Sunday's stage was a rare sight on dusty ground. © APA/afp / BERNARD PAPON

Gravel spectacle and depressed mood

Tadej Pogacar raced at a hellish pace over the white gravel roads of Champagne, but the all-rounder simply couldn't escape his rivals. The great spectacle on the stony dirt roads ended in a stalemate among the industry's top stars on the ninth stage of the 111th Tour de France.

July 07, 2024

From: dpa

At the end of the eagerly awaited clash between the Big Four, Pogacar, defending champion Jonas Vingegaard, world champion Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic reached the finish line in Troyes side by side.

The day's victory after 199 kilometers went to Frenchman Anthony Turgis, who won the sprint of a small breakaway group ahead of British mountain bike Olympic champion Thomas Pidcock and Canadian Derek Gee.

This means that everything remains the same in the overall standings before the rest day. Pogacar continues to wear the yellow jersey and is 33 seconds ahead of Evenepoel. Behind him are Vingegaard (1:15) and Roglic (1:36).

Gravel roads as a tour premiere

It was the first time in the Tour's history that the gravel roads were included in the program. After some cobblestone passages of Paris-Roubaix had been included in the route several times in the past, another element was now added in the search for more spectacle.

Tadej Pogacar cheered cautiously about his yellow jersey. © APA/afp / ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT

The riders were clearly struggling. In the steep and sometimes narrow sections, quite a few professional cyclists had to get out of the saddle and take a short walk. However, there were hardly any falls - with the exception of Roglic's helper Alexander Vlasov, who ended up in a ditch a good 40 kilometers from the finish, but was able to continue.

Tour pays tribute to deceased professional cyclist Drege

Before the field set off on Sunday, the deceased Norwegian cyclist André Drege was first honored. The riders of the Norwegian team Uno X appeared together in the front row on Sunday with a black armband. Only behind them were the jersey wearers around the overall winner Pogacar. Drege fell on the descent from the Grossglockner during the Austrian Tour on Saturday. He succumbed to his injuries.

The Tour will take a break on Monday before continuing a day later with the tenth stage over 187,3 kilometers from Orléans to Saint-Amand-Montrond. Then the sprinters could get their chance again.