Kroon claims Rabobank's first Tour win

Rabobank rider Karsten Kroon led home a Dutch 1-2-3 to deny France a stage winner on Bastille Day. Kroon won the 217.5-kilometre eighth stage from Servais Knaven (DFF) and Eric Dekker (Rabobank). Overall leader Igor Gonzalez Galdeano (ONCE) retains the Yellow Jersey.

RE-LIVE: Tour de France - Stage 8

RACE SUMMARY

Stage eight landed on July the 14th when France celebrates the Bastille day, the day France declared its independence from Germany. Today's stage was a very special one among French riders who dreamt of winning a Tour stage on this particular day. But was not meant to be as it was a hat trick of Dutch riders who crossed the finish line first.

As expected stage 8, a fairly flat course on narrow roads, saw several attacks from the very beginning . The first attack of the stage came from a French rider Sandy Casar of the FDJeux.com team at the 2.5km mark. Several attacks followed but they were unsuccessful as the peloton, led by Once, Alessio Jean Delatour , Credit Agricole, iBanesto.com and CSC-Tiscali, attacked immediately destroying the breakaway efforts.

After 108 km of race a group of seven riders began their attack managing to reach a maximum gain of six minutes from the peloton. The riders involved were Sebastien Hinault (Credit Agricole), Servais Knaven (Domo-Farm Frites), Karsten Kroon & Erik Dekker (Rabobank), Raivis Belohvosciks (Lampre), Franck Renier (Bonjour) and Stephane Auge (Jean Delatour).

The leaders managed to keep the peloton far away until the finish line where the race winner was decided with a sprint. A couple attacks from Dekker and his Dutch team-mates forced the three French riders to accelerate wasting valuable energy. In the last 20m Dekker, Knaven and Kroon outran the French hopes pushing Karsten Kroon, making his debut this year, to his first stage win.

The peloton was led home by Australia's Robbie McEwen, winner of stage three, approximately one minute 55 seconds behind the winner.

RACE FOR YELLOW

Spaniard Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano retained his overall leader's yellow jersey. Defending champion Lance Armstrong was not able to decrease his gap and is still 34" behind. Stage 9, a 52-kms individual time trial, will be the best setting for Armstrong to grasp the yellow jersey. Armstrong, unbeaten in long-distance time trials for three years, will be challenged by Gonzalez Galdeano and Colombian Santiago Botero.

QUOTES OF THE DAY

"I feel close to tears," said Kroon, whose only previous success since turning professional in 1998 was the Gippingen Grand Prix in Switzerland last year. "I went three years without a win so winning my first race last year in Switzerland was important, but to win this on Bastille Day is so big I can hardly hold back my tears," he added.

"I'm a little bit nervous because tomorrow the serious business will start with the time trial," Gonzalez Galdeano said. "It's my speciality, but it is also (Lance) Armstrong's."