Ion Izagirre Takes Second Place in Grueling Stage 8 of Tour de France
Ion Izagirre narrowly missed the stage win on stage eight of the Tour de France, battling until the very end to cross the line in second place from a three-man sprint behind the solo stage winner. With an uphill start and three category one ascents in the finale, the stage was suited to a breakaway which made for a huge fight at the beginning of the stage.
Izagirre managed to make it into the breakaway of the day which gained more than five minutes on the peloton. As the breakaway split up, Izagirre formed part of a small chase group behind Mike Woods who was leading the race solo in the final 35 kilometers.
“I’m sad because I made a big mistake today to take a rain jacket at the top of one of the climbs. I missed the first group and dropped and on the next climb, I spent a lot of energy to come back,” said Izagirre. Although disappointed to miss the win, Izagirre expressed determination to try again. “It was a really hard day with the climbing and the weather, so I know I can be happy with my ride today,” he added.
Lutsenko’s perseverance saw him move up to an impressive third place in the overall ranking. Stefan De Bod crashed but managed to finish the stage without any serious injuries. The stage was won by Dylan Teuns of Bahrain Victorious.
Source: Astana-Qazaqstan
