Eritrea's Biniam Girmay has won a second stage at the Tour de France when he edged a closing sprint on a long finish in Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises.
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Two-time Tour champion Tadej Pogacar kept the yellow jersey.
Saturday's racing was overshadowed by the death, in the Tour of Austria, of Norwegian cyclist Andre Drege.
The 25-year-old rode for the Norwegian continental team Coop-Repsol. He suffered fatal injuries after crashing during a mountain descent after losing control while part of a breakaway group on the penultimate stage.
"The UCI is devastated to learn of the death of professional cyclist Andre Drege at the Tour of Austria," the the International Cycling Union said on social media. "Our thoughts are with his family, friends and teammates."
Drege had won seven races in 2024 and was tipped to move up to WorldTour level next year.
In France Girmay, who became the first Black rider to win a Tour stage this week, timed his effort perfectly to win Stage 8 beating Jasper Philipsen and Arnaud De Lie, extending his lead at the top of the ranking for the best sprinter.
"To win one stage is already unbelievable, and winning a second stage while wearing the green (points) jersey (for best sprinter) even more so," Girmay said.
"Today's finish was perfect for me and I was super confident," Girmay said. "Also, the Tour de France being one of the hardest races in the world, once you win a stage you become aware that you are amongst the very best and that spurs you on."
There was no major change in the general classification. Pogacar kept a 33-second lead over Remco Evenepoel, and two-time defending champion Jonas Vingegaard was in third place, lagging 1:15 behind.
The stage started with a high-octane pace as three riders -- Neilson Powless, Stefan Bissegger, Jonas Abrahamsen -- immediately jumped out of the peloton to open a 30-second gap at the front.
Chasing points in the best climber's classification, Abrahamsen went solo to the top of the Cote de Vitteaux but his long solo effort was brought to an end by the chase about 15 km from the finish.
There's a tough stage on Sunday that takes the riders on a near-200 km trek through the dust of the gravel roads near the Champagne city of Troyes.
Riders from only one other African country -- South Africa -- have won Tour stages: Robert Hunter (2007) and Daryl Impey (2019). Four-time Tour champion Chris Froome was born and raised in Kenya but represented Britain.
Australian Associated Press
