Saturday was one of those stultifying days at the Tour de France where the energy appeared to have been sucked out of the race. Stage eight was designed as a bunch sprint day, with just two category-four climbs on the route, and for most of the day it was ridden as such, with just three riders up the road at a controlled distance, the interested teams at the front, and the inevitable on its way in Bergerac.
It would be hard to blame the peloton, given this was their eighth day in a row of racing in a heatwave, and there are much harder tests to come, including tomorrow's stage nine in the Massif Central, shortened due to "exceptionally intense" heat. A rolling rest day, as much as possible, is to be forgiven.
