Stage eight is a 200.7km run from Libourne to Limoges
The stage is only the second in this year's race with a distance in excess of 200km.
Jonas Vingegaard is the overall leader and wears the yellow jersey
After covering the first 20km at 33,1 km/h on Friday the riders made up for that riding the last 20km at the speed of 58.8 km/h.
Fair to say the early parts of this stage have been nowhere near as pedestrian, helped by that tailwind.
Image source, Getty ImagesShould I be totally wrong and we do get a conventional sprint finish later, here is a rather optimistic statistic as far as Mark Cavendish is concerned.
Cavendish hit the highest top speed in Bordeaux with a kick at 74.7km/h with 300 metres to go.
The Manx missile was already the fastest in the finale of stage 3, when he did 73.3km/h in Bayonne (6th).
He was left "bitterly disappointed" after a gear issue saw Jasper Philipsen pip him to victory on stage seven of the Tour de France.
The tailwind isn't making it easy for anyone to get way early doors here. There are very few gaps in the peloton.
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Getty ImagesIn case you've forgotten, which riders are wearing what, here's a little reminder.
Yellow jersey: Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma)
Green jersey: Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin–Deceuninck)
Polka-dot jersey: Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost)
White jersey: Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates)
Racing begins and Kasper Asgreen immediately attempts to get up the road.
After two days rather gruelling days for Wout van Aert in the Pyrenees, the Belgian rolled over the line 148th in Bordeaux.
He has only finished lower down in the standings on two occasions in the Tour de France from the 82 stages he has completed. He was 164th in stage 12 in 2019 and 168th in stage three in 2020.
He looks like he is fuelling up as the riders head ever closer to the flag drop.
In other words I'm not expecting to see Mark Cavendish v Jasper Philipsen part deux today.
Image source, Getty ImagesThis transitional stage is only the second in this year's race with a distance in excess of 200km.
While the parcours is relatively flat early on, the rolling terrain in the concluding 50km could make for an intriguing finale especially if those more at home in the one-day spring classics go all in for victory.
Could that be enough to avoid a mass sprint in Limoges? It's more than likely and you'd expect the likes of Soudal-Quick Step, to have a plan for Julian Alaphilippe to have a dig in that lumpy section towards the end of the stage.
Also expect the likes of Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert, Mads Pedersen, Biniam Girmay et al to be looking to do something.
Image source, ReutersThe riders are just getting under way from the neutralised zone in Libourne.
Image source, Getty ImagesWelcome to our coverage of stage eight of the Tour de France as the race travels over 200km from Libourne to Limoges
Blue skies and sunshine greeted the riders as they were getting ready this morning.
It looks like being another hot day in the saddle in the south west of France.
A stage for the sprinters? Or maybe the puncheurs? Or what about the breakaway? Who knows to be honest.
Let's get this show on the road and find out.