Stage eight of the 2012 Tour de France took the riders over eight climbs in another serious test for the GC contenders. 

At the denouement, though, it was the youngest rider in the race, Thibaut Pinot, who won the stage in a victory that saw him hold off a determined chase from an elite group of pursuers.

Bradley Wiggins and Cadel Evans went head-to-head for a second consecutive day, and in a repeat of stage seven, Evans went on the attack, but was unable to shake the Londoner.

Here are some of the key moments of stage eight, captured by official UCI WorldTour photographer, Stefano Sirotti.

Discuss in the forum

Garmin-Barracuda’s David Zabriskie drove the bunch for several kilometres on stage seven, but had a quieter eighth stage

Thibaut Pinot (FDJ-BigMat) moved into the lead at the summit of the Col de la Croix and held on in the closing kilometres to win

Bradley Wiggins rode a watchful stage eight, making the key selection near the end of the stage and hauling back Cadel Evans when the Australian attacked in the final kilometre

Wiggins ended the day as he had begun: pulling on the yellow jersey of race leader

Fredrik Kessiakoff replaced Team Sky’s Chris Froome as leader of the King of the Mountains competition