked out of the race. Stage eight was designed as a bunch sprint day, with just two category-four climbs on the route, and for most of the day it was ridden as such, with just three riders up the road at a controlled distance, the interested teams at the front, and the inevitable on its way in Bergerac.It would be hard to blame the peloton, given this was their eighth day in a row of racing in a heatwave, and there are much harder tests to come, including tomorrow's stage nine in the Massif Central, shortened due to "exceptionally intense" heat. A rolling rest day, as much as possible, is to be forgiven.However, no one had told Liam Slock. The Lotto-Intermarch rider, probably best known up to this point as the rider who crashed while celebrating his victory at last month's GP Gippingen, refused to bow to the received wisdom that this should be a sprint. It wasn't the first time a Lotto rider has done something like this at the Tour, with Baptiste Veistroffer the king of the doomed escape so far.With 40km to go, the Belgian detached what was left of the break, with apologies to Thibault Guernalec (TotalEnergies) and Jakub Otruba (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), who are bit-part players in this story now, and charged on alone. The gap, which was never significant, stubbornly refused to come down, as Slock attacked with zeal in the Dordogne. "Actually, I wasn't supposed to go in the break, but I saw the chance and the opportunity to go and I went," he told Cycling Weekly post-race. "Then on top of the climb, I felt I was the strongest of the breakaway, and I went alone. You never know. If you don't shoot, you always miss." With 13km to go, the gap was still at 1:15. Slock still believed, and something had enlivened the otherwise slow day in the middle of France. However, something had to give. The 25-year-old had been pushing 400 watts ever since being alone, 30km previously, and the might of the desperate peloton was closing behind, with each rider being screamed at by their respective directeur sportif to put it all on the line."In the last 10km, I started hurting a lot and I lost a bit of time," Slock continued. "It was a little bit uphill, a little bit of headwind. From there on, it was becoming clear that it was really hard, but in the end I came really close."(Image credit: Getty Images)You might already know how this story ends; Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) came from nowhere to sprint to victory, other sprinters disappointed, Slock nowhere to be seen. The Belgian was caught with 1.3km to go, his lonely vigil ended, his attempt to bring some life to a flat stage ruined.In hindsight, it might seem like a fait accompli that Slock would be caught, that it would end in a bunch sprint; this was what it was designed for, and this is what it was. However, he believed that he had a chance, even for a moment: I did believe it was possible, because from 30 to 15km to the end, they didn't come that much close, so I was thinking it was possible.The man from Ghent will always have this, whatever else he does: the day he almost held off the Tour peloton. Just coming this close to winning a Tour de France stage was a dream since I was a kid, so I am disappointed but I think I'll be proud this evening, he said.Now, heres no time for celebration. It will be remembered by him, and by others, as a brave move, one which almost turned convention upside down. Whats the plan for tonight? The same way as every evening, eating and laying on the bed.If you don't shoot you always miss. No one could blame Slock for not shooting. Perhaps next time, it will go in, rather than agonisingly grazing off the crossbar. Thanks, Liam, for enlivening a dull day.

Tadej Pogacar has warned that the extreme heat is tiring the Tour de France peloton even during its easier stages, with constant cooling, hydration and nutrition required to limit the damage. The yellow jersey spoke after safely completing Stage 8 in Bergerac. Shortly afterwards, the Tour cut 30 kil...

Alpecin-Premier Techs team bosses have urged patience after their sprinter Jasper Philipsen fell short of victory again at the Tour de France on Saturday. The Belgian, a 10-time stage winner across his seven race starts, placed fourth in Bergerac on day eight, won by Soudal Quick-Steps Tim Merlier. The result followed two fifth places in bunch sprints for Philipsen, on stages five and seven, which left him perplexed by the lack of his usual top speed. Speaking outside the Alpecin-Premier Tech bus in Bergerac, the teams manager Philip Roodhooft said it was way too early to draw conclusions about Philipsens form. We have no doubts about the preparation, he said. We have no doubts about the potential. Everyone has seen that the team and the lead-outs are more than strong enough to bring him where he has to be. Were still very confident that it will lead to Jasper winning a stage.Guided to the line by his team-mate Mathieu van der Poel, Philipsen launched his sprint inside 200m to go on Saturday, by which time Merlier had already gathered his race-winning pace from behind. Asked about the lead-out, Alpecins head sports director Christoph Roodhoft, Philips brother, said the team cannot do it better. Yesterday [Jasper] was maybe a bit too early, today he was maybe a bit too late. Maybe next time we will do it right on time, Christoph said. It is not completely missed opportunities. We had chances, and we did not win, but thats not the only thing. Its not that easy to win on this level, lets say. Sometimes it seems like that, but when it doesnt work out immediately, then you realise this is a hell of a job. Alpecin-Premier Tech were one of the most successful squads at last year's Tour, winning three stages, including on the opening day in Lille thanks to Philipsen. The team also enjoyed five days in the yellow jersey, split between Philipsen and Van der Poel. Their fortunes, its clear, are not the same this time round. But as Christoph stressed, the team has had to be patient for success in the past. Two years ago we had to wait until stage 10 [for a stage win]. Were only at eight today, so even if it doesnt happen then, we can only try, he said. Philip shared the same feeling. Obviously its not what we hoped, but we remain confident, he said. Its clear that wed have liked it to be different at this point but that doesnt change anything and the fact that the Tour de France is for three weeks, and there will be other occasions. Let it also be clear that we werent expecting to win all the sprints. We still have a lot of confidence that we as a team, and Jasper as the finisher, will be able to win sprints.Philipsen did not address the media on returning to his team bus after stage eight. A team press officer said he would not speak as he had to leave to carry out a routine anti-doping test.

At the Tour de France, the racing does not always end at the finish line. Sprint deviations, sticky bottles, feeding breaches, littering fines, time penalties, yellow cards and relegations can all become part of the daily story, especially in a race where every stage result and jersey position is wa...

Tim Merlier claimed victory in stage eight of the Tour de France. The Soudal Quick-Step fast man proved the quickest in the bunch sprint once again, repeating his success from stage seven. Biniam Girmay (NSN) and Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM) came closest but were unable to deny the Belgian a secon...

The 2026 Tour de France will take place from the 4th to the 26th of July. Throughout the21 stages, the peloton will be racing through the mountains, sprint stages, cobblestones, individual and team time trials, and even. We take a look at all stages, their official profiles, and preview the days -...

The Tour de France is often shaped as much by survival as by strength. Across three weeks of racing from the Grand Dpart in Barcelona on 4 July to the final stage in Paris on 26 July, crashes, illness, heat, fatigue and withdrawals can quickly reshape the peloton, from nervous sprint stages and exp...

Stage 9 of the 2026 Tour de France has been shortened by 30 kilometres after Meteo-France placed the Correze department under a red heatwave alert. Sundays stage from Malemort to Ussel will now cover 155.5 kilometres rather than the planned 185.5. The start has also been delayed until 1.45pm, with...

Round 1 of the breakaway world championships.The course is shortened because of the ongoing heat wave, the grey area of the profile above is skipped.Fast and friendly: there are no slow days on the Tour de France any more but this was still a majestic day to watch from the sofa and enjoy the scenery and heritage roll past while pondering the best way to stay cool. Hide in one of the many limestone caves? Sit in the shade on the banks of the Dordogne or Vzre? Cold slices of flan and clafoutis? None of the riders had it so easy in the heat but plenty were able to lurk at the back for a long time.There was sport and early breakaway rider Liam Slock dropped two companions and had a minutes lead with 10km. Chapattes Law got repealed long ago but it set up suspense to rouse some from their Saturday sieste.Merlier was again the quickest in the finishing straight. Roughly 15th place going into the last corner with 500m to go, he launched with about 400m to go. He was 10th with 200m was 10th and, benefitting from their slipstreams, overtaking riders like they were queuing traffic before getting on terms with Jasper Philipsen, Olav Kooij and having the reserves left to kick past. If you havent seen the overhead footage, its on Youtube.Two sprint wins for a rider who is the opposite of the sprinter stereotype as someone with little ego; theres even talk he could willing become Paul Magniers lead-out when age catches up and he accepts someone else is faster.Its notable that Merlier won and the other places went to Girmay, Kooij and Philipsen, they seem reliably ahead of the rest. Merliers 70 point win puts him 15 points short of Mads Pedersen but advantage Pedersen for the coming days again.The Route: 155km reduced from 185km because the red weather alert in the Corrze department. The map shows the new route.This is not a mountain stage but a hard day out. With the course skipping some scenic villages and small roads, the intermediate sprint comes earlier but its still on a climb to Beynat with 2km at 5% to the sprint so advantage Pedersen.The official climb of Naves is followed by a very similar but unmarked climb.The Suc au May featured in the 2020 Tour, its where Marc Hirschi rode away for the stage win. Its 3km at 10%. The descent starts on a small road then picks up something bigger for most of the way down.The Cte de la Croix du Pey is 95% of the Col de Lestards and while listed as 4.8km long, its a question of measurement as its starts climbing out of Treignac 8km before the top. Midway theres a good 2.5km at 7-9%. This makes it a key moment in the stage, a place for stronger climbers to exploit.Mont Bessou used to be a fixture for the Tour du Limousin every August and here its a main road and a drag with a small kick to the mountains point.After the descent into Meymac and out theres an unmarked climb that stings, 2km at 5% with some 10%. These days no riders are surprised as the whole course is mapped but its still got to be cleared and a chance for anyone unsure of their sprint to jump.From here on theres 14km, including a big road that connects the A89 autoroute to the Ussel.The Finish: with 1km to go the route crosses a bridge over the Dige river. From here it climbs up at 5% before easing to the line.The Contenders: a big day for the breakaway and plenty of teams will have been studying this day more than the Alpe dHuez stage as its open to plenty. Climbs like the Suc-au-Mey and Croix-de-Pey will entice some climbers while the amount of long drags and the final kilometres will appeal to many others.Quinn Simmons, Mads Pedersen and Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) are all candidates for the stage, the only issue is whether Simmons and Vacek go all in for Pedersen again to sustain his green jersey bid or if they get room for themselves; Vacek could even take yellow if hes in a move that gets eight minutes.When the route was unveiled this looked like a stage for Ben Healy (EF) but is the form there? He was one of several sat on the back of the peloton during Stage 8 to save energy. As ever even he has said he cant sprint so will want to go solo. Georg Steinhauser and Michael Valgren bring more options, Richard Carapaz even more.15th on GC, Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) is stage hunting and ought to be ideal here but he is also nursing a saddle sore.Movistar pairing Raul Garcia Pierna and Pablo Castrillo get hillier roads to suit after featuring on the stage to Foix.Luke Plapp (Jayco) is suited to this course but a rare winner, Michael Matthews has a shot if he can cope with the climbing.The headline writers pick should be Marco Frigo (NSN) as his family name means refrigerator in French.Now to outsiders. Do Alpecin-Premiertech reach for Mathieu van der Poel? Its hilly for him in the heat and hes not looking imperial. But if not today, its Stage 17 or Paris.Romain Grgoire (Groupama-FDJ) gets terrain to suit but hes been wilting in the heat of late so not an easy pick and is even saying he wants to sit things out and get to the rest day; team mate Clment Braz-Afonso is the local rider but hell find it hard to win.Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X) is a breakaway specialist but this is a hilly day, it might explain why he was on the move yesterday. Team mate Anthon Charmig is more suited but his Aura Tour stage win is big for him already.The route suits Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor) but hes 34 and lost his sizzle; hes had health and form issues this season so it was a surprise he was selected even. Still he won a Giro stage last year thanks a longer raid.Can UAE spare any riders? Tim Wellens is an outsider. Arguably Visma-LAB need to try this tactic more, we might see Victor Campenaerts.Carapaz, Simmons, VacekHealy, Plapp, Aranburu, Garcia Pierna, Pidcock, Van Eetvelt, Frigo, Debruyne, Van der Poel, PedersenWeather: sunshine and up to 38C at the start but with altitude and woodland later things should be cooler after. A 5-10km/h breeze will blow from the east.TV: KM0 is at 1.45pm and the finish is forecast for 5.40pm CEST.The post Tour de France Stage 9 Preview first appeared on The Inner Ring.