Tour de France stage 9 Live - GC battle on Puy de Dôme
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We've lost some sprinters out the back over one of the uncategorised climbs that characterise this region of France, Jordi Meeus (Bora-hansgrohe), Pedersen, Stuyven and Sam Welsford (dsm-firmenich).
Alaphilippe hits the accelerator and tries his luck to bridge this move. He's got a few companions with him and will want them all to cooperate to try and close this gap. He's got Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) and Rui Costa (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) for help, but no consistent move is sticking.
Ineos Grenadiers are the next to try and close this gap with Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) also trying to bridge to the leaders. Van der Poel and Skjelmose are also right up they're in this fight.
Dries Devenyns (Soudal-Quick Step) is shredding it on the front for his team and the gap is beginning to come to 45 seconds. Can they close this gap?
Our 14 riders at the head of the race are working nicely together and are trying to build their 53 second advantage. The fight for the break isn't over yet though.
Speeds are up at 70km/h in this rapid start to stage 9. Peter Sagan (TotalEnergies) has had a mechanical at the back of the bunch and is riding back into the peloton now.
The gap is out at 1:00 and it will be very hard for any rider to bridge this gap. Trek and QuickStep are riding on the front behind and must be unhappy that they have missed it. Certainly not a calm start to the stage. Van Aert is interested at the front with Pedersen and Asgreen riding for now.
175KM TO GO The peloton still isn't happy with certain teams missing out. Soudal-Quick Step launched a late move to try and make it, but the break are working well for now.
Here's the composition of the group leading for now:
- Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost)
- Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious)
- Clément Berthet (AG2R-Citroën)
- Gorka Izaguirre (Movistar)
- Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar)
- Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech)
- Guillame Boivan (Israel-Premier Tech)
- David de a Cruz (Astana Qazaqstan)
- Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Qazaqstan)
- Jonas Abrhamsen (Uno-X)
- Jonas Gregaard (Uno-X)
- Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies)
- Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies)
Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech) has made this move and alongside Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar) could be a real threat for the victory if the break are given a big advantage. This leading group have 30 seconds already and seem to be the move of the day with three further stragglers trying to bridge the gap.
We've got a split of around 10 riders forming with a bit of a blockage forming in the peloton. Is this the break of the day gone already?
Straight from the gun we've got attacks flying. Victor Campenaerts (Lotto-Dstny) is the first to go, followed by a whole host of other breakaway hopefuls.
182.4KM TO GO The flag has been waved out of the lead car by Christian Prudhomme and racing is underway on stage 9 of the Tour de France! Today is the almighty conclusion to one of the best first weeks in the history of this great race. Strap yourselves in and get ready for action.
The sun is shining, it's baking hot and we're heading east towards the Massif Central. We've got a big day in store with the GC battle set to explode into life on the Puy de Dôme at the stage's finale.
Here's Van der Poel being presented a bike of his grandfathers on stage during an emotional morning for him in his grandfather's former home town. There's been some lovely nods to the great rider this morning and today will mean a lot for Van der Poel. (Image credit: Getty Images)
Stage 9 of the Tour de France of underway from the neutralised start! We'll have just over 4km of riding in the départ fictif before the flag is waved and racing gets started.
Van der Poel was understandably full of emotions at the sign on and team presentation, even reduced to tears on stage in a place so important to his late grandfather and family. His team have Mercier coloured stripes on their shorts today as part of one of their homages to Pou Pou. #MerciPoupou 💜💛In honor of #RaymondPoulidor, our riders will be wearing a dedicated version of the #AlpecinDeceuninck’s team kit today, with a specific reference to this stage and the iconic Mercier/#MerciPoupou colours! #AlpecinDeceuninck #TDF2023 #MVDP 📷 @facepeeters pic.twitter.com/JHvFa4bFF6July 9, 2023 See more
We've seen historic winners atop the Puy de Dôme in the past through legends such as Fausto Coppi, Federico Bahamontes, Felice Gimondi, Luis Ocaña, Lucien Van Impe and Joop Zoetemelk.
Who will include themselves in this illustrious list of some of cycling's heroes that have won here?
Aside from Cavendish, we saw another DNF yesterday in Steff Cras (TotalEnergies) who said he was knocked off his bike by a spectator in the approach to Limoges. We've had another DNS this morning, leaving our starting bunch at 169 riders as Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) has been forced to leave the race after suffering from his injuries sustained in a heavy crash on stage 5. Unfortunately, we have to report that @QuinnSimmons9 will not start @LeTour today. Since his heavy crash on Stage 5, Quinn’s condition has not improved as we had hoped. He still feels stiffness and fatigue so we have decided to stop him to focus on his recovery. pic.twitter.com/GdvE1hExn5July 9, 2023 See more
We're now under half an hour away from the neutralised start in Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat on a day which should see the general classification race blown to pieces on the punishing inclines of the Puy de Dôme.
Yesterday's dramatic stage was won by Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) in a hilly run to the line in Limoges, but the headline of the day was undoubtedly the end of Mark Cavendish's (Astana Qazaqstan) 2023 Tour de France due to a crash in which he broke his collarbone. The Brit is now on his way back home to recover.
If you want to read more on the history of Poulidor's association with the Puy de Dôme, check out Barry Ryan's great feature on how he battled Anquetil on the slopes of the volcano in 1964, which led to one of cycling's most famous photographs.
Moment of truth – The Puy de Dôme and the Tour de France’s greatest duel (Image credit: WellOffSide/ L'Equipe)
The start location for stage 9 in Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat is highly associated with cycling legend Raymond Poulidor as it was where he resided. Pou Pou was one of the stars of the 60s and 70s that battled with both Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx on many occasion, earning him the nickname of 'The Eternal Second' having never won the Tour, but was a true fan-favourite.
Today's full stage design is almost an homage to the great French rider with the Puy de Dôme also playing a part in his history. His legacy in the sport now lives on through his megastar grandson, Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin-Decuninck), and you may remember his full Alpecin team donning special kits on the opening stage of 2021 Tour de France to honour Poulidor. Here's a look at the special bike Van der Poel will ride today to remember his grandfather. #MerciPoupou 💜💛As stage 9 is starting in Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat, residence of French cycling legend #RaymondPoulidor, we will pay a tribute again to the grandfather of @mathieuvdpoel and #DVDP! 😍 First up: this amazing @canyon_bikes which #MVDP will be riding today! pic.twitter.com/ZUQvf6L1dgJuly 9, 2023 See more
Today's 182.4km stage from Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat to the Puy de Dôme is one of the most anticipated stages in recent memory, with the fabled mountain top finish returning to Tour de France for the first time since 1988.
We're set for a huge GC battle between the last two winners of the Tour, Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), who are only separated by 25 seconds at the top of the overall standings.
Source: Cyclingnews
