Tour de France - stage eight photos

After Linus Gerdemann's win on Saturday, riders face another tough day in the mountains on the 165km stage eight

Gerdemann still can't wipe the smile from his face but hangs back while Stefan Schumacher leads an early breakaway

Schumacher heads the lead group over the Col du Marais and the Cote du Bouchet, but Mark Cavendish is struggling

Thomas Voekler keeps pressing at the head of the group of 18 riders with a lead of around two minutes on the peloton

Gerdemann battles in the main peloton, which also includes the Astana riders Alexandre Vinokourov and Andreas Kloeden

The riders spread out as the climbs start to bite and Michael Rogers is forced to abandon after colliding with a barrier

Then Denmark's Michael Rasmussen starts to storm through the field halfway through the day as Cavendish quits the race

Alejandro Valverde and France's Christophe Moreau keep chasing as Rasmussen opens up a lead on the final ascents

Rasmussen takes the line in Tignes to assume the yellow jersey and the lead in the King of the Mountains competition

Iban Mayo has enough left in the tank to claim second place, while Valverde claims third ahead of Moreau's group

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