On the eighth day, the Tour de France rested - Why the peloton rode steady on the road to Laval

LAVAL, FRANCE - JULY 12: (L-R) Matteo Vercher of France and Mathieu Burgaudeau of France and Team TotalEnergies celebrate at podium as most combative riders prize winners during the 112th Tour de France, Stage 8 a 197km stage from Saint-Meen-le-Grand to Laval (Espace Mayenne) / #UCIWT / on July 12, 2025 in Laval, France.
Stage 8 came alive after 85km of racing when the TotalEnergies duo Matteo Vercher and Mathieu Burgaudeau sprang from the peloton at the intermediate sprint, the two named most combative prize winners (Image credit: Getty Images)

On the eighth day, the Tour de France rested.

After seven days of intense racing, the riders opted to ease the pace and aggression on the road to Laval, riding at a steady pace for much of the 171km stage 8 into central France and the La Mayenne department.

Stephen Farrand
Head of News

Stephen is one of the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.

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