Rui Da Costa won the stage on a breakaway while Robert Gesink kept himself right in the peloton all day in an effort to keep the entire 29 second lead he has over 2nd place Rigoberto Uran. He will probably need every one of them in tomorrow's final stage time trial, as Uran is considered a time trial specialist. Uran, a time trial U17 champion and winner of this final Suisse time trial in 2007, will be in hot pursuit of Gesink to get his first overall win at a major pro tour event. Morabito is third, 7 behind Uran. Not much is known of his time trial abilities, so I don't really consider him a top contender. Frank Schleck follows him, and though Schleck isn't known as a TT rider, he is an overall good rider who can ride strongly in nearly anything. Lance Armstrong sits in 7th, 55 seconds behind. He was always a good TT rider throughout his career and 1 minute isn't a lot to make up on such a long ITT. (26.9km) Thomas Lovkvist is 10th, and has rode well in his share of TTs, though he is 1:38 back. Perhaps the best TT rider in the entire field, Tony Martin, sits in 14th but he is a long 2:19 back. Martin, holder of the yellow jersey for several stages so far this tour, will need a spectacular ride to pull back that much time on the leaders. The two riders right behind him, Roman Kreuzinger and Gustav Erik Larsson, are also very good time trialers but like Martin, have a very long way to go.
The thing that really plays into the favor of the riders with some time to make up is the legnth of the stage. This almost 27 km monster is considered not very big on the international level, but can still be a killer for any rider who does not navigate it properly. I would not be surprised for someone like Martin or Lovkvist to win the stage,but the event may be just out of range. I think the real battle will come down to Gesink vs Uran, with Schleck and Armstrong having outside chances. CLASSIFICATIONS AFTER STAGE 8
OVERALL
1. Robert Gesink
2. Rigoberto Uran -29
3. Steve Morabito -36
4. Frank Schleck -38
5. Joaquin Rodriguez -42
6. Matteo Carrara -54
7. Lance Armstrong -55
8. Oliver Zaugg -1:01
9. Jakob Fuglsang -1:17
10. Thomas Lovkvist -1:38
11. Andy Schleck -1:40
12. Andreas Kloden -1:48
13. Levi Leipheimer -2:18
14. Tony Martin -2:19
15. Roman Kreuzinger -2:24
16. Gustav Erik Larsson -2:24
MOUNTAINS
1. Mathias Frank 49
2. Wouter Poels 4o
3. Robert Gesink 21
POINTS
1. Marcus Burghardt 50
2. Jose Joaquin Rojas 50
3. Marco Marcato 43
TEAM STANDINGS
1. Team Saxo Bank
2. Team Radioshack -3:42
3. Caisse d'Epargne -12:50
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