Girmay sprints to second Tour stage win

Biniam Girmay claimed his second win in the Tour de France in a sprint finish on stage eight as Tadej Pogacar retained the leader’s yellow jersey.

Intermarche-Wanty’s Girmay, who won stage three to become the first black African to triumph on the Tour, timed his effort to perfection on the uphill finish in Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises.

Alpecin-Deceuninck’s Jasper Philipsen and Arnaud de Lie, riding for Lotto-Dstny, were second and third respectively on the 183.4km route from Semur-en-Auxois.

UAE Team Emirates rider Pogacar crossed the line in the main bunch and remains 33 seconds clear of second-placed Remco Evenepoel in the general classification (GC).

In the home and final resting place of former French president Charles de Gaulle, Eritrean Girmay extended his lead in the green jersey competition over Philipsen to 88 points.

“It is unbelievable to win twice,” said Girmay. “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 liked this slightly uphill finish because the heavier sprinters cannot really compete.”

Uno-X Mobility’s Jonas Abrahamsen, who spent more than 165km at the front of the race before being reeled in by the peloton with 14km remaining, continues to lead the king of the mountains classification.

The GC riders are expected to feature more prominently on Sunday’s 199km stage around Troyes, which includes 14 gravel sections.

Stage eight results

1. Biniam Girmay (Eri/Intermarche-Wanty) 4hrs 04mins 50secs

2. Jasper Philipsen (Bel/Alpecin-Deceuninck) Same time

3. Arnaud de Lie (Bel/Lotto-Dstny) “

4. Pascal Ackermann (Ger/Israel Premier Tech) “

5. Marijn Van Den Berg (Ned/EF Education-EasyPost) “

6. Ryan Gibbons (SA/Lidl-Trek) “

7. Anthony Turgis (Fra/TotalEnergies) “

8. Fred Wright (GB/Bahrain-Victorious)

9. Alex Aranburu (Spa/Movistar) “

10. Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Soudal-Quick Step) “

General classification after stage eight

1. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) 31hrs 21mins 13secs

2. Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Soudal-Quick Step) +33secs

3. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Visma-Lease a Bike) +1min 15secs

4. Primoz Roglic (Slo/Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +1mins 36secs

5. Juan Ayuso (Spa/UAE Team Emirates) +2mins 16secs

6. Joao Almeida (Por/UAE Team Emirates) +2mins 17secs

7. Carlos Rodriguez (Spa/Ineos Grenadiers) +2mins 31secs

8. Mikel Landa (Spa/Soudal-Quick Step) +3mins 35secs

9. Matteo Jorgenson (US/Visma-Lease a Bike) 4mins 03secs

10. Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus/Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe) +4mins 46secs