Top Banana: Tour de France stage 8 – Thomas De Gendt

Top Banana: Tour de France stage 8 – Thomas De Gendt

Stage winner Tenacious Thomas takes Top Banana in shock result


 

The Rouleur Top Banana goes to an unsung hero of each stage of the Tour de France – not the winner, not the yellow jersey – but a rider whose efforts deserve recognition


See the rules of Top Banana above? Scrap that. 


Thomas de Gendt is no stranger to this prize, or spending innumerable kilometres on the attack in the Tour. He’s an obvious choice for us at Rouleur Towers. But it’s usually a plucky losers award, not one for the stage winner.


This was different. Very different. 


Taking maximum points on the categorised climbs along the way, ostensibly in support of team-mate Tim Wellens in the polka dot jersey, De Gendt lifted himself into second spot in the mountains competition. 


Job done, you’d think. But that’s not his style. Alongside the equally pugnacious Alesandro De Marchi – a man with a remarkably similar palmarès to the attacking Belgian – De Gendt pressed on while their breakaway companions fell away. When the Italian also cracked under pressure, Bananaman kept on keeping on, pursued by a fast-closing Thibaut Pinot and Julian Alaphilippe. 


He held them off, celebrated a second Tour stage win following his first on Ventoux in 2016, and took what he may well consider the best win of his fine career to date. 


As he told our Editor in issue 19.4, the Ventoux stage was not top of his personal highpoints, due to being curtailed at Chalet Reynard as strong winds at the summit caused organisers to cut the race short. 


“I don’t have the picture of me with my hands [in the air] on the top. It’s still a nice victory but it’s not Mont Ventoux.”


Well, Thomas, you now have pictures of yourself, hands in the air, in Saint-Etienne. And that is not to be sniffed at, unlike our Top Banana. 

 

 

Rock on, Tommy, rock on.

 

 

The post Top Banana: Tour de France stage 8 – Thomas De Gendt appeared first on The world's finest cycling magazine.


READ MORE

Watts Occurring Tour de France stage four: DING DING! Pogacar vs MVDP: Round Two

Watts Occurring Tour de France stage four: DING DING! Pogacar vs MVDP: Round Two

Listen to episode three of Watts Occurring, with Luke Rowe and Tom Fordyce

Leggi di più
Lessons with Bardet, the art of suffering and balancing pressure - How Oscar Onley is having the Tour de France of his life

Lessons with Bardet, the art of suffering and balancing pressure - How Oscar Onley is having the Tour de France of his life

The British rider had his best finish yet on stage four – he spoke to Rouleur ahead of the race about how he has prepared...

Leggi di più
Jonas Vingegaard

Victory for Pogačar, but the signs for Jonas Vingegaard already look good at the Tour de France

On the first GC uphill battle of the Tour, Vingegaard’s form is clearly better than at the Dauphiné

Leggi di più
Tadej Pogačar, Tour de France 2025

Six years and 100 victories: Tadej Pogačar is peerless

Tadej Pogačar took his 100th win in stage four of the 2025 Tour de France, further cementing his breathtaking dominance among the current crop of...

Leggi di più
Remco Evenepoel

Tour de France 2025 stage five preview: The race of truth

A flat time trial could provide a big shake-up on the general classification

Leggi di più
Mathieu van der Poel

Tour de France 2025 standings: the results after stage four

The latest results and standings from the Tour de France 2025

Leggi di più

READ RIDE REPEAT

JOIN ROULEUR TODAY

Get closer to the sport than ever before.

Enjoy a digital subscription to Rouleur for just £4 per month and get access to our award-winning magazines.

SUBSCRIBE