Es wirkt immer wie die Landung eines Raumschiffs, wie ein schier außerirdisches Ereignis, wenn die Tour de France sich in einem Dorf wie Colombey les Deux Églises breitmacht. Es regelrecht heimsucht als Zielort. Mit all ihren temporären Aufbauten, verlegten Kabeln und der aus unzähligen Last- und Personenkraftwagen bestehenden Karawane.
Gerade einmal 700 Einwohner zählt das unscheinbare, von Feldern umgebene Colombey les Deux Églises. Ihr berühmtester Bürger war der einstige französische Präsident Charles de Gaulle, für den am höchsten Punkt des Orts ein Denkmal samt Museum errichtet worden ist.
Girmay schlägt wieder zu
Zum General der achten Etappe aber machte sich Birniam Girmay. Der Eritreer, der mit seinem Sprintsieg am vergangenen Montag in Turin als erster schwarzer afrikanischer Tour-Etappensieger Radsportgeschichte geschrieben hatte, legte in eigener Sache nach. Der Profi der belgischen Equipe Intermarché-Wanty gewann nach 183 Kilometern in einem packenden Finish ein weiteres Teilstück.
Zweiter wurde Jasper Philippsen, der im vorigen Jahr mit vier Etappensiegen noch dominante Kraft der schnellen Männer war. Der Träger des Grünen Trikots Girmay vermochte an diesem regnerischen Samstag auch seinen Vorsprung in der Punktewertung vor Philippsen auszubauen.
There was no change in the overall rankings. Tadej Pogacar in the yellow jersey is still 33 seconds ahead of the Belgian Remco Evenepoel, who won the time trial the day before. Behind him is defending champion Jonas Vingegaard, who is 1:15 minutes behind Pogacar.
“Girmay deserved to win”
It was also a shocking day for cycling, overshadowed by a serious accident during the Tour of Austria, which was taking place at the same time. The 25-year-old Norwegian André Drege fell on the descent from the Grossglockner and suffered fatal injuries.
The German Pascal Ackermann once again proved his good form by finishing fourth in Colombey les Deux Églises. But it was not enough for a decisive advance in the sprint. Although he was well positioned on Girmay’s rear wheel, the Palatinate rider missed the right moment to start his sprint. “In the end I was just as fast as the guys in front. But Girmay deserved to win, that was a strong performance,” said Ackermann on ARD.
Girmay is an expert at surviving hilly stages (five classified climbs, 2400 meters of elevation) like this one and still having full power in the sprint. It was not expected beforehand that it would be a mass finish. But because so many racing teams have sprinters on board, it is almost in the general interest of the peloton to let the race come down to a sprint decision.
Girmay had already proven by successfully completing the flat section to Turin that he can currently hold his own with punch and self-confidence. “It’s incredible to win twice,” said the 24-year-old. “I would like to dedicate this victory to my parents, who supported me so much in being able to become a cyclist in the first place.”
“Planned long in advance”
Mads Petersen (Team Lidl-Trek) is also a proven expert for finishes like the one in Colombey les Deux Églises. However, the former world champion left the tour this morning due to injuries sustained in a fall on the fifth stage. With Petersen’s presence and a strong Lidl-Trek team pushing the pace, the stage would probably have picked up speed earlier.
Georg Zimmermann, Girmay’s German teammate, also speculated. “This stage was already a topic of conversation for us in the winter, and success has been planned for a long time. That’s all the nicer because in cycling things usually turn out differently than expected,” the Augsburg native told ARD.
It has not been the Tour de France of breakaways so far. After the two victories from breakaway groups on the opening weekend, there has been nothing more to gain for the offensive forces of the peloton since then. But that is definitely not the fault of Jonas Abrahamsen, the most active rider of the first week of the Tour and wearer of the polka dot mountain jersey.
The adventurous Norwegian dominated the day after setting off early as a soloist. Despite the rain, the field had a relatively peaceful day in the saddle. 14 kilometers from the finish, the peloton caught up with Abrahamsen. The pace was then increased – until Girmay’s front wheel crossed the finish line first. In Colombey les Deux Églises, where the usual calm returned later in the evening when the Tour caravan moved on.
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