Vuillermoz shines on Tour stage eight, Froome leads (Reuters)

By Julien Pretot MUR DE BRETAGNE, France (Reuters) – Alexis Vuillermoz earned the French their first victory on this year’s Tour de France, his final kick proving too hot to handle for the big guns in the eighth stage on Saturday. The AG2r-La Mondiale rider attacked twice in the final climb, a brutal two-kilometer ascent at an average gradient of 6.9 percent, and countered overall leader Chris Froome less than one-km from the line. The 27-year-old Vuillermoz beat Ireland’s Dan Martin (Cannondale-Garmin) by five seconds while Spain’s Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) was 10 seconds behind in third place after a 181.5-km ride from Rennes.