Tour de France: Van der Poel joy in Ussel

Mathieu Van der Poel won the ninth stage of the Tour de France, from Malemort to Ussel, 154.6 km. The stage was shortened by 30 km at the beginning due to the scorching temperatures along the route.

The fray immediately erupts with numerous breakaway attempts. The successful one features big names: Van der Poel, Pidcock, Johannessen, Simmons, Van Eetvelt, Gee West, Castrillo, and Baudin. The yellow jersey group doesn't leave much room, with their lead hovering around a minute. Collaboration at the front ends, and so, on the final categorized climb of the day, just over 20 km from the finish, Van der Poel takes the lead, followed by Johannessen, Pidcock, and Baudin, while the others are caught.

The four held off a charge from the Lidl Trek and Netcompany Ineos peloton and were thus in contention for the stage win: in the sprint, Van der Poel beat Johannessen, Pidcock, and Baudin, in that order. The peloton finished just six seconds behind, led by Filippo Ganna.

Tadej Pogacar remains in the yellow jersey with a 2:42 lead over Vingegaard and a 3:27 lead over Del Toro. Tomorrow is a rest day.

Order of arrival:

1 van der Poel Mathieu Alpecin - Premier Tech 3:27:51

2 Johannessen Tobias Halland Uno-X Mobility,,

3 Pidcock Tom Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team,,

4 Baudin Alex EF Education - EasyPost ,,

5 Ganna Filippo Netcompany INEOS 0:06

6 Pedersen Mads Lidl - Trek ,,

7 Matthews Michael Team Jayco AlUla,,

8 Jegat Jordan TotalEnergies ,,

9 Breuillard Nicolas TotalEnergies ,,

10 Quinn Sean EF Education - EasyPost,,

11 Pogačar Tadej UAE Team Emirates - XRG ,,

Sprint Cycling Photos