Tour de France 2017: Stage 8 Route, Live-Stream and TV Coverage

Stage 8 of the 2017 Tour de France will give the most adventurous members of the peloton the chance to shine, as La Grande Boucle hits the hilly Jura region.

With Sunday's ride expected to be the toughest of this year's Tour, the top contenders for the overall classification are likely to rest their legs on Saturday. Riders could grab a big win if they're willing to take huge risks―any big push in Stage 8 will be punished a day later.

Here's a look at the full route and stage profile, via CyclingnewsTV:

TV Info: Eurosport, ITV 4 (UK), NBC Sports (U.S.)

Live Stream: Eurosport website, ITV app, NBC Sports Live service

Saturday's final climb, the Montee de la Combe de Laisia les Molunes, should give both the specialists and punchers a chance to position themselves for the finish in Station des Rousses. It's not the longest or steepest climb, and in all likelihood, the best riders will spare themselves in light of what's to come on Sunday.

Every Grand Tour seemingly has one stage designed for long breakaways, and in this year's race, this is it. The final climb will weed out the power sprinters, and the top teams will not sacrifice domestiques to hunt down the leaders.

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

French team Direct Energie have two veteran riders who have built a career out of picking the right breaks, so don't be shocked if Thomas Voeckler and Sylvain Chavanel do everything in their power to win Saturday's stage.

The former announced last year he'll walk away from the sport as soon as the race finishes in Paris, and he would love to go out with a stage win. He's always been an unusual figure in the peloton who cares little about conventional racing, prompting this tweet from SBS Radio Sport:

Even if everyone knows Voeckler will eye a stage like this, he won't think twice about placing attacks over 100 kilometers from the finish line. Chavanel may be a little more cautious, but he's always a threat to finish off the sprint and is an expert time trialist who can take on groups of riders by himself if he has to.

With three climbs of hors categorie awaiting on Sunday, there shouldn't be too much resistance from the peloton. Expect to see fireworks at the front and something of a truce in the bunch.