Tour de Suisse 2015: Stage 8

Hello and welcome to the live coverage of stage eight of the Tour de Suisse.

Hello and welcome to our blow by blow coverage of stage 8 around Bern, the home of Fabian Cancellara.

The 152km stage covers four laps of  38km circuit south of the Swiss city, with 1900m of climbing and lots of twisting roads.   

A breakaway is expected to dominate the early laps of the stage and perhaps even stay away to take the spoils. 

12 riders jumped away almost fro the start. 

The 12 riders included world champion Michal Kwiatkowski but were quickly caught by the peloton.

@Lotto_Soudal Sat, 20th Jun 2015 13:54:41

Other riders are trying to go away gain, including Matteo Trentin (Etixx-QuickStep). 

On Friday Alexander Krisoff (Katusha) used his sprint speed to beat Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo). Read about the stage and see our photo gallery of all the action by clicking here.   

The peloton has split as the attacks continue to be launched off the front. 

Michal Kwiatkowski (Etixx-QuickStep) isagain on the attack. He is looking for a stage success as he prepares for the Tour de France.  

The pace has taken its toll with Jasper Stuyven (Trek Factory Racing) calling it quits. 

120km remaining from 164km

The peloton is still chasing a group of 19 riders. It is perhaps too big to let go and so the gap is at 40 seconds. 

The 19 rider attack includes Warren Barguil (Giant-Alpecin), who is best placed overall. 

They lead the peloton by 52 seconds now. 

Also in the attack are Stijn Devolder (Trek Factory Racing) and Michael Albasini (Orica-GreenEdge) as the riders complete the first 38km lap around Bern.

The  break has opened a 1:00 lead. Team Sky has been forced to chase to defend Geraint Thomas' overall chances.

The Cannondale-Garmin team is also helping the chase. 

FDJ is also working hard but the gap is up to 1:20.

@TrekFactory Sat, 20th Jun 2015 14:37:59

@Lotto_Soudal Sat, 20th Jun 2015 14:38:53

The gap has continued to grow and is now close to 2:00.

@MeridaProRoad Sat, 20th Jun 2015 15:00:00

87km remaining from 164km

With just over two hours of racing left to go, the break has established a solid lead of 2:00. This move could stay away.

@ORICA_GreenEDGE Sat, 20th Jun 2015 15:11:14

We've updated our situation on the right, with the names of the riders in the break away.

75km remaining from 164km

With two laps to go of the circuit, the gap is at 2:12.

@guyvdl Sat, 20th Jun 2015 15:19:16

Bakelants has won the intermediate sprint but no time bonuses are awarded today. 

Barguil is the best placed rider overall but is 4:52 down on Pinot and so no real overall threat.

It will be interesting to see if the sprinters' decide to chase down the 19-rider attack or let them go.   

@Lotto_Soudal Sat, 20th Jun 2015 15:31:12

62km remaining from 164km

The hills are starting to hurt the riders in the break and the chasing peloton.

Much of the circuit is in the Swiss countryside, meaning the riders are also exposed to any side winds.

Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing) is in action on his home roads near Bern.

The Swiss rider is fighting to build his form after missing the cobbled Classics due to a fractured vertebra. 

He is a favourite for the time trial stage on Sunday.   

The 38km circuit includes several climbs with the Liebewil climb also awarding points in the climber's competition. 

Bakelants lead over the climb this time, with world champion Michal Kwiatkowski apparently struggling slightly.  

Team Sky continues to lead the peloton.

Geraint Thomas is only 37 seconds behind race leader Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) and is hoping to snatch victory in Sunday's time trial.

Read more about Sunday's face-off here.

No sooner did we mention Fabian Cancellara, and he stops for a quick mechanical service. 

Cancellara said he was ready to suffer in this year's race. Read what he said by clicking here. 

The Cannondale-Garmin team missed the break and so is helping to bring it under control.  

41km remaining from 164km

The gap is falling slightly but is still above 2:00.

@AstanaTeam Sat, 20th Jun 2015 16:01:39

Jakob Fuglsang is off the back Astana teammate Agnoli after an apparent problem. 

Fuglsang is struggling to continue. He seems about to quit he race and must surely be ill in some way. 

38km remaining from 164km

The break is passing through the finish area for the penultimate time. 

@MeridaProRoad Sat, 20th Jun 2015 16:09:41

The peloton passes through the finish too, still 2:00 backs. 

The race is switching through the centre of Bern, with huge crowds stopping to see the riders.

The peloton is lined out as the speed stays high.

Crash! Maxime Monfort (Lotto Soudal) goes down, losing some skin on his shoulder and back. 

Monfort has retired from the race, cutting through the barriers to head to the Lotto Soudal team bus. 

Meanwhile, at the Ster ZLM Toer, Moreno Hofland (LottoNL Jumbo) has won stage three of the race.

The peloton seems to have eased slightly, with the gap staying at around 2:00.  

Attack! Turgot and Kwiatkowski have upped the speed in the break.

Anaconda accelerates away to reach the summit of the climb first and keeps going.

More attacks will surely follow but riders such as Daniele Bennati (Tinkoff-Saxo) and Matteo Trentin (Etixx-QuickStep) will be hoping for a sprint finish.   

18km remaining from 164km

Lutsenko (Astana) also tries to go away but Kwiatkowski again chased him down, riding to help Trentin in an eventual sprint. 

Meanwhile Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) has confirmed via Twitter that he quit the Tour de Suisse due to stomach problems.  

Up front Lutsenko is slowly opening a gap as the break splits behind him.

15km remaining from 164km

Bakelants has joined Lutsenko, with eight chasers at 150m. 

Lutsenko and Bakelants are diving down the descent, crouched low over their bikes.

10km remaining from 164km

The duo have  20-second lead. They could stay away unless the eight chasers up their speed. 

Trenton attacks with Barguil to try to split the chasers.

They are trying to get ride of Bennati and other fast finishers.

8km remaining from 164km

Lutsenko does a big turn on the front to keep the break going at speed.  

Cameron Meyer and Michael Albasini are working together in the chase group, with the Australian sacrificing his chances for his Swiss teammate.

5km remaining from 164km

The riders will soon hit the final short climb. 

The race follows the river now before climbing up to the city. The gap is only 11 seconds now.

Lutsenko and Bakelants hit the climb as the chasers close the gap. Can they stay away? 

Lutsenko is doing most of the work. 

Vyacheslav Kuznetsov (Katusha) kicks off the chase. 

He is followed by Trentin and Barguil.  

The others also get back up but the duo are still 14 ahead.

1km remaining from 164km

Last kilometre! Lutsenko is still working, with Bakelants tucked on his wheel. 

Lutsenko continues to lead it out. 

Didi the Devil gives them a cheer. Who will win? 

Lutsenko leads it out and wins with ease, as if Bakelants opted not to sprint. 

Barguil takes third after jumping away in the final kilometre.

Behind it seems that Pinot has again lost some time. Thomas is in a small group with Sagan and Dumoulin. 

They gain perhaps two or three seconds before Sunday's final time trial. 

Pinot remains in the race leader's yellow jersey before Sunday's final 38km time trial stage.

@TeamSky Sat, 20th Jun 2015 17:08:54

Thomas is arguably now the favourite to win the 2015 Tour de Suisse, with Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin) also a threat.  

Thanks for joining us for our live coverage from the Tour de Suisse.

We will have a full stag report, photo gallery, full results and news on Cyclingnews.com very soon. 

Join us on Sunday for live coverage of the decisive time trial stage.