Latvian cyclist Toms Skujiņš from the “Trek-Segafredo” team won the second place in the eighth stage of the “Tour de France” on Saturday, while the Frenchman Nans Peters celebrated the victory (“AG2R La Mondiale”).
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On Friday, the athletes covered a 141-kilometer distance with three heavy climbs.
The winner of the eighth stage was Peter, who completed the distance in four hours, two minutes and 12 seconds.
Herringbone lost 47 seconds to the winner and was ahead of Spaniard Carlos Veron (“Movistar”) in the finish line.
Latvian cyclist Skujiņš went into the race with 12 more riders and most of the distance was also driven by everyone. The lead group did not include any of the leading athletes in the overall standings, so the small group soon won by more than nine minutes.
The leader of the leading group was Russian Ilnurs Zakarkins (CCC), but in the first stage he was only in the 12th position, while Skujiņš was third and earned 15 points. 83 kilometers before the finish, the Italian Giacomo Nicolo (“NTT Pro Cycling”) withdrew from the race, becoming the fifth driver to stop participating in the “Tour de France”.
On the first mountain, the leader of the “dotted shirt”, the Frenchman Benouin Cosnefrow (“AG2R La Mondiale”) was the fastest, but Skujiņš was behind six leading athletes. 45 kilometers to the finish, the attack from the leading group was carried out by the Frenchman Nans Peters (“AG2R La Mondiale”), who held his position until the finish, although the overall leader Simon Yeats (“Mitchelton-Scott”) approached the Frenchman 13 kilometers before the finish.
For Neiland, this is his debut in France, but Skujiņš is participating in this competition for the third year in a row.
The Tour de France, which is rightly considered one of the largest sporting events in the world, is celebrating its 107th anniversary this year.
Last year, Skujiņš finished ninth in the 17th stage, but in 2018, he finished fifth in one of the stages, as well as rode in the mountain king’s shirt for several stages. Last year, Skujiņš finished in the 81st position in the overall rating.
The last time two Latvians were together in the “Tour de France” was in 2002. At that time, Arvis Piziks and Raivis Belohvoščiks each rode in their team.
In total, the French tour is scheduled for 21 stages this year, finishing on September 20 in the Champs Elysées.
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