That one survived to the end, but with 2 km to go three riders took off from that, and managed to hold it to the end, with the stage win going to Italian Filippo Pozzato. Back in the peloton, though, O'Grady managed to sneak in ahead of McEwen, making up for the four points McEwen took on him in the intermediate sprints, and holding onto the green jersey for another day, this time by a razor-thin one point. The overall standings remained unchanged among the major competitors. Stage 8 11 July 2004 — Lamballe to Quimper, Today was a shorter stage, only 168 km, with more climbs than the past few days – three category four climbs and a category three. After yesterday's constant attacks, though, the pack took it slower and easier. A three-man break took off at 16 km, containing, predictably, Jacob Piil, as well as Matteo Tosatto and Ronny Scholz. Karsten Kroon joined them, but early on got a flat tire and was swallowed by the peloton. The breakaway was caught with 9 km to go, and the peloton remained solid through to the finish. As with many of the stages this year, there was a crash towards the end, this time at the back of the peloton, caused by a dog running across the road. It didn't slow things down much, though, and the peloton continued to the line, Thor Hushovd taking the sprint. Robbie McEwen took fourth, ahead of O'Grady's eighth, and claimed the green jersey. The general classification remained unchanged as the riders head into the first of two rest days before starting through the mountains in Stage 9. Stage 9 13 July 2004 — Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat to Guéret, This 160.5 km stage was another with more hills after a two-day rest, although only two were categorized and a sprinters' finish was expected. This was the last stage before some big climbs so the balance was between 'resting' for the following day and a last chance for sprinters. The weather was, at last, warm with temperatures up to 25 °C. The race began with a few early escape attempts, with groups of from one and eight riders breaking and being caught within the first 20 km. The attacks continued but the peloton maintained a high pace with US Postal at the front. Jaan Kirsipuu was dropped from the peloton and abandoned the race. At about