Cycling Tour de France 2008 Part 4

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The 2008 Tour de France was the 95th Tour de France. The event took place from 5-27 July 2008. Starting in the French city of Brest, the tour entered Italy on the 15th stage and returned to France during the 16th, heading for Paris, its regular final destination, which was reached in the 21st stage. The race was won by Carlos Sastre.
Unlike previous years, time bonuses were no longer awarded for intermediate sprints and for high placement on each stage. This altered the way the General Classification was awarded in comparison to previous seasons.
In the first week of the 2008 Tour de France, the stages were mostly flat. As traditionally in the Tour de France, this resulted in small breakaways of cyclists, and the sprinters' teams trying to get them back. In the first stage, the sprinters won, with Thor Hushovd winning the stage, but in the second stage, four cyclists managed to stay away. The fourth stage was a time trial, won by Stefan Schumacher, who took over the lead. In the fifth stage, the sprinters won the battle and Mark Cavendish won the stage.
The Massif Central mountains were visited in stage six and seven. In stage six, all the breakaways were caught, and the favourites stayed together and finished together. In stage seven, the same scenario, only now Luis León Sánchez managed to stay a few seconds ahead and win the stage. The eighth stage was a sprinter stage, won by Cavendish. Then, from stage nine, the Pyrénées were climbed. Riccardo Riccò broke away from the bunch on the final climb, and won the stage. On stage 10, a group of four with some main contenders escaped, and Leonardo Piepoli won the stage. Stage eleven had easier climbs, and a group of four riders, not important for the overall classification, were allowed to break away and win 14 minutes.
Stages twelve to fourteen were flat stages, and were dominated by the sprinters. Mark Cavendish won another two stages, and Óscar Freire took his first. In the fifteenth stage, a group of four cyclists escaped and stayed away, a similar thing happened in stage sixteen. In the seventeenth stage, Carlos Sastre placed his decisive attack for the general classification, and also won the stage. The eighteenth and nineteenth stage again saw breakaways of cyclists not important for the general classification. The twentieth stage, a time trial, was won by Stefan Schumacher who had also won the first time trial. The last stage was a sprinters' stage, won by Gert Steegmans.