TOUR DE FRANCE 2008: REST DAY REVIEW

Romain Feillu Tour de France 2008 stage 3

Today is the first chance that the Tour de France riders have to rest their legs after a very long and gruelling ten days without a break.

This year's Tour has been pretty relentless so far. No gentle warm-up with a city centre prologue, not even any 'easy' days on flat stages. No, it's been ten days of tirelessly chasing breaks, climbing mountains and one short but punishing individual time trial.

So far, 1,738.5 kilometres and 10 stages have been completed, with 1,821 kilometres left to ride in the remaining 11 stages before the race ends in Paris on Sunday, July 27.

Five riders have so far worn the coveted yellow leader's jersey - you can find out more Tour 2008 stats in Lionel Birnie's rest day stats summary.

For a list of the remaining stage, including links to maps, profiles and more go to our online Tour 2008 stage guide section.

We will be covering all of the remaining action here on www.cyclingweekly.com, with up-to-the-minute reports, results, interviews and exclusive photos.

Here, we look back at the first half of the 2008 Tour, charting who won what and where...

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TOUR DE FRANCE 2008: FIRST WEEK STAGES

STAGE 1

When? Saturday 5 July

Where? Brest to Plumelec

Who stood on the podium?

1. Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne

2. Philippe Gilbert (Fra) FDJeux

3. Jerome Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom

Who got to wear the yellow jersey?

Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne

Stage report>>

Photo gallery>>

STAGE 2

When? Sunday 6 July

Where? Auray to Saint-Brieuc

Who stood on the podium?

1. Thor Hushovd (Nor) Credit Agricole

2. Kim Kirchen (Lux) Columbia

3. Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Columbia

Who got to wear the yellow jersey?

Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne

Stage report>>

Photo gallery>>

STAGE 3

When? Monday 7 July

Where? Saint-Malo to Nantes

Who stood on the podium?

1. Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis

2. William Frischkorn (USA) Garmin-Chipotle

3. Roman Feillu (Fra) Ag2r

Who got to wear the yellow jersey?

Romain Feillu (Fra) Agritubel

Stage report>>

Photo gallery>>

STAGE 4 ITT

When? Tuesday 8 July

Where? Cholet to Cholet

Who stood on the podium?

1. Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner

2. Kim Kirchen (Lux) Columbia

3. David Millar (GB) Garmin-Chipotle

Who got to wear the yellow jersey?

Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner

Stage report>>

Photo gallery>>

STAGE 5

When? Wednesday 9 July

Where? Cholet to Châteauroux

Who stood on the podium?

1. Mark Cavendish (GB) Columbia

2. Oscar Freire (Spa) Rabobank

3. Erik Zabel (Ger) Milram

Who got to wear the yellow jersey?

Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner

Stage report>>

Photo gallery>>

STAGE 6

When? Thursday 10 July

Where? Aigurande to Super-Besse

Who stood on the podium?

1. Riccardo Ricco (Ita) Saunier Duval

2. Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne

3. Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence-Lotto

Who got to wear the yellow jersey?

Kim Kirchen (Lux) Columbia

Stage report>>

Photo gallery>>

STAGE 7

When? Friday 11 July

Where? Brioude to Aurillac

Who stood on the podium?

1. Luis Leon Sanchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne

2. Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner

3. Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Liquigas

Who got to wear the yellow jersey?

Kim Kirchen (Lux) Columbia

Stage report>>

Photo gallery>>

STAGE 8

When? Saturday 12 July

Where? Figeac to Toulouse

Who stood on the podium?

1. Mark Cavendish (GBr) Columbia

2. Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Columbia

3. Jimmy Casper (Fra) Agritubel

Who got to wear the yellow jersey?

Kim Kirchen (Lux) Columbia

Stage report>>

Photo gallery>>

STAGE 9

When? Sunday 13 July

Where? Toulouse to Bagnères-de-Bigorre

Who stood on the podium?

1. Riccardo Ricco (Ita) Saunier Duval

2. Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale

3. Cyril Dessel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale

Who got to wear the yellow jersey?

Kim Kirchen (Lux) Columbia

Stage report>>

Photo gallery>>

STAGE 10

When? Monday 14 July

Where? Pau to Hautacam

Who stood on the podium?

1. Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) Saunier Duval

2. Juan Cobo (Spa) Saunier Duval

3. Frank Schleck (Lux) CSC-Saxo Bank

Who got to wear the yellow jersey?

Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence-Lotto

Stage report>>

Photo gallery>>

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TOUR DE FRANCE 2008: STAGE REPORTS

Stage 10: Evans takes yellow jersey by one second

Stage nine: Ricco wins in the Pyrenees

Stage eight: Cavendish wins again in Toulouse

Stage seven: Sanchez takes action-packed stage

Stage six: Ricco storms to win

Stage five: Cavendish takes first Tour win

Stage four: Schumacher wins TT and takes race lead

Stage three: Dumoulin wins stage from break

Stage two: Hushovd wins chaotic sprint

Stage one: Valverde wins

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TOUR DE FRANCE 2008: NEWS

Analysis: Tour de France rest day summary

Cavendish battles through Pyrenees

Evans suffers but takes yellow jersey [stage 10]

Analysis: Hautacam shakes up 2008 Tour

Ricco silences critics with solo attack in Pyrenees [stage nine]

Cavendish talks about his second stage win [stage eight]

Beltran heads home but doubts remain about other Tour riders

David Millar: the dope controls are working

Manuel Neltran tests positive for EPO at the Tour

Comment: How the Tour rediscovered its spirit

Doping back in Tour de France headlines

Millar: close but no cigar in Super-Besse [stage six]

Super-Besse shows form of main contenders [stage six]

Millar to go for yellow [stage six]

Team Columbia's reaction to Cavendish's win [stage five]

Cavendish talks about his Tour stage win

Tour comment: Why Evans should be happy [stage four]

Millar: Still aiming for Tour yellow jersey [stage 4]

Who is Romain Feillu?

Cavendish disappointed with stage two result

Millar too close to Tour yellow jersey

Stage 2 preview: A sprint finish for Cavendish?

Millar happy after gains precious seconds in Plumelec

Valverde delighted with opening Tour stage win

Comment: Is Valverde's win a good thing for the Tour?

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TOUR DE FRANCE 2008: PHOTOS

Stage nine

Stage eight

Stage seven

Stage six

Stage five

Stage four

Stage three

Stage two

Stage one

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TOUR DE FRANCE 2008: BLOGS

Life at the Tour part three

Life at the Tour part two

Life at the Tour part one

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TOUR DE FRANCE 2008: GUIDE

Tour de France 2008 homepage>>

News and features>>

All the riders (start list, list of abandons)>>

Day by day summary>>

Route & stages>>

Teams and riders>>

About the Tour>>

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Nigel Wynn
Former Associate Editor

Nigel Wynn worked as associate editor on CyclingWeekly.com, he worked almost single-handedly on the Cycling Weekly website in its early days. His passion for cycling, his writing and his creativity, as well as his hard work and dedication, were the original driving force behind the website’s success. Without him, CyclingWeekly.com would certainly not exist on the size and scale that it enjoys today. Nigel sadly passed away, following a brave battle with a cancer-related illness, in 2018. He was a highly valued colleague, and more importantly, an exceptional person to work with - his presence is sorely missed.