Krists Neilands helps teammate secure second place in Tour de France stage 8
Latvian cyclist Krists Neilands assisted his teammate Biniam Girmay of Eritrea to finish second in the eighth stage of the Tour de France, while Toms Skujiņš placed 54th.
The eighth stage of the Tour de France took place on Saturday, July 6, covering 180.4 kilometers with two fourth-category climbs. The route was mostly flat, leading to a mass sprint finish.
Belgian Tim Merlier of "Soudal Quick-Step" crossed the finish line first. Second place went to Eritrean Biniam Girmay ("NSN"), aided by his teammate Krists Neilands. Dutchman Olav Kooij ("Decathlon CMA CGM") took third. Sprint classification leader and Skujiņš' teammate Mads Pedersen ("Lidl - Trek") finished 12th.
Both Latvian cyclists finished in the main pack. Toms Skujiņš came in 54th, while Krists Neilands was 84th. The leading group completed the stage in 3 hours 52 minutes and 50 seconds.
In the general classification, Slovenian Tadej Pogačar ("UAE Team Emirates - XRG") remains the leader, 2 minutes 42 seconds ahead of Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard ("Visma"/"Lease a Bike") and 3 minutes 27 seconds ahead of Mexican Isaac del Toro ("UAE Team Emirates - XRG").
Skujiņš is 60th overall, 1 hour 3 minutes and 3 seconds behind Pogačar. Neilands sits in 116th place, 1 hour 26 minutes and 13 seconds off the lead.
This is Skujiņš' eighth participation in the Tour de France and Neilands' sixth. Neilands' best result in the Tour is a fourth place in a 2023 stage, while Skujiņš finished second in a stage in 2020.
Now in its 113th edition, the Tour de France will conclude on July 26 on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. Last year's winner was Pogačar, with Neilands and Skujiņš finishing 88th and 95th respectively.
