Nans Peters won the eighth stage of the Tour de France, a 141-kilometer mountainous trek from Cazeres-sur-Garonne on Saturday. 

Fellow Frenchman Thibaut Pinot, meanwhile, was dropped on the second ascent on a day that also saw Dutchman Tom Dumoulin crack, while defending champion Egan Bernal struggled. 

"I won't quit the Tour, but it's another failure for me, I've had too many failures," lamented Pinot. "It's a turning point in my career." 

Briton Adam Yates hung on to the overall leader's yellow jersey, managing to cross the line with the main contenders despite being dropped several times on the ascent of the Col de Peyresourde. 

"It was a really fast pace," said Yates, the 28-year-old Mitchelton-Scott team leader. "I just went at my own rhythm and came back in my own time and I went with them all over the top."  

He leads pre-race favorite Primoz Roglic, who looked in control throughout, by three seconds and France's Guillaume Martin by nine. 

Roglic's fellow Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, who had lost time on a stage fraught with crosswinds on Friday, was the most successful attacker of the day, regaining 40 seconds to move up to ninth place overall, 48 seconds off the pace. 

Sunday's stage nine is a 153-kilometer mountain stage between Pau and Laruns with two category 1 mountains, a tricky final descent and an 8-kilometer flat run to the finish line. 

(With input from agencies)