Alexandre Vlasov crashed on Thursday and lost positions and time in the summit finish of La Super-Planche des Belles Fils on Friday, but despite the setback, the eighth stage to Lausanne, Beulah Hansgrohe's overall Tour de France victory showed that she was not ready to give up.

In the last few kilometers of Saturday's stage, Beulah-Hansgrohe took the front of the bunch, narrowing the lead group to less than 30 riders, while simultaneously setting a furious pace on the group and preventing any attacks.

Sport Director Rolf Aldag said in a statement, "We wanted to show in the finale that we are still there and still have the fighting spirit in GC. Alex is still our leader and seems to have regained full strength." The second day after a fall is still often difficult, but Alex was already better today.

Vlasov finished the stage in sixth place in the sprint, the best of the main overall contenders except Tadej Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates), who finished third.

"I feel much better than yesterday, but I still have pain in my back. I still need time to recover before I can plan for the Alps stage."

After winning the Tour de Romandie and being forced to retire from the Tour de Suisse due to a positive COVID-19 test, he is now in 12th place overall, 2:45 behind Pogachar. He is now in 12th place overall, 2:45 behind Pogachar.

Vlasov stopped falling behind on Saturday's stage and may have seen signs of improvement, but he still has one last test ahead of a rest day before a tough series of days in the Alps. The second day in Switzerland, Sunday's 192.9-km stage 9 from Aigle, is a step up from day one with a series of climbs leading from Chatel at the end of the stage to the 15.4-km Pas des Morgenes, which finishes just 20 km from the finish.

"I think [Sunday] is all about holding on and avoiding time loss," Vlasov said. 'Then we have a rest day, which we need to take advantage of.'