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Lilian Calmejane holds off the field to take stage eight

July 8, 2017

Stage eight of the Tour de France went to debutant Lilian Calmejane, who nearly rode into the trees near the finish. Reigning tour champion Chris Froome appears to have retained the yellow jersey after the stage.

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Tour De France, Lilian Calmejane
Image: Reuters/C.Hartmann

Lillian Calmejane pulled away from Robert Gesink and Nicolas Roche to race to his first Tour de France stage victory in his career. The Frenchman took the spotted jersey following the mountainous stage, while reigning champion Chris Froome retained the yellow jersey.

After a frenetic eighth stage through the Jura mountains near the Swiss border, the 24-year-old Frenchman pulled away with 15km to go, roared on by the French public lining the route.

The Netherlands' Robert Gesink tried to go with him and, with Calmejane suffering from cramp in his hamstring, it looked as it the Dutch mountain specialist could reel him in. But the Frenchman recovered and ultimately crossed the line with his arms raised for his first ever Tour stage win.

Earlier in the stage, Chris Froome in the yellow jersey experienced a hairy moment when he veered off into the grass following a slight collision with a Team Trek rider, but the reigning champion recovered and retained the leader's jersey.

Germany's Marcel Kittel leads the points classification ahead of France's Arnaud Demare.