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Tour de France stage 9 report
Tour de France stage 10 preview
Bonjour and welcome to Cyclingnews' live coverage of stage 10 of the 2024 Tour de France!
Racing is back at the Tour for the second week and the riders are departing from Orléans in just over an hour and a half. It's a flat day on the menu with the sprinters all hopeful of another bunch sprint with fresh legs from their day of recovery. Read the preview for the day and check out the profile below:
Tour de France 2024 stage 10 preview – A sprinters stage on paper but watch out for the echelons
To catch up on what was an exhilarating first week of racing, read analysis from our expert Philippa York. She examines the state of play for the 'big four' Pogačar, Vingegaard, Evenepoel and Roglič and looks back at how things stand heading into today's stage:
Today's finish location Saint-Amand-Montrond has welcomed the Tour de France on several occasions in the past, with Carlos Sastre confirming his 2008 Tour victory there in 2008. More recently, it played host to the arrival of stunning crosswind day on stage 13 of the 2013 Tour, where a group containing Mark Cavendish, Peter Sagan and Alberto Contador went up the road. The route that year was majorly heading southeast from Tours where the echelons developed, whereas today heads mostly south from Orléans so we may not see splits.
The Manxman was victorious from the small group on that day and after making it 35 on stage 5, could today see 36?
There was lots of fighting talk and mind games from the GC favourites on the rest day. They will be trying to stay safe throughout today's stage and if there are any splits, they will need to be on full alert. Catch up with how Pogačar and Vingegaard assessed the first week here:
'Not a lack of balls, just smart racing’ - Jonas Vingegaard responds to Evenepoel’s Tour de France criticism
'I think Vingegaard is a little bit afraid of me' – Tadej Pogačar warns Visma against mind games at Tour de France
Primož Roglič suffered an untimely blow as he lost Aleksandr Vlasov, his key climbing domestique, to an ankle injury:
Roglič suffers blow to Tour de France climbing support as Aleksandr Vlasov abandons with broken ankle
But he remained quietly confident with his form on the first rest day, having escaped the gravel stage, being dropped on the Galibier and San Luca, to only be 1:36 from the lead of the Tour de France. Here's how he assessed it to the press on Monday including CN's Alasdair Fotheringham:
Primož Roglič quietly defiant on Tour de France hopes despite uphill challenges
Riders are completing sign-on and the team presentation in Orléans with racing set to get underway in exactly an hour with the départ fictif sheduled for 13:05 (CEST).
Here's World Champion Mathieu van der Poel ready for another day of sprinting. He'll be on lead-out duties again on stage 10 as he hopes to bring Jasper Philipsen his first win of the 2024 edition after dominating the flat finishes in 2023.
Read Geraint Thomas' assessment of how the favourites for GC are shaping up going into the second week, as the Welshman tells Cyclingnews who he believes will be in yellow by the time the race arrives in Nice:
Geraint Thomas: Vingegaard bigger favourite than Pogačar to win 2024 Tour de France
Current forecasts suggest the wind won't play much of a factor on today's stage but it will certainly be nervous throughout the 187.3km. Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Dstny) is definitely hoping for some splits, which is unsurprising as a Belgian:
🇧🇪 @Arnaud_De_Lie : "It’s a stage with echelons, I like it. There’s a lot of stress and that’s what I like about cycling."🇧🇪 @Arnaud_De_Lie : "C'est une étape à bordures, ça me plait. Il y a beaucoup de stress et c’est ce que j’aime dans le vélo."#TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/IeHQKItfbnJuly 9, 2024
Just twenty minutes to go now before they start making their way through the neutralised zone.
Here are the EF Education-EasyPost riders lining up at the start. They've been animated throughout the race, but still haven't managed to win a stage. Will they have something planned for today?
As we begin to second week, 14 of the 22 teams at the race remain without a stage win. Many of those will feel their best bet of doing so today will be through a bunch sprint, but, from those who don’t, will we see more desire to get into the break today?
We'll find out soon - the riders have just left the départ fictif.
Here's Tadej Pogačar talking to the press at the start. He looked relaxed as ever.
One rider not starting today is Aleksandr Vlasov. The Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe rider is suffering from an ankle injury sustained after his crash during stage nine. That's bad news for Primož Roglič, for whom he was the main super-domestique.
Despite Vlasov's withdrawal, one pleasing trend of this Tour de France has been the lack of serious crashes. In fact, Vlasov was only the fourth rider to abandon the race in the first week. Remembering just how many awful crashes characterised the first half of the season, that comes as a merciful relief.
Just 500 metres away from the flag.
187KM TO GO
And they're off!
...and there are no attacks. This could be a long day at this rate.
Could this be another flat stage where nobody forms a break? The pace is very slow in the peloton, so there's a chance for anybody to go clear, but no takers for now.
The TV camera is focussing on Jonas Abrahamsen, as if urging him to make a move. But even the Tour’s most aggressive rider doesn’t fancy it today.
180KM TO GO
Still only seven kilometres have been ridden. It's all smiles in the peloton, who are taking things easy and having chats with one another.
So why the reluctance from anyone to attack? Well, this is the flattest race of the Tour so far, and a break’s chances of survival is even lower than during the first week sprints.
An easy, relaxed day in the peloton so far.
170KM TO GO
The peloton is strung out more, but the pace is still slow, enough for riders to still chat with one another.
One of those chats happening is between Jonas Vingegaard and Tim Declercq. This is the kind of day that Tim 'The Tractor' Declercq has many times in the past been relied upon to drag the bunch to the finish.
Astana riders have moved to the front, with Mark Cavendish among them, but they're ambling without an increase in pace.
Bahrain-Victorious and Jayco-AlUla have also taken a few turns at the front, but are using only a fraction more energy by having their nose in the wind.
😍 These small gestures😍 Ces petits gestes#TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/qEVhpyUi5FJuly 9, 2024
The one thing that might liven this race up is the weather, with crosswinds affecting stages in this area in the past. There are no winds for now, and the riders are sheltered by forests for now - but rain is starting to fall.
The pace is up a little in the peloton, with EF Education-EasyPost and Alpecin-Deceuninck leading. There are less chats happening now.
150KM TO GO
Still no action for now then, but we can guarantee there will be in 20km when they reach an intermediate sprint. If no break go clears before then, maximum points in the green jersey classification will be available.
Happily for the riders, it isn't raining at the moment, despite the grey clouds.
UAE Team Emirates are at the front of the peloton, but are far from taking control of it. In fact, Pogačar in his yellow jersey isn't even present among them.
Hold on, we apepar to have an attack! 2 Lotto riders and an Intermarché - Wanty have escaped out the peloton.
Given that these are the teams of green jersey Biniam Girmay and his rival Arnaud De Lie, we can only assume this is early manoeuvrings ahead of the intermediate sprint.
One of the Lotto riders have sat up, leaving his teammate Harm Vanhoucke and Intermarché - Wanty's Kobe Goossens up the road.
Now we have a Groupama-FDJ rider setting off after them.
Though the initial attack only seemed half sincere, with the riders smiling as they were making it, it seems they're more committed now.
Alpecin-Deceuninck and Jayco-AlUla are leading the chase in the peloton. They're over a minute adrift from Goossens and Vanhoucke, so are unlikely to catch them in time for the interemediate sprint.
In between, there were actually two Groupama-FDJ riders who attacked: Valentin Madouas and Kevin Geniets. They've joined up to the other Lotto-Dstny rider from the original break, Max Van Gils, and are 45 seconds behind the leaders and 25 seconds ahead of the peloton.
Van Gils, Madouas and Geniets make for a very strong group, so we can only assume the reason they're not making any inroads is for not trying.
They might get caught in the time by the peloton as we approach the intermediate sprint, which would mean more points available for the green jersey candidates.
130KM TO GO
Goossens and Vanhoucke go through the intermediate sprint, in that order.
The peloton has indeed caught the trio in between, and will now sprint for the remaining points.
Philipsen wins the sprint for third-place.
A heart-in-mouth moment for Girmay when he had to check his sprint when the road between himself and the barriers narrowed. He stayed upright, and managed to retain enough momentum to finish just behind Philipsen, neck and neck with Fernando Gaviria.
Arkéa - B&B Hotels led the intermediate sprint out for Arnaud Démare, but he was passed by Philipsen, Girmay and Gaviria in the sprint.
Vanhoucke has sat up, his job presumably to take points in the green jersey classification on behalf of teammate Arnaud De Lie. That leaves Goossens as the lone leader.
Here's the intermediate sprint results in full:
1 Kobe Goossens 20
2 Harm Vanhoucke 17
3 Jasper Philipsen 15
4 Biniam Girmay 13
5 Fernando Gaviria 11
6 Arnaud Démare 10
7 Gerben Thijssen 9
8 Bryan Coquard 8
9 Ryan Gibbons 7
10 Arnaud De Lie 6
11 Anthony Turgis 5
12 Dan McLay 4
13 Nils Eekhoff 3
14 Cees Bol 2
15 Mark Cavendish 1
Bike change for Jonas Vingegaard. Now's the time to have a problem - if and when the wind does indeed blow later, such an incident would be a disaster, but passes without stress now.
And here's the updated points classification rankings:
1 Biniam Girmay 237
2 Jasper Philipsen 143
3 Jonas Abrahamsen 107
4 Anthony Turgis 101
5 Arnaud De Lie 98
6 Bryan Coquard 94
7 Fernando Gaviria 84
8 Arnaud Démare 83
9 Dylan Groenewegen 71
10 Kévin Vauquelin 70
120KM TO GO
Goossens has also sat up, and been swallowed up by the peloton, which means we're back a you were with the whole race together and no breakaway out front.
Here are Kobe Goossens and Harm Vanhoucke, on their short-lived breakaway.
With Girmay and Philipsen gaining more points at the intermediate sprint, the race for the green jersey is looking more and more like a two-horse race. To prevent it from becoming a one-horse race, Philipsen will need a good sprint today - preferably a stage win. The Eritrean can be expected to gain more points on non-sprint stages (as he did on the gravel two days ago), so Philipsen’s best hope of closing the gap is taking maximum points on pure sprint stages like this.
110KM TO GO
So we're back to where we were earlier in the day, with the pace slow and no break out front. No sign of any wind yet, either, but fingers crossed we'll have some action later.
The trees you can see here in the background has been typical of the landscape throughout today's stage so far. Even if the wind was blowing, the riders have been sheltered enough for it not to affect the race.
100KM TO GO
We're almost at the halfway point of today's stage. We're currently behind the slowest predicted pace, and there are signs of speeding up just yet.
Things might be quiet here at the Tour, but there’s been action at today’s stage of the women’s Giro d’Italia. You can read all about what happened here.
90KM TO GO
The pace is up from earlier in the day, but it's still very calm. Tadej Pogačar is relaxed enough not to be positionned towards the front of the peloton.
🦢 Swan lake 🤣#TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/9pS7DPoVnKJuly 9, 2024
Even the graphic's department is thinking of imaginative ways to stay amused today.
So, with a bunch sprint in store today, who are the top favourites for the stage win?
This is a difficult one to call, given that no single sprinter has dominated the bunch sprints in the manner that Jasper Philipsen did last year. Philipsen himself still looks very quick, and will still be very difficult to stop if Mathieu van der Poel can deliver him a lead-out like the ones he did regularly last year.
Biniam Girmay has been the most successful sprinter of the Tour so far, with two stage wins. But both of these victories came in mitigating circumstances - the first after a crash took out many of his rivals, the second on an uphill finish ill-suited to pure sprinters.
Winning against a full field of sprinters, in terrain best suited to them, will be a different story, but the Eritrean is in the form of his life and still stands a good chance.
80KM TO GO
Some of the sprinter teams are now getting organised at the front of the peloton, Alpecin-Deceuninck, Astana and Arkea among them. They're wanting to keep well-positioned as we enter a new phase of the race, and potentially one where wind could become a factor.
Girmay is in need to a rear wheel change. It's been sorted now and he's in the convoy, and will be back in the peloton soon.
As for other contenders for the stage, Dylan Groenewegen is clearly sprinting fast following his stage win last week, and will enjoy how easy the stage has been so far. However, in the past he hasn’t tended to follow up his first stage win with another, and has slowed down as the Tour continues - none of his six Tour stage wins have come in the second week.
And what of Mark Cavendish's chances? His sprint win on stage three showed that, if delivered in a good position, he's still as quick as anyone in a bunch finish. If he's still motivated now that he's broken the Merckx record he came to the Tour for, there’s no reason to believe he can’t add a 36th career win today.
Here's the peloton being led by Astana, not long ago. They're one of the sprinter teams who have come to the fore.
70KM TO GO
70km to go. If there is to be some wind action, it won't be long from now.
Definitely some more tension in the peloton now. The speed is up, and expressions on the faces of the riders more serious.
Big increase in pace now as teams jostle for position in front of a direction change.
Ineos and Astana lead the peloton into the turn.
Now Visma-Lease a Bike take over.
And now UAE lead, with two riders ahead of Pogačar.
The peloton is strung out, but not in echelon formation. No sign of any especially strong wind out there.
60KM TO GO
It's still UAE in control.
Now Visma-Lease a Bike take over the front, with two of their riders ahead of Vingegaard. Pogačar is still right p there too, only a few wheels down.
It's calmed down a big again now. Certainly no signs of any splits.
50KM TO GO
Things remain more relaxed. UAE Team Emirates are at the front of the peloton still, but passing around bidons to have a swig from.
It's slow enough now for riders to take comfort breaks. Fernando Gaviria and it seems Biniam Girmay have both stopped for one.
Stefan Küng stops for a mechanical. With no sprinter in his Groupama-FDJ team for him to lead-out, this is in off-day for him anyway.
Girmay is back in the peloton after his comfort break.
Küng is in the convoy, and picking up some bidons for his teammates.
Philipsen is also back at his Alpecin team car, taking a bidon.
40KM TO GO
Just 40km left to go. The chances of this being a full bunch sprint, with no disruptions from crosswinds, is increasing.
Here's the peloton from earlier, just before a change in direction, when UAE Team Emirates and Visma-Lease a Bike moved to the front. They and the rest of the GC teams negotiated this potentially risky part of the stage with no problems.
Sandy Dujardin is back at the doctors car. He's having his wrist looked at, which was injured during the race last week.
30KM TO GO
We've entered the final 30km, and no one team has taken control of the peloton. It’s all bunched up at the front, with multiple teams riding side-by-side.
Mechanical for De Lie. He'll be grateful that the racing isn't fully on just yet.
De Lie has fixed the problem and is chasing back now. He's got his team car beside him in the convoy.
De Lie is back in the peloton, thanks to some assistance from a teammate.
A sighting of Didi the Devil on the roadside. He remains as excitable and energetic as ever, doing his trademark knees-up jump, despite the lack of action on the road.
20KM TO GO
The peloton pass under the 20km to go banner. Not long now until things get exciting (surely?)
There's still an unusual lack of urgency, as the riders near the 15km to go point. Normally at this point there would be an intense race for position in the peloton, but still the pace remains casual.
A mechanical for Goossens. He is presumably the frontrunner for the day's combativity award, despite the short-lived nature of his attack earlier in the day.
10KM TO GO
Under the 10km to go banner. Not long now until the bunch sprint we've waited all day for!
They're about to go over a small unclassified hill. It's unlikely to be hard enough to have any effect, but it might come as a bit of a shock to the system as the toughest challenge they've faced all day.
Lots of teams all massed at the front, including EF, Ineos and Intermarche.
They're done climbing - that mini-hill barely seemed to register.
Now the pace is up! The rider are flying down this descent as the fight for positionning intensifies.
5KM TO GO
A mixture of GC teams and sprinter teams all vying for control at the front.
We're under the 4km to go banner ,which means the GC riders are safe. No time will be loss now if there's an incident.
EF take over at the front.
There are lots of twists and turns in this technical finale, so positionning will be important.
EF still lead as they go under the 3km to go banner.
Abrahamsen takes over at the front for Uno-X.
Astana take to the front,but seem to have lost Cavendish.
They swing over, and Alpecin take over from them.
1KM TO GO
Last kilometre!
This looks good for Alpecin who have a line of riders.
Van der Poel starts his lead out...
Now Philipsen goes...
Philispen wins!
A massive win for the Belgian there. Nobody was close to him.
Biniam Girmay finished second, and Pascal Ackermann third.
It was a vinatge lead-out from Alpecin-Deceuninck. Even before Van der Poel started his lead out, they had the bunch all strung out with two other riders setting the pace. Van der Poel's work then meant Philipsen could delay starting his sprint until he sensed Gaviria doing so behind him, and when he started his sprint, he burst ahead of him and everyone to win comfortably.
Wout van Aert was also up there in the sprint, finishing fourth place. That's his highest finish since the opening stage - is he beginning to come into some form again?
Here's the top ten in full:
1 Jasper Philipsen
2 Biniam Girmay
3 Pascal Ackermann
4 Wout van Aert
5 Fernando Gaviria
6 Sam Bennett
7 John Degenkolb
8 Phil Bauhaus
9 Dylan Groenewegen
10 Axel Zingle
And in case anyone is wondering - no indication this time that Philipsen deviated from his sprinting line. This time, the result will definitely stand!
Today is a triumph for Philipsen, who bounces back after a difficult start to the Tour, and proves he can dig deep and stay resilient when things aren't going his way.
It's also a great result for runner-up Biniam Girmay. He might not have landed a third stage win, but that's a big result in the points classification, and a lot of points for him to earn on a finish that we didn't think (at least until the start of this Tour) uit him so well.
Here are the updated results in the points classification. Philipsen did all he could today, but remains a long way adrift from Girmay. It certainly looks like a two-horse race, though.
1 Biniam Girmay 267
2 Jasper Philipsen 193
3 Jonas Abrahamsen 107
4 Anthony Turgis 101
5 Fernando Gaviria 100
6 Bryan Coquard 98
7 Arnaud De Lie 98
8 Arnaud Démare 83
9 Dylan Groenewegen 79
10 Kévin Vauquelin 70
And here's the GC rankings, which remain unchanged with everyone finishing together in the peloton.
1 Tadej Pogačar in 40:02:48
2 Remco Evenepoel at 0-33
3 Jonas Vingegaard at 1-15
4 Primož Roglič at 1-36
5 Juan Ayuso at 2-16
6 João Almeida at 2-17
7 Carlos Rodríguez at 2-31
8 Mikel Landa at 3-35
9 Derek Gee at 4-02
10 Matteo Jorgenson at 4-03
Delight for Jasper Philipsen at the finish. You sensed he really needed that win, having endured so much frustration during the first week.
Thanks for joining us today! Not a lot happened, but when we look back we won't remember the boring bits - we'll remember the bunch sprint won by Jasper Philipsen. The sprints this Tour have been intriguingly unpredictable, but we won't have one for at least a couple of days, as we enter the Massif Central, for a day in the hills - and possibly some GC action.
