Tour de France 2025 - Stage 8: Voigt's preview: Short and crisp - thanks to a tailwind?

Stage 8 | Saturday, 12 July 2025 | Saint-Meen-le-Grand - Laval Espace Mayenne | 171.4 kilometres | 1700 vertical metres

Jens Voigt's assessment of stage 8

The 8th stage from Saint-Méen-le Grand to Laval is quite short for a flat stage at 171.4 kilometres. There is virtually no chance of an early breakaway group winning the day. For me, it clearly looks like a bunch sprint for the stage win. We are quite far inland - the eastbound direction promises a tailwind. Normally it would be a short and crisp stage. On the last five to six kilometres, there are two small unclassified hills to conquer, which is an extra challenge for the sprinters and their riders, but doable.

Around 16 kilometres before the finish line, the Côte de Nuillé-sur-Vicoin is the only mountain classification of the day (4th category), but it shouldn't be so difficult that the sprinters will have problems here. The finish is 1.5 kilometres long, but you have to be the first to take the bend 200 metres before the line on the Boulevard Pierre Élain if you want to win the sprint. But under no circumstances should you put your nose into the wind earlier. Timing will be crucial. There are also points for the green jersey at the intermediate sprint of the day in Vitré after 85.5 kilometres.

Schedule, TV coverage & live stream of stage 8 of the Tour de France 2025

• Neutral start: 13:10, sharp start 13:25
• Estimated arrival time: between 17:04 and 17:24
• TV broadcast: ARD 14:10-19:57, Eurosport 1 13:00-17:15
• Live stream: sportschau.de, Discovery Plus (fee required)
• All stages of the Tour de France 2025 at a glance

Highlights of the 8th stage

• 13:25: With the sharp start, the fans can see: Which teams will fight for attention in an early, but likely chanceless, breakaway?
• 17:00: Full speed ahead: How are the teams positioning themselves in what is expected to be a frantic race for the day's win?

TOUR expert Jens Voigt

Nobody in the German-speaking world knows the Tour de France better: Jens Voigt competed in the most important cycling race as a professional a total of 17 times between 1998 and 2014. Only the Frenchman Sylvain Chavanel, the current record holder, has managed one more participation. Voigt knows the race from the perspective of the winner and the tireless helper in the team. He won two stages himself and wore the yellow jersey for one day each in 2001 and 2005. In 2010, as a team-mate in Team Saxo Bank, he accompanied Luxembourg's Andy Schleck to his overall victory (after the doping disqualification of Alberto Contador, who initially came first; editor's note). The 53-year-old Berliner currently works as a brand ambassador for the bike manufacturer Trek and as a pundit for the Eurosport channel.

For TOUR readers, the former pro gives his predictions for the course of the 21 stages, points out difficulties and things worth seeing. For each day's stage, he gives a tip on what role the course could play in the final standings in the individual classifications in Paris. If three of the jerseys are coloured, this means that this day could be decisive for this classification - i.e. overall classification (yellow), sprint/points classification (green) and classification of the best climber (red dotted jersey). We also give you the broadcast times of the TV channels in Germany (ARD and Eurosport) and their live streams - plus tips on when it might be particularly worth tuning in.