Stage 9

The road

At the start

Seven climbs to Mulhouse

The road tilts up from the start line and stays there: the Col de la Schlucht, the Wettstein, the Cinq Châteaux, Le Markstein and the Grand Ballon, seven classified climbs in 170 kilometres and the first category one of the race. Vincenzo Nibali leads Jakob Fuglsang by 1:44 and Richie Porte by 1:58, with Contador sixth at 2:34. The mountains jersey is there for whoever wants it.

How it was won

1. 1158 km to go

   Martin slips away on the Schlucht

   Voeckler leads the peloton over the first climb straight out of Gérardmer, and on the descent the world time trial champion Tony Martin goes clear with Alessandro De Marchi.

2. 2129 km to go

   Rodríguez opens the door

   An attack by Joaquim Rodríguez on the Wettstein splits a 28-man chase group off the front of the race — and sitting in it, 3:27 down on the yellow jersey that morning, is Tony Gallopin.

3. 370 km to go

   Gallopin is virtual leader

   With seventy kilometres left the Frenchman is the yellow jersey on the road, and behind, Astana show no interest whatsoever in chasing him down.

4. 450 km to go

   Martin reviews the arrangement

   He has given De Marchi every mountain point of the day out of good manners. On the Markstein, the day's hardest climb, Martin decides the arrangement has run its course and rides away from the Italian without a word.

5. 543 km to go

   Over the Grand Ballon alone

   The chasers, driven by Europcar for Rolland, cannot match his rhythm on the climb, let alone on the long drop that follows. Martin's lead only grows.

6. 6At the line

   A Merckxian move into Mulhouse

   Cancellara drives the chase in the finale exactly as he did when Martin was caught in the Vuelta last year, and this time it is hopeless. Martin rides in alone; behind him Gallopin takes yellow, and will wear it on Bastille Day.

The result