Michael Woods charged up the Puy de Dôme to beat Matteo Jorgensen to a breakaway victory on stage nine of the Tour de France.
Woods took almost two minutes out of Jorgensen (Movistar) on the steep gradients of the dormant volcano, rounding him with 450 metres left to take his first career Tour de France stage at the age of 36.
The two were part of a 14-strong group who had gone clear early on the 182.5km stage from Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat, hitting the final climb with an advantage of more than 15 minutes on the peloton.
Jorgensen had hit the steepest section of his famous climb, making its first appearance in the Tour for 35 years, with an 80-second advantage over a chasing group of three, with Woods (Israel-Premier Tech) in a third group on the road another 30 seconds back.
But that lead gradually fell over the final four kilometres, where gradients never dipped under double figures, and after Woods caught him and went by, it all fell apart for the 24-year-old American.
Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies) and Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious) both rounded him before the line as Jorgensen came in fourth.
As the battle for yellow raged some nine minutes behind, Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) attacked with 1.5 kilometres of the climb left and opened up a gap on Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma), taking back about eight seconds on the race leader.
Simon Yates (Jayco-Alula) and Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiesr) were the next over the line another 37 seconds back. They were able to put more than 20 seconds into Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe), who began the day third overall, but struggled to stick with his general classification rivals.
Vingegaard keeps the yellow jersey but his advantage over Pogacar is down to 17 seconds. There is then more than two minutes to Hindley, still in third, two minutes and 40 down.
Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) remains fifth, four minutes 49 seconds down with Simon Yates five seconds further back and Pidcock now up to sixth overall.
Woods said: “I’m still having a pinch-myself moment. I can’t believe I did it. I’m really proud of myself, I’m really proud of my team, it’s special…
“I’m 36, turning 37 this year, I’m not getting any younger. I’ve always talked about winning a stage at the Tour de France and I’ve finally achieved it. I feel so fortunate to have so many great people behind me, my family, my team, my parents, my wife, they’ve all supported me.
“I wish I could say it was all planned. I wanted to be with Jorgensen up front but it’s just the way the cards played. I knew I was probably the most marked man in the group, I ended up not playing my cards super right, but I had to be patient.
“I just to go to 4km to go, then I didn’t think about the win, I just thought about doing a [time trial] to the top. If I did my hardest no matter how it went I’d just be proud of myself and my hardest was able to bring back Jorgensen.” PA
Tour de France, stage nine: As it happened. . .
07:00 PM BST
Stage nine verdict: Pogacar seizes initiative
Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) may be taking the maillot jaune, the leader’s yellow jersey, into the first rest day at this year’s Tour de France, but the momentum is with his great rival Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates).
Having appeared to crack during the finale to stage five, Pogacar fought back the next day to not only win his first stage at this year’s race, but perhaps more importantly, gain valuable seconds on Vingegaard.
On Sunday, the Puy de Dôme was the scene of numerous great battles, both for the stage win and the three-week race for the overall title. While Pogacar and Vingegaard’s duel may have lacked some of the physicality of the historic battle between Jacques Anquetil and Raymond Poulidor, it lacked none of the drama.
Whether or not Jumbo-Visma got their tactics wrong, or whether UAE Team Emirates got theirs spot on will matter not a jot when Vingegaard lays his head down tonight. What may matter, though, will be the uncertainty that may now exist in the mind of the Jumbo-Visma leader after Pogacar attacked and dropped him for a second time in four days. On both occasions Pogacar gained time, on both occasions Vingegaard was unable to claw back a single metre on the road.
Having arrived at the Tour with some doubting his form, it is clear to see – as it was at the Slovenia national time trial championships the week before the Tour – that Pogacar is in fine form. Thankfully for the watching millions, this Tour is still finely poised and it is still difficult to pick a favourite for the overall, but momentum is clearly on the side of Pogacar.
05:43 PM BST
Pidcock pleased with his day out
Having moved up two spots to seventh on general classification, young British rider Tom Pidcock said he was “pretty happy” with his day at the office.
I think it’s pretty good, I’m pretty happy with that. It was a strange day, it was kind of easy but obviously on these roads it is not easy, ever.
The on the last climb [there was a] headwind, so I kind of thought there would be a bigger group, especially with the flat part. It was basically [like being] back to starting a climb again. I think the heat played a big, big role. The [Ineos Grenadiers] guys did a great job of keeping me and Carlos [Rodríguez] cool today, I think that was a big factor.
I mean we are both . . . he [Rodríguez] has had a better start to the race, he’s in a better position [on general classification] than me, but here we take every second we can.”
Finishing fourth out of the GC [general classification] guys is good, but in a few days no-one will remember that, will they. I want to tray and win a stage, to get my arms in the air, and then I will be happy. When I’m close on GC it make it a little more tricky to do that.
05:12 PM BST
Vingegaard loses time – but keeps yellow jersey
Tadej Pogacar climbs out of his saddle as the road pitches up to eye-watering gradients, the Slovenian stamping down on those cranks with all his might in an effort to put more time into his rival Jonas Vingegaard. By contrast, the defending champion remains seated, wasting as little energy as possible. In the end the UAE Team Emirates man crosses the line 8sec ahead of the maillot jaune.
Vingegaard will keep hold of his yellow jersey going in to Monday’s rest day, but that seed of doubt has now been sown by the two-time champion who has closed the gap on general classification to 17sec. After stage five the deficit was 53sec.
05:09 PM BST
Pogacar narrowly leads
Tadej Pogacar peers over his shoulder, staring down Jonas Vingegaard as they hit one of the steepest sections of the finale. It looks as if Vingegaard is struggling to close the gap which is, by my rough calculation, around 7sec.
05:06 PM BST
Let battle commence…
Simon Yates (Jayco-Alula) has attacked of the select group of general classification riders. Fellow Briton Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) jumps onto his wheel, before moments later Tadej Pogacar lets rip and, unsurprisingly, the only man who is able to follow is defending champion Jonas Vingegaard.
05:03 PM BST
Woods wins stage nine at the Tour de France!
The Canadian has done it. Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech) has won the first Tour de France stage of his career. It looked as if Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar) was going to take the win having attacked the breakaway from some distance out, but in the end the young American ran out of steam on this cruellest of climbs before Woods overhauled him at the last. Out of nowhere, Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies) takes second while Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious) pips Jorgenson to take third.
Speaking immediately afterwards, Woods said:
I’m still having a pinch-myself moment. I can’t believe I did it. I’m really proud of myself, I’m really proud of my team, it’s special…
I’m 36, turning 37 this year, I’m not getting any younger. I’ve always talked about winning a stage at the Tour de France and I’ve finally achieved it. I feel so fortunate to have so many great people behind me, my family, my team, my parents, my wife, they’ve all supported me.
I wish I could say it was all planned. I wanted to be with Jorgensen up front but it’s just the way the cards played. I knew I was probably the most marked man in the group, I ended up not playing my cards super right, but I had to be patient.
I just to go to 4km to go, then I didn’t think about the win, I just thought about doing a [time trial] to the top. If I did my hardest no matter how it went I’d just be proud of myself and my hardest was able to bring back Jorgensen.
05:00 PM BST
400 metres to go
Michael Woods takes the lead. The 36-year-old is surely going to win this, his first stage win at the Tour de France for the former runner who did not make the full-time move over to cycling until he was 26. Woods has two stages at the Vuelta a España, and stages at the Tour de Romandie and Tirreno-Adriatico on his palmarès, but this will, without question, be the biggest win yet. Providing, that is, there are no further dramas in the final 350 metres.
04:59 PM BST
500 metres to go
Jai Hindley has dropped out of the back of the peloton. back at the front of the stage, Michael Woods has caught Matteo Jorgenson.
04:58 PM BST
1km to go
Matteo Jorgenson’s lead has dropped to just 20sec now, Michael Woods is reeling him in with around 800 metres of this stage to go. This could be an agonising finale for the American, but a dream finish for his Canadian neighbour.
04:56 PM BST
1.5km to go
Matteo Jorgenson appears to be slowing at the front. Michael Woods is now the second man on the road after the Canadian puncheur caught and dropped Matej Mohoric. Back in the peloton, Jonas Vingegaard has just Sepp Kuss for company, but the American is the man you would want for company on a climb like this. he’s probab y the best mountain domestique in the world right now. The Yates twins are close by.
04:53 PM BST
2km to go
Matej Mohoric is out of his saddle, fighting against gravity on this nasty, nasty climb. Back in the peloton, UAE Team Emirates have moved to the front after Wout van Aert peels off. Moments later, though, Wilco Kelderman returns to the front for Jumbp-Visma, with Sepp Kuss and Jonas Vingegaard on his wheel.
04:51 PM BST
2.5km to go
Michael Woods has caught and dropped Neilson Powless and Mathieu Burgaudeau, the Canadian now has just Matej Mohoric and Matteo Jorgenson ahead of him. The stage leader, though, has a one minute lead. Can he hold on?
04:49 PM BST
3km to go
Tom Pidcock is the third Ineos Grenadiers rider in ta long line who are tucked in behind Jumbo-Visma, Bora-Hansgrohe and UAE Team Emirates. Matteo Jorgenson is showing no sign of slowing at the front, while Matej Mohoric is out of his saddle and has escaped from the clutches of Neilson Powless and Mathieu Burgaudeau. Michael Woods, meanwhile, is on the charge closing them down.
04:45 PM BST
3.5km to go
Tadej Pogacar has three UAE Team Emirates team-mates for company, the quartet sitting a few wheels behind yello jersey Jonas Vingegaard. Felix Grossschartner empties a bidon of cold water on the back of Pogacar’s neck in an attempt to reduce his temperature ahaed of the expected fight with Vingegaard.
Back at the front of the race, Matteo Jorgenson leads by 1min 20sec.
04:43 PM BST
5km to go
Neilson Powless leads the chasing trio, the EF Education-EasyPost rider in pursuit of compatriot Matteo Jorgenson whose advantage has grown to 1min 23sec. Mathieu Burgaudeau and Matej Mohoric are on the coattails of the polka-dots.
04:40 PM BST
6km to go
Matteo Jorgenson gains 15sec on that easier section of the climb, but the toughest part of the day is to come:
04:37 PM BST
7km to go
Jonas Vingegaard has Dylan van Baarle pulling on the front of the peloton, followed by Wout van Aert and Wilco Kelderman. Mathieu van der Poel, incidentally, has been dropped.
04:36 PM BST
8km to go
Matteo Jorgenson has reached to flattest part of the climb, rolling along looking composed as he leads one of the biggest stages at this year’s Tour. Cool as you like in the heat of battle. Mathieu Burgaudeau, Matej Mohoric and Neilson Powless are a minute down on the American. Michaeal Woods et al are another minute down.
04:33 PM BST
9km to go
Huge crowds out on the lower slopes of the Puy de Dôme – remember the upper part w ill be free of spectators – and they are cheering, willing on, Matteo Jorgenson who is showing no sign of slowing.
04:29 PM BST
10km to go
Mathieu Burgaudeau, Matej Mohoric and Neilson Powless are holding steady, 1min 7sec down on stage leader Matteo Jorgenson. Another 30sec or so down the road, there has been a slight regrouping of the remnants of the day’s original breakaway. Further back, the peloton has whipped up the pace but they are not thinking about the stage win, but instead focusing on the general classificaton battle.
04:24 PM BST
12km to go
Matteo Jorgenson is very much onto the final climb of the day. The first 5km are steady at around 7.5% gradient, before there is 3km of respite. The final 4km, however, look horrible and will feel like a punch in the face to any rider that does too much in the first half of the climb.
04:20 PM BST
15km to go
Matteo Jorgenson’s advantage over Mathieu Burgaudeau, Matej Mohoric and Neilson Powless is almost a minute now, but that could be burned up within a few hundred metres on the final climb of the day, the hors catégorie Puy de Dôme. Here’s what the profile of this nasty little beast looks like:
04:16 PM BST
17.5km to go
Matej Mohoric takes a bottle from a team car, while 36sec up the road Matteo Jorgenson opts for an ice pack to shove down the back of his jersey. Apparently, the afternoon temperature has risen an it is now around 35 degrees at the bottom of the Puy de Dôme. The heat, it seems, is rising both figuratively and literally.
04:14 PM BST
Van den Berg crash!
Back in the peloton, Lars van den Berg (Groupama-FDJ) has taken a tumble. He wasted little time in remounting, but the Dutchman will, I suspect, be of no use to team-mate David Gaudu on the incoming Puy de Dôme.
04:12 PM BST
De la Cruz has mechanical!
David de la Cruz has had an issue with his chain and was forced to stop while on a downhill stretch. As a result, the chasing group has been reduced to three: Mathieu Burgaudeau, Matej Mohoric and Neilson Powless trail the American by 38sec.
04:10 PM BST
22.5km to go
Matteo Jorgenson, who incidentally currently hold the Strava record for climbing the Puy de Dôme, is motoring and now leads the Matej Mohoric group by 30sec.
04:05 PM BST
30km to go
Michael Woods is over a minute down on stage leader Matteo Jorgenson now. In the chasing group, Matej Mohoric is animating things: tightening his shoes, while peering in to the eyes of his co-riders. Back in the peloton, Christophe Laporte is continuing to stoke the Jumbo-Visma engine room on behalf of Jonas Vingegaard.
04:02 PM BST
31km to go
Matej Mohoric has the bit between his teeth. He is using his descending skills to fine effect, gaining time and space on Mathieu Burgaudeau, David de la Cruz and Neilson Powless, before sitting up to allow them to get back on. Seupsect there will be another punch thrown by Mohoric very soon.
03:58 PM BST
34km to go
Matteo Jorgenson remains the lone leader, but the American is being pursued by the quartet of Mathieu Burgaudeau, David de la Cruz, Matej Mohoric and Neilson Powless. Michael Woods et al are another 30sec down the road, but the ticket office may have closed and the train may have left the station.
03:55 PM BST
36km to go
Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious) has managed to clip off the front, and he has Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies) for company. Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) and David de la Cruz (Astana Qazaqstan) give chase, while at the back of the third group Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Qazaqstan) looks cooked.
03:52 PM BST
38km to go
Matteo Jorgenson has gained another handful of seconds on the main breakaway. Matej Mohoric, meanwhile, is looking like he fancies an attack. On a few occasions, the Slovenian his moved to the front and put in a little dig, as if he is testing the mettle of his co-riders.Lots of cat-and-mouse style of riding from Mohoric and Victor Campenaerts. I think an attack is imminent.
03:49 PM BST
40km to go
I forgot to mention earlier, that the road on the Puy de Dôme has a railway track alongside it. Thankfully, race organisers have been out covering up the tracks to make sure the riders do not lose themselves in the cracks.
03:43 PM BST
46km to go: American flyer
Matteo Jorgenson has dropped the hammer, and off up the road he goes. Within the blink of an eye, the 24-year-old who won a lumpy stage and the general classification at the Tour of Oman earlier this year, has gained 15sec.
03:37 PM BST
50km to go
Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies), Jonas Gregaard (Uno-X Pro), Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar), Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Qazaqstan) and Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech) managed to cause a split in the breakaway, but Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious) chased them down. Rolling terrain follows, before the riders reach the bottom of the Puy de Dôme which has no switchbacks, but instead the road circles the mountain with the road only ever turning right. Incidentally, there will be no spectators on the dormant volcano this afternoon.
03:32 PM BST
56km to go: Powless extends lead in mountains
Victor Campenaerts (Lotto-Dstny), who kick-started this breakaway today, made a charge off the front around 500 metres from the summit, but the Belgian was closely marked by his colleagues. In the end, Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) caught him before countering and off he scooted to add another two points to his mountains classification account. Campenaerts picked up one point.
03:26 PM BST
57.5km to go
Guillaume Boivin’s lead was short-lived, and he was caught around 2km from the summit of the Côte de Pontaumur. However, as a result of his acceleration, the breakaway’s lead over the peloton increased further still to over 12 minutes.
03:24 PM BST
60km to go
Guillaume Boivin (Israel-Premier Tech) has attacked off the front of the breakaway. Crikey, I was not expecting that this far out to the business end of this stage. The Canadian, one of two in the breakaway along with his team-mate Michael Woods, quickly gained almost 20sec on what is now a 13-man group.
03:20 PM BST
62.5km to go
Before the breakaway hits the bottom of the Puy de Dôme, there’s the small matter of the category three Côte de Pontaumur where there will be two points up for grabs for the first rider over the top. The breakaway’s lead has extended out to almost 12 minutes now, so I think it is safe to say the stage winner will be coming from this 14-man group, but who? Michael Woods would be a decent shout.
03:13 PM BST
70km to go
Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar), the young American who is a decent climber, just dropped back to the medic’s car after appearing to have been stung by an insect. Hopefully he is ok. Perhaps it is an omen, because there will be a huge sting in the tail of today’s stage once the riders reach the upper part of the Puy de Dôme which pitches up to gradients that reach 15% in the final kilometre (see below).
03:07 PM BST
75km to go: Pogacar feeling tired?
Speaking ahed of the stage, two-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar said he was riding into form having arrived at the race with just two days of competition following his crash at Liège–Bastogne–Liège. “Every day I feel a bit better,” he said. “But every day I also feel a little more tired.”
02:58 PM BST
82.5km to go
Tapping away at an average speed of 44.8kmh, the stage leaders are well into the second half of the stage now with their advantage over the peloton holding firm at around 10 minutes. Race leader Jonas Vingegaard is surrounded by his Jumbo-Visma team-mates, shielding him from the wind ahead of what is expected to be a battle royal with his great rival Tadej Pogacar.
02:43 PM BST
92.5km to go
The peloton, which is being pulled along by a pair of Jumbo-Visma riders, trails the breakaway by 10min 25sec. Matt Winston, directeur sportif with DSM-Firmenich, spoke with Eurosport ahead of today’s stage and the short interview was just shown on the live broadcast. In it, the Briton played down the chances of his rider Romain Bardet who is racing on home roads this afternoon. In fact, the Frenchman can see the Puy de Dôme while doing his washing-up in his kitchen so one imagines he would have loved to have done something here today. However, it is looking increasingly unlikely the brilliant climber will be challenging for the stage win given the size of the breakaway’s lead.
02:36 PM BST
Another climb, another point for Powless. . .
02:33 PM BST
‘Hydration, hydration, hydration’
Steve Cummings, directeur sportif with Ineos Grenadiers, has been speaking with his riders over team radio. A wonderful new innovation at this year’s Tour where viewers can hear some of the conversations between team cars and the riders on the road. Cummings, who won three Tour stages before retiring in 2019, was busy reminding his riders to make sure they are fuelled correctly.
“Just a reminder, Cummings said. “High fuelling, hydration. Fuelling. 30 grams [of carbohydrates] every 20 minutes. Hydration, high fuelling, 30 grams every 20 minutes. Super important. Hydration, hydration, hydration.”
02:19 PM BST
Powless extends lead in mountains
As expected, Neilson Powless added a single point to his total in the mountains classification. The American rolled past his breakaway colleagues, peering over his left shoulder to make sue no counter-attacks followed his slight acceleration. There were none, and he drifted off a few metres ahead of his pals for the afternoon. The peloton will crest the Côte de Felletin in around 10 minutes.
02:13 PM BST
110km to go
The breakaway is getting closer to the first categorised climb of the day, the category four Côte de Felletin where there will be just one point up for grabs in the mountains classification. Do not be surprised if Neilson Powless rolls through to the front of the leading group to put himself in a position ready to extend his lead in the competition.
02:06 PM BST
120km to go
Local rider Rémi Cavagna (Soudal-Quick Step) gives the cameras a wave as the ‘TGV of Clermont-Ferrand’ taps away in the bunch. He looks fairly pleased with himself, joking and chatting with team-mate Michael Morkov who is one of 11 Danish riders at this year’s race. By the way, today marks the 62nd day a Dane has led a grand tour, while they have also won 62 grand tour stages. To extend that symmetry into next week, a Dane either needs to win today, or race leader Jonas Vingegaard needs to lose his yellow jersey. There is one Dane in the breakaway: Jonas Gregaard, the 26-year-old who has yet to claim a professional win.
01:55 PM BST
130km to go
Christophe Laporte is sat on the front of the peloton, pulling on behalf of Jumbo-Visma. But with the breakaway leading by almost 10 minutes, I cannot imagine the Frenchman is thinking about reeling that 14-man group back in, but instead hoping to set a high tempo to deter any further attacks.
01:45 PM BST
Cavendish offered contract extension
Mark Cavendish has been offered a contract extension by Astana Qazaqstan after his Tour de France ending-crash on Saturday, with the team saying he deserves “another opportunity” to win a record 35th Tour stage next summer.
The Manx rider, 38, announced in May that this would be his final season in the sport. After drawing level with the great Belgian Eddy Merckx on 34 Tour stage wins in 2021, Cavendish had been hoping to end one of the most storied careers in cycling history on a high with a 35th stage win this summer.
It was not to be. A mechanical cost him victory when he looked set for glory in Bordeaux on Friday, and his Tour then ended cruelly on Saturday when he crashed out of this year’s race with around 60km remaining of the 201km eighth stage from Libourne to Limoges. Cavendish suffered a broken collarbone.
Astana’s general manager, Alexandre Vinokourov, has now told L’Equipe that he would like to retain Cavendish for one more year, but that “it is up to him” whether he wants to continue. Read the full story here.
01:38 PM BST
140km to go
The breakaway’s lead has grown further still – 8min 40sec – while things look a little relaxed in the peloton, for now at least. If the race continues like this, then the stage winner may be coming from the breakaway while the general classification riders will have their own battle further down the road.
01:32 PM BST
Man down
Lilian Calmejane (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty), a former stage winn er at the Tour de France, took a tumble a few minutes ago after a fans’ flag managed to get caught up with his bike. Incidentally, Jasper Philipsen led the peloton over the intermediate sprint to add another point to his tally in the race for green.
01:25 PM BST
Intermediate sprint results
01:22 PM BST
152.5km to go
The breakaway, which is working very well together, is rising gradually towards the intermediate sprint. Lovely conditions out on the road today, a light breeze and 27 degrees.
01:13 PM BST
157km to go
All quiet back in the bunch now, with the 14-man breakaway now leading by two minutes. Just two of these breakaway riders – Alexey Lutsenko and Matej Mohoric – have a Tour stage on their palmarès.
01:09 PM BST
160km to go
Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) and Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-EasyPost) attack off the front of the pack, but the Italian is unable to lend a hand in the chase given his team-mate Neilson Powless is in the breakaway. In the end, it all fizzles out.
01:01 PM BST
167.5km to go
As expected, it has been a fairly lively start to the stage. Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) has attacked off the front of the peloton, taking with him a trio of riders. Ineos Grenadiers have looked interested in getting involved in some moves, but as yet nothing has been able to stick.
12:54 PM BST
173km to go
That breakaway group appeared to go off up the road unchallenged, with a number of teams fanning out across the narrow road to block any further riders chipping off. A few minutes later, though, Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), Lidl-Trek and Mathieu van der Poel attempted to push on, but as it stands they have failed to close the gap. Given the difficulty of the final climb, I suspect Van der Poel would struggle to make too much of an impact on the Puy de Dôme, but he may be thinking about his grandfather today who he was very close to.
12:43 PM BST
And they’re off . . .
Christian Prudhomme, Tour de France race director, dropped his flag, and with no hesitation Victor Campenaerts (Lotto-Dstny) clipped off the front with a small group following the Belgian. Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Pro), Clément Berthet (Ag2r-Citroën), Guillaume Boivin (Israel-Premier Tech), Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies), David de la Cruz (Astana Qazaqstan), Jonas Gregaard (Uno-X Pro), Gorka Izagirre (Movistar), Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar), Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies), Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Qazaqstan), Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious), Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) and Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech) all soon bridge over to the former hour record holder.
12:36 PM BST
Emotional pre-race moment for Van der Poel
Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) was greeted at sign-on a short while ago with an emotional tribute to his late grandfather Raymond Poulidor who was born in the start town of Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat. As mentioned earlier, Poulidor remains a rider synonymous with the Puy de Dôme.
12:15 PM BST
Looks like we’re shy one horse . . .
Just heard from Lidl-Trek who have announced that Quinn Simmons, the US national road champion, will not start today’s stage.
In a short statement, Lidl-Trek said: “Unfortunately we have to report that Quinn Simmons will not take the start today. Since his heavy crash on stage five 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.”
12:05 PM BST
Stage nine preview
Hello and welcome to our live rolling coverage from stage nine at the Tour de France, the 182.4 kilometre run from Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat to Puy de Dôme. With four categorised climbs in the final stage before Monday’s rest day – the Côte de Felletin, Côte de Pontcharraud and Côte de Pontaumur, before concluding atop the hors catégorie Puy de Dôme – the focus is expected to switch to the climbers.
The intermediate sprint at Lac de Vassivière comes very early in the stage, after just 30.4km, so I imagine there will be an early fight to get into a breakaway from those hoping to add to their accounts in the points classification, a competition currently dominated by Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) who has already won three stages, and was runner-up to Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) on Saturday. Here’s what can be won by those targeting the maillot vert, the green jersey worn by the leader in the points classification, today:
Meanwhile, for those targeting the maillot à pois, the polka-dot jersey worn by the rider leading the mountains classification – Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) – here is a breakdown of the points available:
The mythical Puy de Dôme has not been included in the Tour de France since 1988, when Danish rider Johnny Weltz won the stage ahead of Rolf Gölz of Germany and Pedro Delgado, the Spaniard who went on to win that year’s Tour. But it was events from the 1964 Tour when Raymond Poulidor (Mathieu van der Poel’s late grandfather) went shoulder-to-shoulder with great rival Jacques Anquetil in one of the race’s most famous moments. Neither went on the win the stage that day, that honour went to Spanish rider Julio Jiménez, but their duel that day that was captured so brilliantly on camera that has echoed down the years.
Given the great modern-day rivalry between race leader Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) – both favourites for the stage win today – I would not be surprised if we were to see an explosive finale on the Puy de Dôme, which happens to be a dormant volcano.
