The final sprint on stage 9 of the Tour de France (Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)

Stage 9 proved an explosive finale to the first block of racing at the Tour de France before the first rest day. As the Tour peloton takes a breather, the Recon Ride takes stock of where things stand in cycling's biggest stage race.

The abandonments of Alejandro Valverde and Mark Cavendish and the disqualification of Peter Sagan seem to have transpired ages ago in the wake of a crash-marred ninth stage. BMC's Richie Porte, who looked to be one of the chief rivals of Sky's Chris Froome in the battle for yellow, is no longer in the race. Neither is Froome's key lieutenant Geraint Thomas. Meanwhile, Astana's Fabio Aru again proved himself a dangerous challenger to Froome, and even provided prime polemica material, attacking Froome when the race leader was suffering from a mechanical.

Featuring interview audio with Orica-Scott's Simon Yates, Quick-Step's Dan Martin and Froome himself, the podcast addresses the current state of affairs at the Tour de France and looks ahead to the next block of six stages before second and final rest day.

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