Thibaut Pinot of France wins Stage 8 of Tour de France

Stage: The 97.7-mile middle mountain trek featuring seven categorized climbs that took riders to Switzerland. The stage included the Col de la Croix, a 2.3-mile climb with gradients as steep as 17% about 10 miles before the finish.

Winner: Thibaut Pinot of France. The FDJ-BigMat rider gave France its first victory in the Tour this year, breaking away from the pack during the final climb. Pinot then resisted the peloton chase in the last six miles. Cadel Evans of Australia was second, 26 seconds behind. Tony Gallopin of France was third, and Bradley Wiggins of Britain was fourth in a small group that included most of the remaining pre-race favorites.

Yellow jersey: Wiggins retained the race leader’s jersey. He maintained his lead over defending Tour champion Evans, who trails by 10 seconds. Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali is third, 16 seconds back.

Stat of the day: 22, Pinot’s age. The Frenchman is the youngest rider in the Tour peloton this year.

Quote of the day: “At the Olympics in Beijing, I weighed [180 pounds] in individual pursuit, and now I’m around [156 pounds]. It’s diet, training — it’s very important. But more than that, it’s a lifestyle: I drink nothing now. Before, in 2004, I was almost an alcoholic after the Olympics.” Wiggins on his transformation from track specialist to Tour main contender.

Monday’s ninth stage: A 25.7-mile time trial between Arc-et-Senans and Besancon. The route is mainly flat and looks tailor-made for Wiggins, who is expected to extend his lead over Evans after thrashing his Australian rival in the race against the clock at the Criterium du Dauphine last month.

Stage 8 results

Overall standings