The 8th stage of the Tour de France 2012 took place on July 8, 2012. It was 157.5 kilometers long and led from Belfort to Porrentruy in Switzerland . In the Jura , seven mountain ratings had to be tackled, one of which was in the 4th and 3rd category, four in the 2nd category and one in the 1st category. 181 out of 198 drivers started.
The route had a very hilly profile. It led south, east and finally north-westerly through the Territoire de Belfort and the Doubs département as well as through the Swiss cantons of Jura and Bern . The drivers reached the French part of the Jura via Sochaux (320 m). There were three mountain classifications on the program, namely Bondeval (499 m), Passage de la Douleur (806 m) and Maison-Rouge (784 m). In Goumois (493 m) the Doubs , which forms the border with Switzerland, was crossed.
On Swiss soil, it first went steeply from the Doubs valley to Saignelégier (979 m), another mountain classification. The refreshment station followed shortly afterwards in Le Bémont . After the passage from Glovelier (515 m) and the mountain classification in Saulcy (928 m), the intermediate sprint was held in Les Genevez (1046 m). It went on via Undervelier (536 m) back to Glovelier. Saint-Ursanne (440 m) was reached via the Côte de la Caquerelle (834 m) . The gradient from there to the last mountain classification, the Col de la Croix (789), was up to 17% steep. Initially steeply sloping, then on largely flat terrain, the riders finally reached the destination in Porrentruy (434 m).
Race course
After five kilometers, a group of ten pulled away from the field. Jens Voigt was able to pull away and won the first mountain classification, while a new group of 22 formed behind him. Voigt also won the second mountain classification. Several drivers caught up with him; the composition of the top group changed constantly and the field was less than half a minute behind. On the ascent to the Côte de Maison Rouge, Blel Kadri pulled away slightly and was the first to reach the third mountain classification. In the descent, a top group of 20 formed with around 20 seconds ahead of the field.
After crossing the border, Jérémy Roy pulled away and won the mountain classification in Saignelégier just before Fredrik Kessiakoff . The lead over the chasing group was 1 minute at this point and 3:20 minutes on the field. Roy fell behind while Kessiakoff reached the Côte de Saulcy solo. In the intermediate sprint at Les Genevez, the Swede was already more than a minute ahead, as was the Côte de Caquerelle.
On the steep ascent to Col de la Croix, Kessiakoff's lead began to decrease significantly. Thibaut Pinot benefited from this as he continuously narrowed the gap and finally overtook the Swede shortly before the top of the pass. Nevertheless, Kessiakoff was able to take the lead in the mountain price classification with second place in this classification. Behind them a group of nine drivers formed, including Cadel Evans , Bradley Wiggins , Vincenzo Nibali , Denis Menschow and Frank Schleck . On the last flat kilometers, Kessiakoff let the chasing group overtake him. Pinot, the youngest rider on this year's tour, won the stage solo with a lead of around half a minute.
Mountain ratings
Côte de Bondeval Category 4 after 20 km over 499 m 4.4 km at 3.9%
