Tour de France
A review of what happened on Sunday. Today is a rest day, and Tuesday is the last of the three Alpine climbs, 99.1 miles from Val d’Isere to Briancon.
* Sunday’s stage: A 102.5-mile trek from Le Grand-Bornand to Tignes that took the peleton up three Category 1 ascents in succession toward an uphill finish.
* Winner: Michael Rasmussen of Denmark won his third career Tour stage in 4 hours 49 minutes 40 seconds. Iban Mayo of Spain was second, 2:47 behind, followed by Alejandro Valverde of Spain, 3:12 back.
* Yellow jersey: Rasmussen took the lead from German rider Linus Gerdemann, who trailed several minutes behind in Sunday’s stage. Rasmussen held a 43-second lead over Gerdemann and a 2:39 gap over Mayo.
* Quote of the day: “If I have to go all the way, and take the yellow jersey all the way to Paris, I will have to climb faster than I have ever done in my life.” -- Rasmussen, on his chances of winning the Tour.
*--* STAGE 8 RESULTS 1. Michael Rasmussen, Denmark 4:49:40 2. Iban Mayo, Spain 2:47 behind 3. Alejandro Valverde, Spain 3:12 behind 4. Christophe Moreau, France 3:12 behind 5. Frank Schleck, Luxembourg 3:12 behind
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*--* OVERALL LEADERS 1. Michael Rasmussen, Denmark 39:37.42 2. Linus Gerdemann, Germany :43 behind 3. Iban Mayo, Spain 2:39 behind 4. Alejandro Valverde, Spain 2:51 behind 5. A. Kashechkin, Kazakhstan 2:52 behind
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* Notables: Andreas Kloeden, 3:46 behind; Oscar Pereiro, 3:54 behind; Levi Leipheimer, U.S., 3:53 behind; Christopher Horner, U.S., 6:29 behind; George Hincapie, U.S., 20:19 behind; Christian Vandevelde, U.S., 30:04 behind; Fred Rodriguez, U.S., 1:07:18 behind.