Stage 9

The road

At the start

Last sprint before the mountains

Nothing moved in Laval and nothing is expected to move today: Tadej Pogačar leads Remco Evenepoel by 54 seconds and Jonas Vingegaard by 1:17. Châteauroux is where Mark Cavendish won the first of his thirty-five Tour stages, and the fast men get one more day here before the Massif Central. The roads to it are open and exposed, and the wind knows it.

How it was won

1. 124 km to go

   Echelons threaten

   Crosswinds threaten echelons on the exposed roads, but the bunch regroups for an expected mass sprint in Chateauroux, the city of sprints.

2. 2At the line

   Merlier beats Milan

   Tim Merlier eclipses Jonathan Milan right on the line for his second win of the opening week.

The result