The 2011 Tour De France made its first step into the mountains as stage eight involved a climb up to 1,451 meters. Some expected the climb to separate out some of the general classification riders but at the end of the day it brought a couple riders closer and otherwise left the yellow jersey race intact. Rui Alberto Costa claimed the stage win but Thor Hushovd retained his yellow jersey with Cadel Evans second and Frank Schleck third. Team Radio Shack's Andreas Kloden climbed into fourth place as he finished in the small group 15 seconds back of Costa.
Kloden's teammate Levi Leipheimer finished in the next pack 29 seconds back. This finish further back of Hushovd lost him 14 seconds against the top riders as he is now 4:43 back. Now that Kloden has climbed into solid contention it sounds like Team Radio Shack will be working to help him as best as possible. Leipheimer was asked about Team Radio Shack's plans now that Kloden has emerged with the front of the pack and the team has started losing cyclists to injury (Chris Horner withdrew following a Stage seven crash):
"Definitely for Klödi," was Leipheimer’s appraisal of what his RadioShack team will now do, given that two of the four possible GC leaders from the US team have been forced to abandon in the first week. "[Andreas] looks strong and has ridden really well this first week. He’s great at sniffing out the safe spot in the group and he’s coming into form at the right time. "So first for Klödi, then we’ll look for stage wins, we have the team GC on our minds. We’re here to fight. I’m thankful I’m still in the race," concluded Leipheimer with his appraisal of stage seven. "It was warfare out there."
Here are your overall standings through eight stages:
| Std | Rider | Rider # | Team | Time | Gaps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |
 HUSHOVD Thor |
51 | TEAM GARMIN - CERVELO | 33h 06' 28" | |
| 2. |
 EVANS Cadel |
141 | BMC RACING TEAM | 33h 06' 29" | + 00' 01" |
| 3. |
 SCHLECK Frank |
18 | TEAM LEOPARD-TREK | 33h 06' 32" | + 00' 04" |
| 4. |
 KLÖDEN Andréas |
74 | TEAM RADIOSHACK | 33h 06' 38" | + 00' 10" |
| 5. |
 FUGLSANG Jakob |
13 | TEAM LEOPARD-TREK | 33h 06' 40" | + 00' 12" |
| 6. |
SCHLECK Andy |
11 | TEAM LEOPARD-TREK | 33h 06' 40" | + 00' 12" |
| 7. |
MARTIN Tony |
175 | HTC - HIGHROAD | 33h 06' 41" | + 00' 13" |
| 8. |
 VELITS Peter |
179 | HTC - HIGHROAD | 33h 06' 41" | + 00' 13" |
| 9. |
 MILLAR David |
56 | TEAM GARMIN - CERVELO | 33h 06' 47" | + 00' 19" |
| 10. |
 GILBERT Philippe |
32 | OMEGA PHARMA - LOTTO | 33h 06' 58" | + 00' 30" |
| 11. |
 VINOKOUROV Alexandre |
61 | PRO TEAM ASTANA | 33h 07' 00" | + 00' 32" |
| 12. |
VAN DEN BROECK Jurgen |
31 | OMEGA PHARMA - LOTTO | 33h 07' 07" | + 00' 39" |
| 13. |
 BASSO Ivan |
91 | LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE | 33h 07' 31" | + 01' 03" |
| 14. |
 ROCHE Nicolas |
101 | AG2R LA MONDIALE | 33h 07' 40" | + 01' 12" |
| 15. |
CUNEGO Damiano |
161 | LAMPRE - ISD | 33h 07' 40" | + 01' 12" |
We'll be here for the entire race providing news updates and stage previews and recaps, particularly as they relate to Bay Area cyclist Levi Leipheimer. For more in-depth discussion on the 2011 Tour De France, head over to Podium Cafe. For more general Tour coverage, head over to the SB Nation story stream.