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Tour de France Stage 9 Report
July 7, Stage 9: Saint-Girons – Bagnères-de-Bigorre 168.5km
Tour de France: Martin victorious in Bagnères-de-Bigorre
Article Content from www.cyclingnews.com Report By: Barry Ryan Published: July 7
Video Recap from www.cycling.tv
Porte drops out of podium contention as Froome continues in yellow
Dan Martin (Garmin-Sharp) out-sprinted Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) to win stage 9 of the Tour de France at the end of a gripping day in the Pyrenees that saw serious weaknesses exposed in Sky’s armoury for the first time in the race. Although Chris Froome successfully repelled a concerted Movistar offensive to defend his yellow jersey, he did so in isolation as Richie Porte slid dramatically out of the overall picture by conceding over 18 minutes.
Martin’s Garmin-Sharp squad had vowed to create chaos before the Tour began and they were as good as their word a day after many had feared the race already over as a contest. They set the tone for the stage by launching a volley of attacks on the first climb, the Col de Portet d’Aspet, which scattered the Sky team to the four winds and left Froome with just Porte for company with 140 kilometres still to race.
Worse was to follow for Froome on the second climb, the Col de Menté, where Porte was dropped after he had helped themaillot jaune try and restore some semblance of order to the early anarchy. Froome himself tracked a cheeky attack from Alejandro Valverde on the way down the Menté, showing none of the jitters that did for Luis Ocaña in 1973, but when the dust settled in the valley before the Peyresourde, he was the only Sky rider in a 30-strong yellow jersey group that was now under the control of Movistar.
“It was one of the hardest days I’ve ever had on a bike but I’m happy to still be in the yellow jersey,” Froome said afterwards. “Credit is due to the Movistar team who really did a good race and put me under pressure. It was hard to be alone there.”
Movistar’s pace-making ensured that Porte’s flickering revival – he chased at two minutes for more than 50 kilometres – was ultimately snuffed out, and after setting tempo over the Peyresourde and the Col de Val Louron, the scene was set for a twin offensive from Valverde and Nairo Quintana on the final climb, the Hourquette d’Ancizan.
The anticipated Movistar pincer movement never materialised, however, for while the white jersey Quintana launched no fewer than four fierce accelerations on the col, a seemingly untroubled Froome responded smoothly each time, dragging the rest of the overall contenders across with him, including Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff) and Bauke Mollema (Belkin), while Valverde didn’t dare risk an attack of his own.
Indeed, for all his team’s numerical supremacy in the front group, Valverde ultimately failed to make any inroads into the numbers that truly count – while the Spaniard moved up to second overall, he remains 1:25 behind Froome’s yellow jersey. The Belkin duo of Mollema and Ten Dam lie third and fourth, at 1:44 and 1:50 respectively, while Contador stays 1:51 back in sixth place.
The day’s tactical master class was instead delivered by Dan Martin, who cleverly jumped away immediately after Quintana’s first acceleration a little over four kilometres from the summit. When Fuglsang bridged across shortly afterwards, Martin had a willing accomplice and the pair opened up a 50-second lead over the yellow jersey group by the top of the climb.
Martin and Fuglsang collaborated smoothly on the 30-kilometre drop to Bagnères-de-Bigorre and it soon became apparent that they would fight out the stage honours between them. The Irishman successfully marshalled Fuglsang to the front underneath the red kite, refused to bite too soon in the game of cat and mouse that ensued, and then swooped to lead into the final left-hand bend and comfortably take the sprint for stage victory.
“I knew the last 30 kilometres quite well,” said Martin, whose first major professional success came at the Route du Sud five years ago. “I was lucky Jakob came with me because I don’t think one guy would have survived out there alone. But it was a great team effort all day, the guys went on the attack from the start and I had to finish it off in the end.”
Martin closed a twenty-one year gap to become the fifth Irishman to win a stage of the Tour de France and his triumph comes fifty years after the late Shay Elliott took a pioneering stage victory in Roubaix in 1963. Monday morning’s headlines will doubtless make copious reference to his uncle, Stephen Roche, but in truth, Martin should be applauded on his own merits. A consistent peformer on the international stage right back to his amateur days at VC La Pomme, the 26-year-old has come into his own this year as the winner of the Volta a Catalunya and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
“I was quite confident that I would be quicker than Jakob in the sprint and I think that confidence has come from the wins earlier this year,” Martin said.
Garmin chaos causes Porte problems
While it might be facetious to say that there was more drama in Sunday’s stage than in the entirety of last year’s Tour, there was certainly a commitment to attacking the yellow jersey that was wholly absent twelve months ago. Garmin-Sharp’s tactics were clear from the outset, with David Millar, Tom Danielson, Ryder Hesjedal and Martin all hurling themselves on the offensive on the first climb of the Portet d’Aspet, where Arnaud Jeannesson (FDJ) led over the summit.
Danielson continued his effort on the Col de Menté (44km), where he led Hesjedal, Yuri Trofimov (Katusha) and Igor Anton (Euskaltel-Euskadi) over the top while the composition of the yellow jersey group ebbed and flowed 25 seconds down the road. When the dust settled ahead of the Peyresourde, however, early strugglers such as Andy Schleck (RadioShack-Leopard) and Cadel Evans (BMC) had ridden themselves back into the action, with only Porte left floundering in the no-man’s land behind.
Initially, Porte had some teammates to help in the pursuit, but by the Peyresourde, he was left with only Peter Kennaugh – himself an early crash victim – for company, while the remnants of the Sky team were scattered across the mountainside. Indeed, Vasil Kiryienka’s collapse was such that he would ultimately finish outside the time limit. Twenty-four hours after Sky’s manhandling of the first Pyrenean stage, it was a curious turnaround in fortunes for the British team.
“My teammates worked hard yesterday to get me into the yellow jersey and they paid a bit for that,” Froome said “We didn’t have a great start to the day either because of Pete Kennaugh’s fall, and of course the race was going too quickly at that point for him to come back.”
Up ahead, meanwhile, Pierre Rolland (Europcar) had danced clear with Thomas De Gendt (Vacansoleil-DCM), Hesjedal, Bart De Clerq (Lotto Belisol) and Romain Bardet (Ag2r-La Mondiale), although they were caught and passed by a determined Simon Clarke (Orica-GreenEdge) on the way down. The Australian would lead over the Col de Val Louron-Azet but Movistar’s brisk tempo behind meant that the escapees were never out of sight and they were swept up on the lower slopes of La Hourquette d’Ancizan.
Ruben Plaza and Rui Costa beat the drum for Movistar on the lower slopes of the climb as Kennaugh and Porte had done for Sky the previous day, while Froome sat attentively in fourth wheel between Valverde and Quintana, with Contador, Mollema, Schleck et al happy to keep a watching brief. And Quintana’s probing notwithstanding, that’s how it remained into Bagnères-de-Bigorres, as the main overall contenders came home together 20 seconds down on Martin.
Valverde, Contador et al will be frustrated, of course, that they failed to peg back time on such an isolated Froome, but they will also be encouraged by the day’s events. The air of invincibility surrounding Froome’s Sky team has been dispelled and that is a thought that will revive many spirits in the peloton as the Tour heads into its first rest day.
| Result | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling | 36:59:18 | |
| 2 | Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team | 0:01:25 | |
| 3 | Bauke Mollema (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | 0:01:44 | |
| 4 | Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | 0:01:50 | |
| 5 | Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | 0:01:51 | |
| 6 | Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | ||
| 7 | Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Col) Movistar Team | 0:02:02 | |
| 8 | Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin-Sharp | 0:02:28 | |
| 9 | Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha | 0:02:31 | |
| 10 | Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Movistar Team | 0:02:45 | |
| 11 | Mikel Nieve Ituralde (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | 0:02:55 | |
| 12 | Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team | 0:03:07 | |
| 13 | Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 0:03:25 | |
| 14 | Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:03:29 | |
| 15 | Andy Schleck (Lux) RadioShack Leopard | 0:04:00 | |
| 16 | Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team | 0:04:36 | |
| 17 | Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Katusha | ||
| 18 | Michael Rogers (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | 0:06:14 | |
| 19 | Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | 0:06:40 | |
| 20 | Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:07:09 | |
| 21 | Maxime Monfort (Bel) RadioShack Leopard | 0:07:55 | |
| 22 | Andrew Talansky (USA) Garmin-Sharp | 0:09:35 | |
| 23 | Wouter Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | 0:09:45 | |
| 24 | Jose Rodolfo Serpa Perez (Col) Lampre-Merida | 0:09:54 | |
| 25 | Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:10:30 | |
| 26 | Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar | 0:12:34 | |
| 27 | Davide Malacarne (Ita) Team Europcar | 0:14:27 | |
| 28 | Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 0:14:35 | |
| 29 | Jan Bakelants (Bel) RadioShack Leopard | 0:15:52 | |
| 30 | John Gadret (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:16:27 | |
| 31 | Steve Morabito (Swi) BMC Racing Team | 0:16:46 | |
| 32 | Robert Gesink (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | 0:16:55 | |
| 33 | Richie Porte (Aus) Sky Procycling | 0:18:30 | |
| 34 | Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Katusha | 0:19:58 | |
| 35 | Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) Lampre-Merida | 0:20:37 | |
| 36 | Maxime Mederel (Fra) Sojasun | 0:20:57 | |
| 37 | Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | 0:21:11 | |
| 38 | Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Merida | 0:22:30 | |
| 39 | Ruben Plaza Molina (Spa) Movistar Team | 0:24:22 | |
| 40 | Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) RadioShack Leopard | 0:25:53 | |
| 41 | Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Sharp | 0:26:08 | |
| 42 | Andrey Amador Bakkazakova (CRc) Movistar Team | 0:28:55 | |
| 43 | Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica-GreenEdge | 0:30:05 | |
| 44 | Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | 0:30:10 | |
| 45 | Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack Leopard | 0:30:18 | |
| 46 | Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:30:29 | |
| 47 | Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ.fr | 0:31:31 | |
| 48 | Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) FDJ.fr | 0:31:34 | |
| 49 | Cyril Gautier (Fra) Team Europcar | 0:31:41 | |
| 50 | Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) Sojasun | 0:34:27 | |
| 51 | Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team | 0:35:01 | |
| 52 | Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | 0:35:04 | |
| 53 | Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 0:35:20 | |
| 54 | Bram Tankink (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | 0:37:00 | |
| 55 | Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ.fr | 0:39:49 | |
| 56 | Thomas Danielson (USA) Garmin-Sharp | 0:40:24 | |
| 57 | Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team | 0:41:00 | |
| 58 | Laurent Didier (Lux) RadioShack Leopard | 0:41:02 | |
| 59 | Tony Gallopin (Fra) RadioShack Leopard | 0:43:21 | |
| 60 | Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano | 0:44:39 | |
| 61 | Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:45:00 | |
| 62 | Jon Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | 0:45:03 | |
| 63 | Jens Voigt (Ger) RadioShack Leopard | 0:45:19 | |
| 64 | Yury Trofimov (Rus) Katusha | 0:45:22 | |
| 65 | Jesus Hernandez Blazquez (Spa) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | 0:45:49 | |
| 66 | Manuele Mori (Ita) Lampre-Merida | 0:45:52 | |
| 67 | Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | 0:47:38 | |
| 68 | Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Astana Pro Team | 0:48:42 | |
| 69 | Julien El Fares (Fra) Sojasun | 0:49:24 | |
| 70 | Peter Kennaugh (GBr) Sky Procycling | ||
| 71 | Alexandre Geniez (Fra) FDJ.fr | 0:49:55 | |
| 72 | Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:50:40 | |
| 73 | Michael Albasini (Swi) Orica-GreenEdge | 0:51:22 | |
| 74 | Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team | 0:51:48 | |
| 75 | Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | 0:51:50 | |
| 76 | Peter Sagan (Svk) Cannondale Pro Cycling | 0:52:01 | |
| 77 | Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Astana Pro Team | 0:52:29 | |
| 78 | Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 0:52:58 | |
| 79 | Bart De Clercq (Bel) Lotto Belisol | 0:53:14 | |
| 80 | Simon Clarke (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | 0:53:22 | |
| 81 | Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling | 0:54:02 | |
| 82 | Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) FDJ.fr | 0:54:06 | |
| 83 | Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling | 0:54:57 | |
| 84 | Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Team Europcar | 0:55:14 | |
| 85 | Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team | 0:55:29 | |
| 86 | Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | 0:58:42 | |
| 87 | Alberto Losada Alguacil (Spa) Katusha | 0:58:56 | |
| 88 | Kristijan Koren (Slo) Cannondale Pro Cycling | 1:00:13 | |
| 89 | Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano | 1:01:09 | |
| 90 | Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Spa) Movistar Team | 1:01:54 | |
| 91 | Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | 1:02:07 | |
| 92 | Daniele Bennati (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | 1:02:29 | |
| 93 | Juan Jose Oroz Ugalde (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | 1:03:19 | |
| 94 | Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar | 1:03:53 | |
| 95 | Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team | 1:04:55 | |
| 96 | Rudy Molard (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 1:06:01 | |
| 97 | David Millar (GBr) Garmin-Sharp | 1:06:11 | |
| 98 | Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol | 1:06:32 | |
| 99 | Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 1:07:29 | |
| 100 | Julien Simon (Fra) Sojasun | 1:09:54 | |
| 101 | Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team | 1:09:56 | |
| 102 | Brice Feillu (Fra) Sojasun | 1:10:00 | |
| 103 | Moreno Moser (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling | 1:10:38 | |
| 104 | Gorka Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | 1:11:26 | |
| 105 | Elia Favilli (Ita) Lampre-Merida | 1:11:52 | |
| 106 | Jerome Coppel (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 1:12:40 | |
| 107 | Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Movistar Team | 1:13:33 | |
| 108 | Pavel Brutt (Rus) Katusha | 1:13:44 | |
| 109 | Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Sky Procycling | 1:14:11 | |
| 110 | Alan Marangoni (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling | 1:14:20 | |
| 111 | Jean-Marc Marino (Fra) Sojasun | 1:15:16 | |
| 112 | Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Katusha | 1:15:46 | |
| 113 | Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Sojasun | 1:16:45 | |
| 114 | Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa) RadioShack Leopard | 1:17:52 | |
| 115 | John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano | 1:17:58 | |
| 116 | Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling | 1:18:06 | |
| 117 | Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Cannondale Pro Cycling | 1:18:56 | |
| 118 | Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Team Saxo-Tinkoff | 1:18:58 | |
| 119 | Tony Martin (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 1:20:29 | |
| 120 | Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | 1:21:17 | |
| 121 | Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre-Merida | 1:22:31 | |
| 122 | Luis Angel Mate Mardones (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 1:23:46 | |
| 123 | Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ.fr | 1:23:52 | |
| 124 | Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Belisol | 1:24:23 | |
| 125 | Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Garmin-Sharp | 1:24:32 | |
| 126 | Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | 1:25:16 | |
| 127 | Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Sojasun | 1:26:21 | |
| 128 | Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Sojasun | 1:26:28 | |
| 129 | Maarten Wynants (Bel) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | 1:26:57 | |
| 130 | David Lopez Garcia (Spa) Sky Procycling | 1:27:08 | |
| 131 | Blel Kadri (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 1:28:05 | |
| 132 | David Veilleux (Can) Team Europcar | 1:29:26 | |
| 133 | Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano | 1:30:18 | |
| 134 | Lars Boom (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | 1:30:35 | |
| 135 | Imanol Erviti Ollo (Spa) Movistar Team | 1:30:37 | |
| 136 | Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | 1:31:58 | |
| 137 | Murilo Antonio Fischer (Bra) FDJ.fr | 1:32:49 | |
| 138 | Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 1:33:10 | |
| 139 | André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol | 1:34:22 | |
| 140 | Romain Sicard (Fra) Euskaltel-Euskadi | ||
| 141 | Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha | 1:36:15 | |
| 142 | Boy van Poppel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | 1:36:31 | |
| 143 | Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano | 1:36:41 | |
| 144 | Gert Steegmans (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 1:37:04 | |
| 145 | Kévin Reza (Fra) Team Europcar | 1:37:05 | |
| 146 | Matteo Trentin (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 1:37:23 | |
| 147 | Egoitz Garcia Echeguibel (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits | 1:37:44 | |
| 148 | Mark Cavendish (GBr) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 1:38:50 | |
| 149 | Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | 1:39:05 | |
| 150 | Greg Henderson (NZl) Lotto Belisol | 1:39:30 | |
| 151 | Roberto Ferrari (Ita) Lampre-Merida | 1:39:37 | |
| 152 | Danny van Poppel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | 1:40:05 | |
| 153 | Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Belisol | ||
| 154 | Brian Vandborg (Den) Cannondale Pro Cycling | 1:40:10 | |
| 155 | Juan Jose Lobato Del Valle (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | 1:40:14 | |
| 156 | Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Katusha | 1:42:38 | |
| 157 | Niki Terpstra (Ned) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 1:42:44 | |
| 158 | Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 1:42:48 | |
| 159 | Thomas Leezer (Ned) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | 1:43:10 | |
| 160 | Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Belkin Pro Cycling Team | 1:43:16 | |
| 161 | Sébastien Minard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 1:43:24 | |
| 162 | Brett Lancaster (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | 1:45:53 | |
| 163 | Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Belisol | 1:46:54 | |
| 164 | Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | 1:47:00 | |
| 165 | Cameron Meyer (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | 1:47:16 | |
| 166 | Ian Stannard (GBr) Sky Procycling | 1:48:16 | |
| 167 | Jack Bauer (NZl) Garmin-Sharp | 1:48:19 | |
| 168 | William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ.fr | 1:48:32 | |
| 169 | Albert Timmer (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano | 1:48:36 | |
| 170 | Frederik Willems (Bel) Lotto Belisol | 1:49:35 | |
| 171 | Marcel Kittel (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano | 1:49:36 | |
| 172 | Stuart O’Grady (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge | 1:50:23 | |
| 173 | Svein Tuft (Can) Orica-GreenEdge | 1:51:25 | |
| 174 | Geraint Thomas (GBr) Sky Procycling | 1:51:26 | |
| 175 | Yohann Gene (Fra) Team Europcar | 1:51:28 | |
| 176 | Koen De Kort (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano | 1:51:30 | |
| 177 | Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | 1:52:06 | |
| 178 | Jerome Cousin (Fra) Team Europcar | 1:54:08 | |
| 179 | Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | 1:54:48 | |
| 180 | Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | 1:54:49 | |
| 181 | Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | 1:57:41 | |
| 182 | Tom Veelers (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano | 1:58:18 |
