On Sunday, the field starts from Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat, where the Frenchman, who won the 1964 Vuelta a España and won the 1964 Vuelta a España, lived and died here. Raymond Poulidor Before the stage took place, the organizers remembered him and his Dutch grandson Mathieu van der Poel, who was riding a specially painted frame for the occasion. During the 182.4km, the cyclists had to climb three low categorized climbs, the real difficulty being the special category Puy de Dome, 13.3km long, with an average gradient of 7.7 percent at the end of the stage, as they reached the finish line at 1415m above Sea level on a mountain slope.
The day’s breakaway was tough, with 14 people included in the finish, among whom there were no cyclists in the overall standings, so the field let him through by more than 16 minutes. As a result, the winner of the stage could emerge from among them, the agreement broke down early, and the attacks began.
American Matthew Jorgenson, who started alone 48 kilometers before the finish line, was 2 minutes and 20 seconds behind Canadian Michael Woods, who started in the chasing group, caught up and overtook him in the last 500 metres. Crossing the finish line in fourth place, after being in the final meters in front of the two.
Woods, the 2018 World Championships bronze medalist, celebrated his first Tour stage win at the age of 36.
At the back of the pack of contenders, Australian Guy Hindley, who finished third, broke away early in the final kilometres, as the crowd was not allowed on the narrow road. It was one and a half kilometers away, when the Slovenian won twice Tadej Pogacar He started, only the defending champion and Dane Jonas Vingegaard in the yellow jersey could follow, but he couldn’t keep up either. Pogacar managed to reduce eight seconds from his 25-second deficit in the overall standings compared to his competitor, who retained the yellow jersey. Hindley’s gap grew to over a minute behind the two.
Tour de France
Stage 9, Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat – Puy de Dome, 182.4km, mountain finish:
1. Michael Woods (Canada, Israel-Premier Tech) 4:19:41
2. Pierre Latour (France, TotalEnergies) is 28 seconds behind
3. Matej Mohorik (Slovenia, Bahrain victorious) 35 seconds.
… 13. Tadezh Pogacar (Slovenia, United Arab Emirates) 8:19 min
14. Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark, Jumbo-Visma) 8:27 AM.
… 19. Guy Hindley (Australian, BORA-hansgrohe) 9:33AM.
The leading group in the complex:
1. Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark, Jumbo-Visma) 38:37:46 hours
2. Tadej Pogacar (Slovenia, UAE) 17 seconds behind
3. Guy Hindley (Aussie, Bora Hansgrohe) 2:40 min
After Monday’s rest day, the 110th Tour de France field will complete the 167.2km distance between Vulcania and Issoire on Tuesday. The competition ends on July 23rd on the Champs-Elysées in Paris.
