Pogačar attacks fizzle out on sad tour day
The Frenchman Anthony Turgis wins the ninth stage of the Tour de France after 199 nerve-wracking kilometers. However, no one was in a mood for celebrations in the field, not even the overall leader Tadej Pogacar, who tried diligently but unsuccessfully to drop his rivals.
Pogacar charged in hellish tempo over the white gravel roads of Champagne, but his rivals could not escape the all-rounder. The grand spectacle on the stony country roads ended among the top stars of the industry in a dead heat on the ninth stage of the 111th Tour de France. At the finish line in Troyes, Pogacar, defending champion Jonas Vingegaard, World Champion Remco Evenepoel, and Primoz Roglic crossed the line side by side.
The stage win was taken by the Frenchman Anthony Turgis after 199 kilometers, who won the sprint of a small breakaway group ahead of British Mountainbike Olympian Thomas Pidcock and Canadian Derek Gee. In the general classification, nothing changed before the rest day. Pogacar continues to wear the Yellow Jersey, leading by 33 seconds over Evenepoel. Vingegaard follows in 1:15 minutes, and Roglic in 1:36 minutes.
All eyes were on the Tour stars as they rode over the dusty roads with a total length of no less than 33.2 kilometers. Around 22 kilometers before the finish, Pogacar launched the sharpest attack, but Vingegaard managed to keep up thanks to his strong helpers, and the favorites' group rolled together again. Evenepoel also tried an attack - unsuccessfully. So, Vingegaard could feel like the moral winner.
Gravel roads make their debut in the Tour de France for the first time
Two-time Tour Champion Pogacar was well-prepared. In the spring, the 25-year-old had already won the Strade Bianche with an impressive 82-kilometer solo ride. Vingegaard, however, had no knowledge of the terrain. When his Visma team explored the terrain in May, the Dane was still dealing with the aftermath of his heavy crash at the Baskenland Rundfahrt. Evenepoel had not left anything to chance and knew, as he had shown in the time trial, all about the bumps.
It was the first time in Tour history that gravel roads were included in the program. After several key gravel sections from Paris-Roubaix had been added to the route in the past, another element was added in search of more spectacle.
The riders had to fight hard. At the steep and sometimes narrow sections, not a few professional cyclists had to get off their bikes and walk a little. Falls were largely avoided - except for Roglic's helper Alexander Wlassow, who landed in a ditch about 40 kilometers before the finish but continued to ride.
On Monday, the first rest day awaits
The weather played a role this time as well. The day before, the riders had to fight against cold and wet conditions, and Biniam Girmay from Eritrea won his second stage victory in Colombey-les-deux-Églises. Tour debutant Pascal Ackermann finished fourth in the sprint, his best Tour placement to date.
Before the field rolled out on Sunday, the late Norwegian cyclist André Drege was paid tribute. The riders of the Norwegian team Uno X appeared in the first row on Sunday with a black armband. Behind them placed themselves the jersey wearers around the overall leader Pogačar. Drege fell at the descent from the Großglockner on Saturday during the simultaneously held Austria-Rundfahrt and succumbed to his injuries.
On Monday, the Tour takes a rest day, and then it continues with the tenth stage over 187.3 kilometers from Orléans to Saint-Amand-Montrond. Then the sprinters could come back into play.
During the gravel road section of the Tour de France, Pogacar's rivals struggled to keep up with his aggressive pace, but Turgis managed to form a small breakaway group and outpaced them in the sprint to win the stage. Despite Pogacar's attempt to drop his competitors during the stage, he ended the day tied with Vingegaard, Evenepoel, and Roglic in the general classification, with nothing changing in terms of the standings due to the ballast provided by the challenging terrain.
