Great Britain's Chris Froome lived up to the hype as the top contender of the 2013 Tour de France on Saturday after finishing ahead of the peloton in Saturday's excruciating race.
The Castres to Ax 3 Domaines stage featured a couple of gut-wrenching climbs, including the highest col in the current tour - the Port de Pailhères. Spain's Nairo Quintana captured Souvenir Henri Desgrange after becoming the first biker to cross across the summit but Froome stormed ahead down the stretch to take Stage 8 and at the same time the yellow jersey.
Froome, who finished Stage 8 with a time of five hours, three minutes and 18 seconds, has built a 51-second margin over his next trailer and Team Sky teammate Richie Porte of Australia. Spain's Alejandro Valverde is sitting in third place, just one minute and 25 seconds behind the leader. On the other hand, two-time Tour de France champion Alberto Contador also moved up to seventh place after finishing 8th in the race.
Stage 9
Saint-Girons to Bagnères-de-Bigorre, 168.5 km (104.7 mi)
Sunday's race will be a roller-coaster ride towards the finish, taking riders to Category 2 climb of Col de Portet d'Aspet and four more Category 1 climbs before the stage concludes in the commune of Bagnères-de-Bigorre. Team Sky, with their roster of climbers, is expected to dominate this stage while Froome likely padding his lead in the general classification standings.
NBC Sports will continue its coverage of the 2013 Tour de France on Sunday morning (6:30 a.m ET) while TSM will supply live streaming links throughout the race
Tour de France Classification Standings - Click here
Tour de France Stage 9 Route Information - Click here
Tour de France Online Livestreaming NBC (With Subscriptions) and TSM (Free Online Streaming).
Tour de France Radio Streaming - Click here
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