Post-amble
Well it was Daryl Impey’s day, the South African joining the breakaway and then staging his attack on Roche and Benoot at the right time to stand him in good stead to show his sprinting mastery at the finish. He and Mitchelton-Scott will savour the South African’s debut Tour stage win, and well they might.
Further back, Alaphilippe and his team-mates controlled the front of the peloton adeptly, while Geraint Thomas and Team Ineos kept themselves in contention.
Here’s the GC Standings
1 Alapahilippe, Deceuninck-Quickstep 38h 37’ 36’’
2 Ciconne, TREK - SEGAFREDO+ 00’ 23’’
3 Pinot , Groupama - FDJ+ 00’ 53’’
4 Bennett, Team Jumbo-Visma + 01’ 10’’
5 Thomas, Team Ineos 01’ 12’’
6 Bernal, Team Ineos + 01’ 16’’
7 Kruijswijk, Team Jumbo-Visma + 01’ 27’’
8 Uran Rigoberto, EF Education First + 01’ 38’’
9 Fuglsang Jakob, Astana Pro Team 01’ 42’’
10 Buchmann, Bora-Hansgrohe + 01’ 45’’
And here’s our on-the-finish race report:
And that’s us done. Thanks for your company on this manic sporting Sunday. Bye.
Today's results
Here are today’s relevant stats (full GC details to follow):
Stage winners 1. Daryl Impey (RSA) Mitchelton - Scott 4:03:12 2. Tiesj Benoot (BEL) Lotto - Soudal “ 3. Jan Tratnik (SLO) Bahrain - Merida +10 4. Oliver Naesen (BEL) AG2R La Mondiale “ 5. Jasper Stuyven (BEL) Trek - Segafredo “ 6. Nicolas Roche (IRL) Team Sunweb +14 7. Marc Soler (ESP) Movistar Team +21 8. Iván García (ESP) Bahrain - Merida +1:50 9. Simon Clarke (AUS) EF Education First “ 10. Anthony Delaplace (FRA) Team Arkéa - Samsic +2:42 11. Jesús Herrada (ESP) Cofidis, Solutions Crédits “ 12. Romain Sicard (FRA) Total Direct Energie +2:46 13. Lukas Pöstlberger (AUT) BORA - hansgrohe +5:26 14. Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR) Team Dimension Data +7:24 15. Tony Martin (GER) Team Jumbo - Visma “
Points leaders 1. Peter Sagan (SVK) BORA - hansgrohe 204 2. Michael Matthews (AUS) Team Sunweb 144 3. Sonny Colbrelli (ITA) Bahrain - Merida 129 4. Elia Viviani (ITA) Deceuninck - Quick-Step 128 5. Jasper Stuyven (BEL) Trek - Segafredo 103 6. Matteo Trentin (ITA) Mitchelton - Scott 90 7. Greg Van Avermaet (BEL) CCC Team 81 8. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto - Soudal 76 9. Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) Deceuninck - Quick-Step 69 10. Dylan Groenewegen (NED) Team Jumbo - Visma 66 11. Mike Teunissen (NED) Team Jumbo - Visma 64 12. Thomas De Gendt (BEL) Lotto - Soudal 63 13. Giacomo Nizzolo (ITA) Team Dimension Data 52 14. Xandro Meurisse (BEL) Wanty - Gobert Cycling 51 Team 15. Yoann Offredo (FRA) Wanty - Gobert Cycling 49 Team 16. Daryl Impey (RSA) Mitchelton - Scott 43 17. Thibaut Pinot (FRA) Groupama - FDJ “ 18. Tiesj Benoot (BEL) Lotto - Soudal 42 19. Oliver Naesen (BEL) AG2R La Mondiale “ 20. Andrea Pasqualon (ITA) Wanty - Gobert Cycling 40 Team
Updated
Romain Bardet comes home into Brioude to a warm welcome and crosses the finish line at the head of the peloton, but still not troubling the GC upper echelons. Alaphilippe will remain in yellow.
A relaxed peloton cruises towards the finish, with Alaphilippe content enough in yellow, Thomas and his team content enough, and even their thoughts perhaps turning to what’s going on in the tennis/cricket/F1.
Pöstlberger crosses the line, some five minutes back having made the first major move as today’s race approached its closing stages. The peloton meanwhile is still 7km away from the finish.
The top five: 1. Daryl Impey, 2. Tiesj Benoot, 3 Jan Tratnik, 4 Naesen, 5. Stuyven
A deserved win for Impey, who timed his attack perfectly and then showed his sprinting smarts when Benoot tried to overhaul him at the last. He finally has a stage win in his seventh Tour.
The first African wearer of the #MaillotJaune celebrates the 100th anniversary of the iconic jersey with his first #TDF stage win!
— letourdata (@letourdata) July 14, 2019
He averaged 39.99km/h in the last 20km with a major battle over the Côte de Saint-Just.#TDF2019 #TDFdata https://t.co/fTVQY5S08b
Updated
Daryl Impey accelerated from 22.8km/h to 34.7km/h on a gradient of 6% to bridge the gap to Nicolas Roche and Tiesj Benoot atop the Côte de Saint-Just.#TDF2019 #TDFdata pic.twitter.com/b2pC7EdLlN
— letourdata (@letourdata) July 14, 2019
Daryl Impey wins Stage nine of the Tour de France
Benoot attacks with 400km to go, overtakes Impey, but it’s only temporary as Impey shows his sprint mastery to counterattack brilliantly, hitting the front again and crossing the line first to take an emotional first Tour de France stage win. A fourth for Mitchelton-Scott.
Updated
Into the final kilometre, with Impey just ahead of Benoot
1.5km to go: They approach Brioude’s outskirts with the front two are working together as tiredness takes its toll on so many of their pursuers, the gap extended to 17 seconds. The peloton are 14 minutes behind, Sagan and the kings of the mountains 18 back.
4km to go: Team Ineos reel in that Porte, Bardet and Kruijswijk attack at the top of the peloton, while the gap between Impey and Benoot and the chief chasers stands at 14 seconds. Benoot has been awarded the most aggressive rider accolade for today.
6km to go: Home hero Bardet leads a break at the front of the peloton, with Richie Porte behind him. Impey and Benoot jostle at the front for the lead. And the main pursuers are now 20 seconds behind.
8km to go: Benoot makes a move, Impey responds but Roche cannot and loses some serious ground. He hangs on in there. Meanwhile, Ineos hit the front of the peloton, as the GC contenders begin to set out their stalls.
12km to go: Tratnik joins those losing the wheel and losing ground, as Impey joins the front two, applying real pressure on Roche and Benoot, and then hitting the front, taking the KOTM points at the summit. The peloton are 14 minutes behind, but starting to up the pace.
Updated
14km to go: Benoot catches Postlberger, who’s going backwards now as the climb gets more arduous, and then Roche hits the front with Benoot in hot pursuit. Soler has started to struggle. It’s livening up properly.
Updated
15km to go: They hit the ascent of the Cote de Saint-Just as Clarke, Herrada and Garcia Cortina try to join the gang of seven behind Pöstlberger, who will surely be overhauled with his advantage down to 11 seconds. Alaphilippe’s GC lead is not really in danger by the way - it’d need Roche to be more than 23 minutes ahead of him in the leading group.
19km to go: As we head nearer to Brioude, the breakaway fragments a little yet again, as Boasson Hagen makes a move to join the leading group of chasers behind Pöstlberger. Soler, Benoot, Stuyven and Roche are prominent in that group. And as the last climb approaches, it looks as if Pöstlberger is being reeled in (or saving his energy). His lead is now a mere 24 seconds.
The list of those seven chasers: Benoot, Tratnik, Naesen, Stuyven, Soler, Impey and Roche. Impey is at their head.
Updated
24km to go: Pöstlberger just beginning to flag a little, the gap on his pursuers, which had crept over a minute, is now reeled back to around the 45sec mark. Soler looking keen among the chasing pack, and Boasson Hagen begins to step up.
31km to go: A bit of intrigue in the peloton. The Quick-Steppers had been comfortably in control at the head of it, protecting their man in yellow, Alaphilippe, but it’s a bit more congested in there now. The gap from peloton to breakaway is more than 11 minutes. Meanwhile, Pöstlberger’s advantage is now 34 seconds, with no one yet showing an inclination to attack and challenge him.
35km to go: Pöstlberger is really motoring at the moment, and has stretched his advantage to more than 20 seconds. You don’t imagine it’ll stay like that but it’s giving the other frontrunners something to think about.
One more cat-3 climb and some rolling terrain still to come for the attackers en route to Brioude. Gap consistently over 10' with 44km to go to the finish.#TDF2019 #TDFdata pic.twitter.com/xd5kSBVR2i
— letourdata (@letourdata) July 14, 2019
42km to go: And from that breakaway group of six Pöstlberger suddenly hits the front, with clear daylight to his pursuers.
Updated
44km to go: Garcia Cortina attacks, Stuyvem goes with him and Benoot joins the party and gets to the front. Who will respond now? And how? Boasson Hagen struggling at the back of the leading group
Updated
50km to go: Tests of stamina will begin to kick in soon, and we might reasonably expect some movement and shaking out with 40km to go. For now, as they ride downhill towards La Prieure Sainte-Croix, the leading group extend their advantage over the peloton to 10mins 45sec.
55 km to go: The breakaway bunch are back together again after Simon Clarke and Jan Tratnik led that mini-attack a few kilometres back. A spot of shadow-boxing there, to size things up for the sprint finish. Alaphilippe being shepherded by his team-mates at the head of the peloton.
Daryl Impey comes first at Côte Des Guillaumanches, pipping Ties Benoot. That’s the South African’s first King of the Mountains points. Two for him, one for Benoot.
61km to go: Clarke and Tratnick attack, just stretching out the leading group, with a sub-group of five now out at the front. Soler is among them, with Tony Martin just at his wheel.
63km to go: There’s talk of a growing headwind towards the end of today’s course, which could affect how things shake up in the final stages, as the leading bunch hit the top of the Côte Des Guillaumanches. Roche remains at the front of the group, followed by Herrada and Soler. For all the Bardet boosterism at the roadside, he’s nowhere in this race. Alaphilippe, in yellow, still sits at the front of the peloton, which is 10mins 14sec behind the breakaway group.
67km to go: This is currently just a pleasant Sunday afternoon bike ride for all concerned, a calm before the storm, through country roads adorned with Romain Bardet graffiti. A convivial Bastille Day being enjoyed by all. The gap from leaders to peloton creeps back over 10 minutes.
71km to go: Quickstep happy enough to defend their man’s yellow jersey today at the front of the peloton, as the gap with the leaders dips below 10 minutes for the first time in a while. That leading group gearing themselves up for the Cote Des Guillaumanches climb, which isn’t as severe as their earlier slog at the Mur d’Aurec-sur-Loitre but will present its own challenges.
That intermediate sprint result in full: 1. Boasson Hagen, 2. Stuyven, 3. Delaplace, 4. Impey, 5. Benoot, 6. Herrada, 7. Roche, 8. Clarke, 9. Pöstlberger, 10. Naesen, 11. T. Martin, 12. Tratnik, 13. Garcia Cortina, 14. Sicard, 15. Soler.
Edvald Boasson Hagen wins the intermediate sprint! The Norwegian crosses the line ahead of Stuyven, Delaplace, Impey and Benoot. Anyway, thanks to John for stepping in, Tom here back in the saddle, with the leading pack still 10 minutes or so ahead of the peloton.
77 km to go: French hopes rest with this man. Can he be a contender for a GC? Next week will tell us more, though. He won’t be winning today, that seems certain. The last Frenchman to win on Bastille Day while wearing yellow was Raymond Delisle in 1969. Eventual winner that year? Eddy Merckx, the greatest of all, and, of course, Belgian.
💛 Bonjour Monsieur le Maillot Jaune 💛
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 14, 2019
👋 @alafpolak1 #TDF2019 pic.twitter.com/Ya26sIPocX
82 km to go: A reminder of today’s breakaway group. Benoot (Lotto-Soudal) Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data), Clarke (EF Education First), Delaplace (Arkea-Samsic), Garcia (Bahrain-Merida), Herrada (Cofidis Solutions Credits), Impey (Mitchelton-Scott), Martin (Jumbo-Visma) OliverNaesen (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Postlberger (Bora-Hansgrohe), Roche (Sunweb), Sicard (Total-Direct Energie), Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo), Tratnik (Bahrain-Merida).
Two Frenchmen in there in Anthony Delaplace and Romain Sicard. Neither have won a stage in the Tour, though Delaplace won a ‘combativity’ award in the first stage of the 2016 renewal. The winner that day was Mark Cavenidish. *sobs*
Updated
90 km to go: It’s Bastille Day and France are hoping for a French winner of today’s stage and this year’s Tour - with Thibaut Pinot as best hope - as their last winner was this man, way back in 1985.
Today’s maillot jaune features Bernard Hinault’s big face. Famously he crashed in St Étienne in 1985 while in the yellow jersey. pic.twitter.com/dh9lbCjdh4
— Lionel Birnie (@lionelbirnie) July 13, 2019
93 km to go: It looks like the break will contain today’s winner. The best-placed rider on GC is Nicolas Roche, who was at least born in France, but is an Irishman, and from one of the sport’s royal families. He’s also 35, so might not be too suited to a sprint finish. This is his ninth Tour, whereas father Stephen rode it ten times, winning in 1987. He is 20 minutes down on Julian Alaphilippe, so no threat to the favourites.
Updated
97.5 km to go: Has this Tour had too many stages which peter into nothingness? Compared to other first weeks, where there pile-ups and rucks, it feels somewhat leisurely, and aside from Saturday and that excellent stage from Mulhouse to la Planche des Belles Filles, something of a procession. The fun really starts on Wednesday in Toulouse, and the Pyrenees, with the stage finishing at Bagnères-de-Bigorre.
100km to go: Rui Costa, the peloton’s Mr Unpopular, is back with the pack as that group of breakaway riders continue to pull away from him.
.@RuiCostaCyclist has been swallowed back up by the peloton with 102km to go.
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 14, 2019
Rui Costa est de retour dans le peloton.#TDF2019 pic.twitter.com/o7u5wJRlRR
Updated
Merci, Tom et bonjour à tous. While Tom ingests his gels and baguettes, I shall be your guide. You can contact me on john.brewin.casual@theguardian.com and @johnbrewin_in the meantime.
105km to go: The 15-strong breakaway group are heading towards the delightfully named Craponne-sur-Arzon, and they’re all just biding their time at the moment with the gap to the peloton remaining relatively stable at just over 10 minutes. On which note I’m going to pull over to the side of the road, spread out my picnic rug, and tuck into a lovingly-prepared and lavish picnic (trans: popping down to the canteen in grey, overcast London). John Brewin will escort you through the next half-hour or so.
115km to go: The gap continues to grow, with the leaders - fronted by Roche and the Deceuninck–Quick-Step riders – now more than 10 and a half minutes ahead of the peloton as the route flattens out somewhat. “The Tour may be playing a bit of second fiddle to cricket, tennis and F1 today,” admits Guy Hornsby, “but it’s been great so far. The preponderance of beige flat stages are a thing of the past, and yesterday showed that in spades. It’s great to see G fighting hard in a really open race.” I do have to confess to occasionally breaking off from the cycling to yelp in anguish and hope at the cricket, but yes, this is an intriguingly open tour, and agreeably hard to call.
Updated
119km to go: Commentary chat, from Juan Antonio Flecha on Eurosport, attributing Rui Costa’s travails, and the breakaway’s unwillingness to let him join them, to his generally uncooperative nature. Thems the breaks. So he’s in limbo, 2mins 46sec behind the leaders, with the peloton – headed by Alaphilippe, Ciccone and Pinot – ten minutes behind the front runners.
126km to go: It’s all gone a bit pear-shaped for Rui Costa, who looks to have lost touch with the leaders and is close to abandoning the chase. He’s in a bit of a huff with the attentions given to him by his attendant camera crew, and is now around a minute off the leaders. Roche heads the 15-strong leading group.
130km to go: A king of the mountains win for Benoot!
The Belgian is first over the summit, delivering another victory to Lotto-Soudal.
Here’s the points from the Mur d’Aurec-sur-Loire (cateory 1, km 36.5):
1. Tiejs Benoot, 10 pts
2. Anthony Delaplace, 8 pts
3. Daryl Impey, 6 pts
4. Romain Sicard, 4 pts
5. Jesus Herrada, 2 pts
6. Nicolas Roche, 1 pt
133km to go: Marc Soler has joined the leading group, which is a hell of an effort on this narrow, vertiginous climb on a road absolutely thronged with encroaching spectators, who are taxing the security people somewhat, albeit that it’s all very festive and good-natured. Rui Costa is only 45 seconds behind the pack too. The breakaway is now seven minutes ahead of the peloton, headed by yellow-jersey holder Alaphilippe, with Pinot and Thomas just behind them.
135km to go: There’s no sign the leading bunch are inclined to let Soler and Rui Costa join them, as we approach the big climb on the Mur. The gap between the leaders and the peloton has grown to six minutes, but as we hit the Mur we’ll learn a lot more. Soler’s making a decent fist of joining them, he’s 46 seconds behind the leading group, who are in energy-preserving mode, as well they should, as the gradient grows and the road narrows.
News on Alessandro De Marchi, who crashed horribly earlier and had to quit the race. And it’s more encouraging – he wanted to continue, he was conscious, but he’s got a cut on his eyebrows and needs his collar bone examined. His injuries are nowhere near as serious as they looked they might be when he clattered into the kerb. He’s on his way to hospital for x-rays.
Updated
136.5km to go: The odd “Allez Bardet” banner beginning to appear, as the Frenchman rides through home territory. He’s back in the pack, with the peloton just over three minutes behind the leaders as it passes over the Loire.
And here’s that leading bunch in full: Benoot (Lotto-Soudal) Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data), Clarke(EF Education First), Delaplace (Arkea-Samsic), Garcia (Bahrain-Merida), Herrada (Cofidis Solutions Credits), Impey (Mitchelton-Scott), Martin (Jumbo-Visma) OliverNaesen (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Postlberger (Bora-Hansgrohe), Roche (Sunweb), Sicard (Total-Direct Energie), Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo), Tratnik (Bahrain-Merida). Soler and Rui Costa continue to plough their lonely, slightly futile-looking furrows as chasers.
Updated
A strong breakaway has emerged on the uphill section leading to Chambles.
— letourdata (@letourdata) July 14, 2019
Average speeds km 12-17:
Attackers - 37.6km/h
Peloton - 31.1km/h#TDF2019 #TDFdata pic.twitter.com/RwTBp3C1sb
143km to go: We’re climbing now, through really beautiful countryside it must be said, and we now have an established and strong break of 14, headed by Nico Roche and followed by Herrada and Stuyven. Benoot, Boassen Hagen, Naesen and Martin are among them. In no-man’s land around 50 seconds behind them is Marc Soler, with Rui Costa on his own a minute and 40-odd seconds further back. Alaphilippe heads the peloton, which is around two and a half minutes behind the front.
153km to go: It looks as if the big break will be made on the Mur itself, which is looming large now. There’s a group of about 15 at the front, including Roche, Naesen, Impey, Garcia Cortina, Herrada, Clarke, Martin, Stuyven and Benoot. Marc Soler has broken clear in a bid to join them.
Updated
158km to go: Tim Wellens, Wout van Aert and Rui Costa have joined Politt out front, with others looking to join the breakaway behind them. It’s been a pretty aggressive start
159km to go: Alessandro De Marchi has had a nasty looking crash back in the pack, and looks to have hurt his head on the kerb. He’s receiving medical assistance, and has had to be taken away in an ambulance. His race is over.
Updated
163km to go: Politt’s powering ahead at the moment. He’ll want and expect some company soon. Total Direct Energy have packed out the front of the peloton. De Gendt, yesterday’s winner, riding cautiously thus far.
167km to go. Tim Wellens has gone off on his own, Billy no-mates, to set an early pace. Nils Politt is next to break clear. They’re going at around 75km per hour
Updated
And we're under way
170km to go: Off they go, downhill, amid a volley of early Bastille-day fireworks. A fast-looking start, with those keen to get in the early breakaway already going hard.
Updated
Some predictions:
It's hard not to be impressed with @alafpolak's performances so far on #TDF2019. The #NTTpredictor believes the Frenchman has the strongest chance of winning today's stage for a historic victory with the #MaillotJaune on Bastille Day.#TDFdata pic.twitter.com/HhNz2jtUj4
— letourdata (@letourdata) July 14, 2019
Today’s stage heads downhill for the first 10km, which promises us a fast start, followed by 7km up, 7km down again before we begin the arduous Mur d’Aurec-sur-Loire climb. They’re about 4.3km from the line, which is also a downhill run.
Updated
They’re getting ready to ride out from Saint-Étienne, which is bathed in glorious/gruelling sunshine
“What a day for Pinot it was yesterday!” trills MaliciousA on the Twitters. “Reaching into the bag and pulling a Stomp On, he thrilled with his heroics. Today is going to be great as he continues to consolidate his position.” Yep, his performance has certainly spiced things up.
Some Frenchman-in-yellow facts: Alaphilippe is the 32nd Frenchman to be wearing yellow at the start of the race on Bastille Day. The last two to lead on 14 July were Tony Gallopin in 2014 and Thomas Voeckler three years earlier, though the former only had it for one day.
Some pre-racing reading for your delectation. Here’s William Fotheringham on French hopes:
When the tide runs his way, Pinot looks more than strong enough, as he did at the end of last year when he won two stages in the Tour of Spain and the Giro di Lombardia. So far in this Tour it has all gone his way. While Bardet’s AG2R squad flopped, the Groupama-FDJ team performed above expectations in the first Sunday’s team time trial, putting him on the front foot immediately, and this was followed by a strong showing behind the victorious Alaphilippe in Épernay, where he gained five seconds on Thomas. Slender pickings, but it gave him an advantage. His young, talented climbing teammate David Gaudu is also in sparkling form.
And here’s yesterday’s stage eight report from Jeremy Whittle:
Preamble
Stage nine, Saint-Étienne to Brioude, 170.5km
Morning everyone, and happy Bastille Day. These are hopeful times for French fans, with one of theirs in yellow, Julian Alaphilippe, and another, Thibaut Pinot, riding himself into serious contention for the overall crown. Could 34 years of hurt be ending this time? (And will we ever stop describing any sporting title-drought as “xx years of hurt?”). Whatever, this Tour is showing signs of heating up after a meandering first week, with Geraint Thomas’s tenacious display in yesterday’s stage from Mâcon to Saint-Étienne raising hopes that last year’s champion might retain his title.
Thomas’s position might have been even stronger had he not been caught up in the crash between Michael Woods and Gianni Moscon, from which he recovered strongly but still lost 39 seconds to Alaphilippe and 28 to Pinot. “If I hadn’t crashed I could have followed [Pinot and Alaplilippe] and it’s a totally different story then,” Thomas told ITV afterwards. “Thibaut Pinot and Julian Alaphillipe have a good kick and punch - they are the guys to watch and beat.”
Today’s stage, a hilly one, features an imposing early climb in the shape of the Mur d’Aurec-sur-Loire, from which we should see the stage’s first breakaway and ends with a 30km loop around Brioude (Romain Bardet’s hometown of course) that should be tailor-made for a bunch sprint of those who’ve stayed the pace. The ever-formidable Peter Sagan, the current points leader, will, one suspects, be looking forward to this in particular.
Today’s stage starts at 12.25pm BST.
And since we’re starting in Saint-Étienne, here’s some gratuitous, and possibly appropriate, pre-stage music:
Preamble
Tom will be here shortly to take you through stage nine.
