Stage 9

The road

At the start

Three hors catégorie climbs to Chambéry

Lilian Calmejane held off cramp and Robert Gesink at Station des Rousses; Froome still leads Thomas by twelve seconds and Aru by fourteen. Today is the hardest stage of this Tour: a category-two climb straight out of Nantua with no descent on it, then the Col de la Biche, the Grand Colombier and the Mont du Chat, all hors catégorie and all averaging nine per cent. The last descent is as technical as any in the race.

How it was won

1. 1114 km to go

   Into the high mountains

   The Col de la Biche, the first of three brutal climbs, begins stripping the race apart in the Jura.

2. 290 km to go

   Over the Grand Colombier

   The break crests the mighty Grand Colombier as Sky keep the GC group tightly controlled behind.

3. 326 km to go

   Chaos on the Mont du Chat

   On the savage 10% slopes of the Mont du Chat, Aru attacks at the very moment Froome suffers a mechanical. Attack answers attack — Porte, Quintana, Martin all probing — while Barguil rides clear alone over the top.

4. 417 km to go

   Porte’s terrifying crash

   The treacherous descent bites: Richie Porte slides off, flies across the road and slams headfirst into the mountainside, taking Dan Martin down with him. He is stretchered away by ambulance.

5. 512 km to go

   Bardet bridges to Barguil

   Romain Bardet leaps clear of the chase and hauls himself up to the exhausted Barguil with 12km to go, briefly looking like the stage winner.

6. 6At the line

   Urán steals it by a whisker

   Caught in the final 2km, the move regroups and Rigoberto Urán pips Barguil on the line in a photo finish, with Froome third — a jury verdict decides the closest of stage wins.

The result