The cyclists of the Tour de France 2024 give us a beautiful stage on the Chemins Blanc de Troyes

The 9th stage of the Tour de France 2024 did not disappoint, as many cyclists had been saving themselves for practically the entire first week. Attacks, a shattered race, scattered cyclists, and the favorites having to face the race head-on. An environment in which Pogacar, like a fish in water, showed himself to be tremendously offensive, although without achieving the desired result.

Tadej Pogacar's Offensive in the 9th Stage of the Tour de France 2024

It was one of those stages that cycling fans love, which we were able to enjoy in the Tour de France 2024. A 199-kilometer stage starting and finishing in the city of Troyes, with a challenging route marked by 14 dirt sections and 4 categorized climbs, plus several unclassified climbs that set the perfect stage for battle.

The stage started, as expected, tense, with numerous attacks but none sticking. We even saw Mathieu van der Poel, who had been relatively quiet in the Tour de France 2024 so far, trying his luck without success. Eventually, a group of 10 cyclists, including riders like Stuyven, Powless, Lutsenko, Javi Romo, and Oier Lazkano, managed to break away and arrived with a slight advantage at the first of the Chemins Blanc.

From behind, Alex Aranburu also launched an attack at the entrance of a section, accompanied by a Cofidis rider, and both managed to catch up with the leading group a few kilometers later. Ben Healy, along with Tom Pidcock, also joined the breakaway, forming a high-level escape that never had more than a 2-minute advantage but never less than 30 seconds, a testament to the intense battle throughout the stage.

In one of the following sections, the wind added to the difficulty of riding on dirt roads, causing the peloton to shatter into pieces, with Roglic being the main victim initially left behind but eventually managing to rejoin the group. There was also a moment of drama for Visma-Lease a Bike when UAE Team Emirates increased the pace and Jonas Vingegaard suffered a puncture. Fortunately, he had his teammate Jan Tratnik nearby, who, due to their similar height and measurements, lent him his bike, allowing the Dane to quickly reintegrate into the race, although he could not recover his own bike, which he had been visibly pedaling slightly high throughout the stage.

Just when it seemed like the peloton had calmed down, with 23 kilometers to go, Tadej Pogacar launched another attack, catching Remco Evenepoel off guard. The Visma-Lease a Bike riders were attentive, and both Matteo Jorgenson and Christophe Laporte managed to reach the wheel of the Slovenian, but Jonas Vingegaard struggled and fell a dozen meters behind. Laporte initially dropped back to try to bridge the gap, but eventually gave up, leaving Jorgenson to make an impressive effort to save a situation that was becoming critical. Their arrival caused a new pause, allowing Remco to save that challenge.

We would see one last offensive move from Pogacar in the final dirt section, with the Slovenian launching brutal accelerations at the exit of each corner but failing to achieve the desired effect.

Meanwhile, Jasper Stuyven arrived solo at that final section after a series of attacks. However, his lead was only 10 seconds. In any other day, the Lidl-Trek rider would have won the stage, especially when the attacks and chases started behind to close the gap. This time, they managed to catch up just as they passed the one-kilometer banner, setting the stage for a reduced sprint.

Healy was the first to launch his sprint, trying to surprise with 800 meters to go, but he was unable to hold on. Alex Aranburu was in an excellent position on his wheel, but when Lutsenko launched his sprint on the left side, the Movistar Team rider seemed to lack the legs to respond. It looked like Lutsenko had it in the bag when, on the other side, Anthony Turgis came from behind to overtake and break a long drought of victories for TotalEnergies in the Tour de France.

Behind them, the group of Van der Poel arrived, with Girmay winning to further solidify his green jersey in the points classification. Less than a minute later, a small peloton with all the favorites crossed the line, with no changes in the general classification. Notably, Tadej Pogacar expressed his frustration in post-stage interviews with the strategy of Visma-Lease a Bike of just sticking to his wheel.

Stage 9 Classification

1. Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies) 4h19'43''
2. Thomas Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers) +00''
3. Derek Gee (Israel-PremierTech) +00''
4. Alex Aranburu (Movistar Team) +00''
5. Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) +00''
6. Alexey Lutsenko (Astana) +00''
7. Javier Romo (Movistar Team) +12''
8. Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek) +18''
9. Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) +1'17''
10. Michael Matthews (Jayco-AlUla) +1'17''

General Classification

1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 31h21'13''
2. Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) +33''
3. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) +1'15''
4. Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) +1'36''
5. Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) +2'16''
6. Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) +2'17''
7. Carlos Rodríguez (INEOS Grenadiers) +2'31''
8. Mikel Landa (Soudal-QuickStep) +3'35''
9. Derek Gee (Israel-PremierTech) +4'02''
10. Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) +4'03''