Date: Saturday, July 12
Distance: 171km
Start location: Saint-Méen-le-Grand
Finish location: Laval
Start time: 13:10 CEST
Finish time: 17:04 CEST (approx.)
Having reached the westernmost point of this year’s Tour de France at the end of yesterday's stage, the race changes direction today eastwards for a route held in Upper Brittany. This area isn’t quite as fiercely independent as Lower Brittany to the west, where the migration of Celts from southern England and Wales in the third century formed a community with their own language and cultural identity. But the Gallo language traditionally spoken here is still influenced by Breton, and you’ll still find many a crêperie serving the staple Breton treat of crepes and galettes.
One thing you certainly won’t find here is the jungle, despite this being a favourite subject of Henri Rousseau, the artist who was born in today’s destination city, Laval, in 1844. Rousseau was that rare thing, a self-taught artist from humble origins, who rose from having to work part-time and pay his way as a tax collector to become one of the most celebrated painters in the artworld. He never left France his whole life, let alone venture to the jungle, using children’s illustrations to inspire his depictions of tigers and other animals, and indeed the results are primitive and childlike in quality. Initially dismissed as crude, he went on to be championed by the following generations of modern art, and was loved by Picasso.
In terms of famous cyclists, both Laval and today’s start town of Saint-Méen-le-Grand, albeit very different, participants of the Tour de France. This year marks the 100th anniversary of Louison Bobet being born in the latter, who went on from this nondescript town to become only the second man to win three Tours de France, and the first to do so in succession. He was immensely successful on the bike, also winning races like Paris-Roubaix, the Tour of Flanders and the World Championships as well as those Tour titles, but his flamboyant persona and matinee idol pretensions never quite endeared him to the more rustic Breton fans.
In terms of today’s stage, which is flat and lacks any of the kind of climbs Bobet would have made an impact on, it’s Laval’s most famous cycling son that any riders wanting to prevent the seemingly inevitable bunch sprint finish can take inspiration from: Jacky Durand. The quintessential breakaway rider, this is exactly the kind of stage Durand would have gotten into the break on, one where an escapade up the road is almost certain to send in failure, but just occasionally pays off — he won two Tour stages this way during his many breakaway attempts across seven appearances, and even the Tour of Flanders in 1992. At a time where sometimes not a single rider even tries to get into the break on doomed days like this, we’ll be relying on some riders to channel his spirit and hope against the odds.
Contenders
After two hectic stages, which saw gruelling openings to the stage as the break formed, stage eight looks like it could be ridden in more traditional first-week style. The unlikely success of a breakaway will probably see few riders daring to get up the road, and it'll be down to the sprinter teams to control the pace setting.
The two premier sprinters remaining in the race are Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) and Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), who finished first and second, respectively, on stage three in a tight finish on the line. Milan will want to get his Tour de France account up and running, so will be fully committed to ensuring he's in prime position to launch his powerful sprint.
Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) doesn't look like he'll have things as much his way as last year, but still looks competitive in the fast finishes and could get off the mark here if he can time it right against the more powerful riders like Merlier and Milan.
Elsewhere, Jordi Meeus and Danny van Poppel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) could both be contenders, though it depends on how the former has recovered from his crash earlier in the week.
