The Tour peloton returned to Laval in the 8th stage, a place Tadej has fond memories of. In this city, he celebrated a time trial victory in the 5th stage in 2021, which was one of the key days on his way to his second yellow jersey on the Champs-Élysées.
This time, the challenge was quite different, in the flat 171.4-kilometer-long stage, the best sprinters fought for victory, and Jonathan Milan (Lidl Trek) secured Italy’s first stage win on the Tour in almost six years.
There were no major attacks or breakaways during the stage, and Tadej finished in the main group without any problems, in 42nd place. The overall standings did not change, and he wore the yellow jersey for the 43rd time in his career. He holds it with a 54-second lead over Remco Evenpoel (Soudal Quick Step), 1:11 over Kevin Vauquelin (Arkea B&B Hotels), and 1:17 over Jonas Vingegaard (Visma Lease a Bike).
»It was a much more relaxing stage than the previous ones. I would have liked there to be a few more straight roads, as we passed through many villages, which made the race hectic and sometimes stressful. Regardless, it was a good day to recover from all the effort already put in,« Tadej said at the finish, where João Almeida, his teammate from UAE Team Emirates – XRG, also arrived with a six-minute delay despite injuries sustained in a crash in the 7th stage.
»João is a warrior, you could see him struggling all day, especially during the accelerations, but he held on and didn’t give up. He has the true spirit of a champion,« Tadej praised the resilient Portuguese.
During the calmer stage, Tadej could also celebrate his fiancée Urška Žigart’s 7th place in the 7th stage of the women’s Giro d’Italia, where she occupies 8th place in the overall standings. He was informed about this during the race via radio communication by sports director Andrej Hauptman.
»During the stage, I asked the team car about my girlfriend Urška and her performance in the women’s Giro d’Italia. I’m always nervous on the bike when she’s racing, and it’s great to hear news about her. When she has a good race, I’m super happy,« Tadej added.
Tomorrow, he faces the flat 9th stage, and another sprint showdown is expected. It will end in Châteauroux, where Mark Cavendish in 2008 celebrated the first of his record 35 stage wins on the Tour.