Rui Costa had to focus his efforts on limiting the losses to the other top riders on the Mur de Bretagne, finish of the 8th stage of the Tour de France.

The Portuguese champion who received good support from his teammates in the approach to the final climb (2km at 6,9%), seemed to be competitive in the first part of the climb (10,1%), but he suffered when Froome accelerated 1400m from the finish.

Rui Costa maintained his own pace and crossed the finish line in 47th place at 45" from winner Vuillermoz.

"Today I had good feedback from the knee I hit in the crash last  Monday. Nonetheless, I could not be competitive on the Mur de Bretagne as I had expected," Rui Costa explained. "In the initial part of the climb I had a good position but unfortunately the speed was increased a lot and I did not have the explosiveness to react.

"I'm sorry to have lost more seconds, but I gave everything I could. The quality of competition in this Tour de France is very high and as I trained very hard to be ready for the Grande Boucle, I always give my best in order to reach my goals. I don't give up. I look forward with determination. "

In the overall classification, Rui Costa is 23rd, 4'33" behind Froome.