DH: People take the phones off of the hanger put your feet up, Le Tour has arrived in the mountains. Stage 8 of the race takes up to Station des Rousses and we are looking forward to seeing some attacking action today.
Kg: Examining the parcours today we have two 4th category climbs, a long 3rd Category Les Coombes climb before the mountain top finish up to Station des Rousses. Not the nastiest climb, but the fact that they finish on the top should encourage riders to give it a go.
Sm: I am looking forward to this and the next four stages gentlemen, today probably just a tasty little starter for the action in the alps. The feeling on the press floor is that Alberto Contador is due a good performance, a hilly climb may suit the punchy rider.
DH: Yes I agree Smowz, it is probably suiting a rider who gives it a fair kick. So many favourites to choose from, I suspect not a good one for Phinney, Kashechkin was good at the Tour de Suisse...
Kg: Or maybe Spilak winner of 'Le Dauphine' ... anyway lets run you through the early highlights. We had a break of just three riders today.
Three men brave the more hilly roads
Sm: It is a day where teams will want to keep their teams together I suspect.
Kg: The riders here were Brolin (Ikea), Mori (Sony) and Chavez (Cafe du Columbia), the Protour men dominated poor Brolin as they took the first two places in the sprint.
Mori - > Chavez - > Brolin
Kg: ...and dropped him on the first climb of the day.
Sm: For me the early climbs were slightly under categorised today, les Coombes in particular is quite long and tough.
Brolin dropped on first climb
Kg: Cafe du Columbia's Rubiano Chavez took both the maximums at the climbs to join the many riders on six KOM points.
Cafe du Columbia place another man forwards on the King of the Mountains
DH: The peleton were not letting this break have too much leeway, Philips (for Dekker) and Domina Vacanze (for Schleck) were pulling it back.
Kg: Yes, at 60km to the gap was just over five minutes. Noticing he need to up the gas Rubiano Chavez has pushed it high enough to drop Mori on the climb. Mori took the second sprint by the way...
Mori dropped on the bottom of Les Coombes
DH: That was a couple of minutes ago, the peleton are on this now and here we go - who is this attacking Smowz?
Sm: Wow, Spilak is putting in an impressive burst, the Slovenian is ready.
Spilak first major favourite to make his move, 3.5km from the top
DH: This is hitting them hard at the front, nobody is responding, Philips are riding a hard tempo though and at the back the Gruppeto forms.
Gruppeto forms
Sm: Boonan is there, I don't think the yellow jersey is there yet but he is some way back in the peleton.
DH: We are getting close to the top of this one and riders are now flooding out of the peleton. Contador... Phinney.. Gesink.. Popovich... Uran... Gomez Marchante.
Contador just about catches Spilak at the top
Kg: Chavez takes the maximum, that's 11 points in total one behind Knees now. Then Spilak, Contador and the Henao Montoya for the points. But will they push on?
DH: A couple of riders are I see a Kazach champions jersey, must be Kashechkin and a Carmuese rider.
Sm: Popovich, I think Daniel. Chavez has been caught too.
Kasheskin and Popovich push on descent
Sm: Plenty of interesting moves from the favourites, Kashechkin was really good on the key stage in this year's Tour de Suisse, whereas Popovich was a bit flat at the Dauphine.
DH: The Lipton rider does not see the value of this and is dropping back to the peleton - which is really motoring down this descent.
Popovich pushes on alone
DH: He can be an attacking rider Popovich but he is not much more than 30 seconds clear.
Kg: Destruction behind boys, the Maillot Jaune has been dumped according to race radio.
Bennati is dropped, a lot of Gazzeta climbers are around him
Sm: Looks like Gazzetta have no GC ambitions with their climbers, they are all back there with Bennati.
DH: Philips and Domina Vacanze are ramping this up on the approach to the last climb, they are looking to put riders out of the back.
Kg: Second place on GC, Coppel has gone too.
Coppel is next GC man to go - nice while it lasted for Auber
Sm: I see Pierre Rolland shepherding him, clearly he also has no GC ambitions.
DH: That should place yellow in the hand so Davey Zee.
Sm: Zabriskie? Well we will see if he is there at the end, it is very close behind him and Popovich is ahead... hellooo Vesuvio on the attack.
DH: Rigoberto Uran, the tricky little Columbian.
Uran burst clear at bottom of climb
DH: Kasheshkin is in the background here, with a Carmuese rider, is it Popovich?
Sm: It cannot be Popovich he is still ahead it is Remi Di Gregario, Gomez Marchante is coming too looks like he is showing no ill effects to that crash the other day. I am surprised they got away the pace set by Philips is very fast here.
DH: Yeah, Thomas Lovkvist is looking very impressive here no one else is or can make a move.
Lovkvist rides a hard tempo for riders in the main group
DH: 5 to go here, Uran and his band of follows are leaving Popovich behind here. Gomez Marchante is pushing this on.
Three rider lead
DH: Carmuese duo of Di Gregario and Popovich behind about 25 seconds or so back then the peleton no more than 30 back.
Carmuese duo trying to keep it going
Sm: It is slowing slightly in the main group, yeah Spilak is going again - this is it.
Spilak goes hard with 4.5 to go
DH: He may have left it a bit late though, look a man in Orange that's Schleck.
Schleck tries to launch as well
Sm: We are really racing here, though some of the favourites I think are keeping their powder dry for the coming days.
DH: Up front Gomez Marchante is really hammering 2300m to go and Kash is losing touch, but Uran is holding fast.
Kash loses touch
Sm: The gap is looking to big to bridge, Uran must know that Gomez Marchante lost time the other day - yellow could be his.
DH: Andy Schleck is not giving up, he showed this sort of clawing back type of style in the Vuelta it ain't pretty but he is pressing away from Spilak and Popovich.
Schleck looking to gap Spilak and Popo
DH: Behind them, they are recognizing they are in the last 2km, they being Dekker, Fothen, Contador and a Vesuvio man.
Sm: Fothen is good at making late bursts, Valverde the winner of the Vuelta this year is brilliant at this too.
Kg: The Vesuvio man is Iglinski, Di Gregario in the picture is fading... he has done a good job for Popovich.
More favourites respond
DH: Wow we are in the last kilometer already and our two leaders are going for it. Uran has Yellow surely, no sign of Davey Zee today I am afraid, will he give the stage to Gomez Marchante.
Sm: Unlikely with bonifications.
Front two duke it out for the stage
DH: Kasheshkin is really rocking and rolling now, Contador and Fothen are homing in on him, Schleck too.
Sm: They are trying to eliminate the gaps and go for that 3rd places eight seconds too.
Conta and Fothen finishing fast
DH: Up front Uran takes it...
Glory for Uran - he will take Yellow too
DH: The Columbian wriggles away at the bottom of the climb, Gomez Marchante then did the bulk of the work to get a nice gap... Kasheshkin is just about going to hold off Markus Fothen for 3rd.
Kash takes the 3rd place prize
DH: Contador 5th, Dekker, Schleck, Spilak and Iglinski.
Kg: The second group looks like it concedes 41 seconds
Sm: Here is Phinney Daniel..
DH: Brave performance from the remarkable American, he finishes with Caruso and Gesink.
Phinney, Gesink and Caruso finish 20 seconds further back
Sm: Popovich is about twenty seconds further back with Taaramae, bit of a slow start for Ikea and Popo went too early for sure.
DH: Davey Zee, finishes with a large group times at 1.38 to Uran. Pedraza and Pluchkin are with him, not such a good day for them.
Sm: Time gaps are relatively small today though, the action really gets going tomorrow. Big day for Rigoberto Uran our new leader!
