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Cycling Weekly
Cycling Weekly
Sport
Owen Rogers

'I was really struggling' - Mathieu van der Poel comes to terms with the heat to win stage 9 of the Tour de France from the breakaway

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) wins stage 9 of the 2026 Tour de France, between Malemort and Ussel in central France, on July 12, 2026. (Photo by Loic VENANCE / AFP via Getty Images).

Mathieu van der Poel won an enthralling ninth stage of the Tour de France on Sunday, sprinting to the line after a chaotic day in the Massif Central.

The Alpecin-Premier Tech rider had been part of a huge breakaway which eventually formed after 60km of aggressive racing in the boiling centre of France.

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