La Dolce Vita – Domestique Debrief Stage 8

Italy's Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) won stage 8 of the Tour de France, which took place between Saint-Méen-le-Grand and Laval. Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike) finished second, and Alpecin-Deceuninck's Australian sprinter Kaden Groves secured third place. Although the stage itself was not particularly thrilling, it did offer a broader perspective on the race, which this debrief will explore more deeply.

Perhaps this is the question that the internet community asked even before the Tour de France started – Thierry Gouvenou, the creator of the Tour de France route, placed two days favourable for sprinters at the end of the first week, perhaps hoping that the average 15 km/h westerly wind prevailing in the Mayenne region would strengthen enough for this weekend to create crosswind situations with the right wind direction. Unfortunately for the organisers and spectators, neither the wind strength nor the wind direction was right, as today there was a headwind for all but the last 3 kilometres, which made any attack pointless. This was a positive development for the riders, especially those who crashed yesterday, as João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain-Victorious), and Louis Barré (Intermarché-Wanty) were able to rest for a day without pressure.

However, this may raise a question in the minds of viewers, and quite rightly so. It is understandable that, in terms of effectiveness, a headwind attack is doomed to failure from the outset, as it is rare for such an approach to be successful. However, when we consider publicity and visibility, a completely different picture emerges. This is the world's largest cycling race, with more than 100 million people tuning in at some point in Europe alone. Which team wouldn't want to show off its colours and riders to such a large audience? 

A bold breakaway, a sympathetic attempt, can mean hundreds of thousands of dollars. When we read the news (or write it ourselves as creators) of teams' budgets and survival being at risk, the attitude that the teams showed in the first 100 kilometres today becomes somewhat incomprehensible. Fortunately, TotalEnergies, with Mathieu Burgaudeau and Mattéo Vercher, saved the day. It is worth noting the radio message that Romain Sicard, who previously competed in five Tour de France races with the team and now works as a sports director, delivered to his riders: "We came here to race." Perhaps this is the most essential message of the day. This is the biggest race of all, and trying something, showing off the jersey and the sponsors, is still much better than not trying anything at all.

The audience deserves a mention here as a huge positive aspect of the day. Hundreds of thousands of people lined the roads. The South Brittany and Mayenne regions have a very knowledgeable audience that loves and, above all, respects cycling, which significantly enhanced the atmosphere on yesterday's stage. Chapeau!

There was also a positive outcome to this calm day: we could calmly await this year's second Milan-Merlier sprint battle. Given how the smallest of margins decided the first sprint in Dunkerque, we could rightly assume that under normal circumstances, we would witness a thrilling race. 

Unfortunately, however, Merlier had a puncture 12 kilometres before the finish, and he had to catch up with the peloton through the narrow streets of Laval to have any chance of winning. It looked like he might succeed, as he was already at the back of the field with 4 kilometres to go. Two and a half kilometres before the finish, he was in 20th-25th position, 3-4 bike lengths behind eventual stage winner Jonathan Milan. 

Then, at the finale, with an average gradient of 3.5-4%, he ran out of energy and eventually finished in 56th place. Merlier's chances of winning the green jersey were seriously reduced today – a victory would have put him 23 points behind Milan, but now he is sixth, 93 points behind – and there are not many sprints left where he has a real chance of winning. 

After Jasper Philipsen's withdrawal, Kaden Groves sprinted for Alpecin on Monday. However, today was the first time in his career that he was given this very important role in the Tour de France from the outset, and neither he nor his team disappointed, although it was not the smoothest sprint on either side. 

The team handled the narrow roads of Laval downtown perfectly as we entered the last 8 kilometres, with Alpecin having the best sprint train, featuring four men at the front. The Rickaert-van der Poel-Groves trio also formed quickly, just as it says in the sprinters’ unofficial textbook, but this proved to be a little too early, as Groves had only two men left at the front for the 3km gate. 

This was not enough for such a long distance. Kaden tried to make room for himself for the finale, which caused a dangerous situation at a roundabout, as both Phil Bauhaus and Jonathan Milan came very close to crashing with Groves. He got away with it, but due to hard braking, he had to start the uphill section at low speed. During this, he came very close to the front, but due to the expended energy, he failed to force Milan into a worthy battle in the final 500 metres. Third place is still a good result, and he can even improve on that in the coming days.

Wout van Aert sprinted for the first time this year in the Tour de France yesterday. Although he told reporters before the stage that he wouldn't try it, it was his kind of day, with the type of transition between a full sprint and a punchy sprint that van Aert is best at, so I feel many experts weren't stunned by this – and it was a lesson for journalists to pay more attention to Wout's meta-communication, because a half-smile or a hand gesture can mean something completely different from what he wanted to say. 

Van Aert moved fantastically in the peloton in the final kilometre. He put himself in a prime position from which he had a chance to win, while on the other hand, Jasper Stuyven greatly aided Jonathan Milan on the more complex parts. As a result, the Italian was able to start the sprint from second position in the last 500 metres. It was a tailwind sprint, so perhaps it wasn't necessary to pay so much attention to timing. Yet, positioning became particularly important when Jake Stewart and Groves closed in on Milan in the 100 metres before his launch. Milan solved this situation with a casually elegant shoulder tackle, which was entirely within the rules, and then launched 250 metres before the finish. 

The tailwind sprint created a situation where only significant speed differences would have allowed an overtake on the final stretch. Wout van Aert caught the launch perfectly. He tried to close the gap, but this was incredibly difficult at a final speed of 58 km/h. As a result, Jonathan Milan won his first Tour de France stage and became the first Italian in 113 stages - after Vincenzo Nibali - to win a day in this race. Since Biniam Girmay only finished 19th today, Milan gained a serious advantage over his biggest rivals in the race for the green jersey. No Italian has won the points classification since Alessandro Petacchi in 2010, but Milan now has a good chance of doing so if he could win again today.