A strong ten-rider front group rode away from the peloton. Due to some obstacles along the way, the leading group thinned out and six riders began the seven-kilometre final climb with a one-minute lead. The last kilometre scared the riders quite a bit due to gradients up to twenty percent and an unpaved path.

The last remaining escapee, Lennard Kämna, seemed to be on his way to the stage win, but the classification riders decided otherwise. Vingegaard rushed past the German in the last hundred metres and appeared to be on his way to his first Tour stage win, but with an ultimate effort, Pogacar pushed his wheel over the line just a bit earlier than the Dane. In the background, Roglic grabbed third place.

Vingegaard, the number two in the general classification after stage seven, had mixed feelings. "I felt super strong on the climb and I am thrilled with that. However, it is a shame that I was caught in the last metres. As a team, we have two riders on the podium today. That is a signal that the form is good. We need that level to compete in the coming mountain stages. I'm not downhearted after this second place. The feeling of the good form of Primoz and me prevails", Vingegaard said.

"I can be satisfied with my classification today", Roglic said. "The pain after my crash the day before yesterday is no excuse for me and I refuse to give up. I will keep fighting no matter what. The recovery will improve day by day. Today's last few hundred metres were very tough, but I fought my way to the top. We did well as a team."