Man in yellow relishes a red hot day

IT was meant to be the entree to overnight’s mountainous main course, but Stage 8 was more like a well-done roast.

Frenchman Lilian Calmejane fought through late cramps to claim his first Tour de France stage win at ski village Station des Rousses — emerging solo from a large breakaway on the final climb.

But for all the talk of Team Sky giving up the yellow jersey to a non-threatening rider to ease pressure, Chris Froome’s teammates kept the pace high to discourage rival attacks.

It meant that on another scorching day where sections of bitumen melted in the sun, the pace just as hot even if Froome retained yellow and there were no changes in the general classification.

A 50-rider lead group that formed about halfway through the stage averaged a painful 47km/h over the first 140km on a demanding route through the Jura mountains. Calmejane needed to average 41.59km/h to win.

With the foot on the gas, Froome ran off the road on a descent and Team Sky teammate Geraint Thomas crashed on the same corner, but both were unhurt.

By the end, the common belief among the riders was that the stage would make the overnight daunting 181.5km, four-mountain journey from Nantua to Chambery even more epic.

Aussie Richie remained fifth overall, 39 seconds behind Froome, predicted fatigue would be a major factor.

“That was a pretty wild old stage. Tomorrow we’ll feel that one in the legs,” Porte said.

Froome said: “That was a really tough day, especially with tomorrow in mind.”

Thomas put the relentless day into context. “There wasn’t time for a leak all day. We were just full-on, on the pedals all day,” he said.

Calmejane’s win was not without its dose of drama. With a memorable win beckoning, the Direct Energie opportunist slowed to a crawl with 5km to go as cramps ravaged his body. But he would fight through them to hold off Dutchman Robert Gesink by 37 seconds to add to his 2016 Vuelta a Espana stage win.