Tour de France Stage 9 Analysis

It was a grueling day in the mountains for the riders as they ascended five categorized climbs in stage nine. The day was full of attacks and non-stop action. There were also some disappointment, as one of the top contenders coming into the race has dropped out.

Dumoulin Takes The Stage

Giant-Alpecin rider Tom Dumoulin added another grand tour stage victory to his resume with a fantastic effort in the mountains. Giving him his first career Tour de France stage victory.

He was involved in the breakaway that featured the likes of Thibaut Pinot and Rafal Majka, and was the first rider to make a decisive move. With the rain and hail coming down the other riders found it hard to counter his move. His advantage at four kilometers to go was 40 seconds, and it was seemingly over by then. The win gives Giant-Alpecin their first win of the tour.

Contador Drops Out

After a tough first week that included two crashes, Alberto Contador abandoned the race early on in the stage. He was complaining of a fever and got off his bike to be attended to by the medical staff.

This is only the second time that Contador has had to abandon the race. In 2014 he left the tour with a broken leg. He will be deeply missed by the fans, as he was one of the podium favorites coming into the race. His team also takes a hit, with their main contender now out. On the bright side Roman Kreuziger has been going well and currently sits in 12th place in the general classification. A rider from Tinkoff could very well still land a spot in the top 10.

Chris Froome Defends Jersey

After claiming the yellow jersey with a fantastic attack on the decent yesterday, the Team Sky rider did not show any signs of fatigue today. He battled it out with the rest of the general classification riders through the rain and hail on the final climb. Attacks were numerous with Chris Froome and Nairo Quintana being the first riders to try and leave the group. Bauke Molleme and Dan Martin also produced attempts to up the pace.

In the end Froome lost no time to any of his competitors, and the yellow jersey remains with him for now. His team were instrumental once again in this stage with keeping the pace high. They guided him through the mountains perfectly today.

Struggles For Some

It wasn’t the best day in the saddle for a number of riders. Among those riders that took a hit in the general classification were Warren Baruil, Tejay Van Garderen, Fabio Aru, and Romain Bardet. All had trouble staying with the yellow jersey group and fell off the pace.

In the end, three of those four riders fell out of the top 10. Bardet was the only one to stay in the top 10, as he sits in sixth place overall. The upcoming rest day should be a good chance for theses riders to reset, as they gear up for a crucial week.

Froome Fined

Froome was fined today after punching a fan that got in his way yesterday. The total amount of the fine was 200 Swiss francs. He later apologized to the fan.

With rider safety being an ever present issue, this decision comes with some heat. Fans have been known to give Froome abuse before including some rather unpleasant things being thrown at him. Hopefully all of the riders can make it to Paris without any further incidents like we saw yesterday. Although, we already saw a fan taken out by a rider in today’s stage.

Here’s another look at the incident. Let us know what you think of the incident in the comments section.

Yates Surprises

Perhaps a surprise to some has been the riding of Adam Yates this week. The Orica-BikeExchange rider has control of the young riders jersey and is currently second in the general classification. He’s been holding steady with the other top dogs in the mountains and continues to impress.

The question moving forward is can he hang on? If he can pull off a podium spot and hold on to the young riders jersey all the way to Paris, it will be undoubtedly a success for the team.

Do not forget to follow Orica-BikeExchange’s journey at the tour with their backstage pass videos.

Highlights From The Stage

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8d-BM51eh7Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlA4riebLpY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGofwZAnHkU

MUST SEE George Bennett Takes Out Fan

Tweets Of The Day

#TDF2016 @albertocontador has sadly retired from the race after a fever this morning. It was a strong fight from Alberto. More to follow — Tinkoff (@tinkoff_team) July 10, 2016

A slap on the wrist for a punch in the face: @ChrisFroome fined for yesterday's punch. Should he have been? https://t.co/cbVqmTkO9W — NBC Sports Gold (@NBCSportsGold) July 10, 2016

Stage Results

General Classification Standings

Mountain Classification

Thibaut Pinot 80 Pts Rafal Majka 77 Pts Tom Dumoulin 50 Pts Rui Costa 40 Pts Thomas De Gendt 36 Pts

Points Classification

Mark Cavendish 204 Pts Peter Sagan 197 Pts Marcel Kittel 182 Pts Bryan Coquard 112 Pts Greg Van Avermaet 90 Pts

Youth Classification

Adam Yates Louis Mentijes +39 Seconds Warren Barguil + 2 minutes 29 seconds Wilco Kelderman + 5 mintues 12 seconds Emmanuel Buchmann + 8 minutes 32 seconds

Team Classification

Movistar Team Sky BMC Astana AG2R La Mondiale

Main Photo: