TOUR DE FRANCE 2024 | STAGE 9 | TROYES > TROYES
TROYES, France (July 7, 2024) — Stage 9 of the 2024 Tour de France was won by Anthony Turgis (Total Energies) in Troyes on Sunday after a highly challenging afternoon of racing over the ‘chemins blancs’. On a tough stage which included 32km of gravel roads, Turgis rode brilliantly with his breakaway companions, just winning a sprint to the line ahead of Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) and Derek Gee (Israel-Premier Tech). It is a first win for TotalEnergies since 2017, with the previous victory for Jean-René Bernaudeau’s men dating back to 8th July of that year, when Lilian Calmejane won at Station des Rousses. The main GC favourites all finished together again, meaning that Yellow Jersey Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) is still in control overall, with no changes at the head of the general classification on the ninth day of the Tour. Pogačar tried several attacks on Stage 9 but was followed by his rivals, so he goes into Monday’s rest day 33” ahead of Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) and 1’15” in front of Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) in the GC rankings.
Five in the breakaway
173 riders took the start in Troyes at 1.15pm local time knowing that a tough challenge awaited them on a looping 199km route, which would take in 14 sectors of ‘white roads’ extending to 32km of gravel sectors in total, before concluding again in Troyes. After several early attacks Romain Gregoire (Groupama-FDJ), Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost), Jarrad Drizners (Lotto-dstny), Derek Gee (Israel-Premier Tech) and French champion Paul Lapeira (Decathlon-Ag2r La Mondiale) formed a breakaway which had established a 25″ advantage at km 20.
Onto the gravel
That first breakaway was soon caught and a new leading group of ten riders formed before the first gravel sector of Bligny à Bergères (km 47.3 – 2km) was reached. Powless and Gee were in that group, along with Elmar Reinders (Jayco-AlUla), Jasper Stuvyen (Lidl-Trek), Gianni Vermeersch (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Maxim Van Gils (Lotto-dstny), Oier Lazkano, Javier Romo (Movistar Team), Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Qazaqstan) and Anthony Turgis (Total Energies). They built a 45” advantage over the peloton at the end of the first gravel sector.
The breakaway grows
After the Côte de Bergères (Cat 4, km 51,7) Axel Zingle (Cofidis) and Alex Aranburu (Movistar Team) joined the front group, before Powless dropped back to try and help his teammate Ben Healy, along with Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) to make it into the lead group. Powless’ work paid off as he brought Healy and Pidcock into the front group at km 66, just before the second gravel sector of Chemin de Baroville (1.2km). Primož Roglič was dropped on the Baroville gravel sector by a group led by Visma-Lease a Bike, which also included Yellow Jersey Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step). Roglič exited gravel sector 13 behind by 30”, but a powerful response from the Slovenian from Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe brought around 30 riders back to the Pogačar group, which Visma-Lease a Bike continued to lead at the intermediate sprint marker at Fontette (IS, km 83.5). The breakaway had a 1’30” gap over the main group at Fontette, with Total Energies rider Turgis leading the escapees at the intermediate sprint.
Pogačar and Evenepoel marked by Vingegaard
Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) would experience a first moment of stress on the Hautes Forêts gravel sector (km 96.8 – 1.5km), when he suffered a mechanical problem that forced him to change bikes with his teammate Jan Tratnik to avoid being dropped from a group in which UAE Team Emirates set the pace. It would be at the exit of sector 11, Polisy to Celles-sur-Ource (km 105.2 – 3.4km) that Pogačar would launch an attack for the first time, with Evenepoel and Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) responding, to counter his move. At the top of the Côte de Chacenay (Cat. 4, km 121.2), in sector 10 from Loches-sur-Ource to Chacenay (km 118.6 – 4.2km), it was Evenepoel who became the attacker. He was joined by Pogačar – who collaborated – and Vingegaard who refused to do so. The three immediately hunted down the breakaway, which had lost Powless, Lazkano and Vermeersch. However, the three favourites would soon sit up, to be caught by a group in which Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe worked to prevent any further damage for Roglič.
The peloton breathes life into the breakaway
The activity of the top three overall allowed Pidcock, Stuvyen, Healy, Gee and Lutsenko to pull away past the rest of the breakaway and establish a new group at the front. However, Turgis, Romo and Aranburu managed to join up with them again at the head of the race on the arrival to Thieffrain à Magnant (km 140.8 – 3.9km). The complete calm in the peloton allowed the breakaway to gain traction and a group of seven riders counter attacked at km 156. They were Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty), Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ), Rui Costa (EF Education-EasyPost), Jakob Fuglsang (Israel-Premier Tech), Michael Matthews (Jayco-AlUla) and Rasmus Tiller (Uno-X).
Stuyven comes so close
As the race reached Ru de Paradis (km 165.7 – 1.2km), the leading eight had a gap of 1’05” over their seven pursuers and 2’10” over the peloton. On this sector, Pogačar would try another attack that was cancelled out by Visma thanks to Christophe Laporte and Matteo Jorgenson, who were excellent in supporting Vingegaard. The fight for GC gains would ultimately end in a stalemate. In the battle for the stage win the group of Girmay and Van der Poel were unable to join the leaders of the race and Stuyven attacked 11 km from the finish line to open up a gap of ten seconds. His fellow breakaway riders denied him victory by catching him inside the last km, with Turgis finally proving the strongest man at the finish.
Anthony Turgis (Total Energies): “We Came For A Stage Victory And We Got It”
“It’s crazy. I’ve been riding in the Tour de France for years, this is my seventh, with the goal of winning a stage. I had won at all levels of competition but I was missing one in the WorldTour, and now it arrives at the Tour de France, on a legendary stage. We had a very big day of racing. I saw the leading group forming and I didn’t give up against the great champions. I knew Jasper Stuyven was going to attack in the finale. I wanted the others to take me as far as possible. It was a question of who played it the smartest. But it’s super hard to be in the lead in the Tour de France. This victory is great for the team. We came for a stage victory and we got it.”
Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty): “The Start Of The Tour Has Been Wonderful”
“I had fun at the beginning, but after 50 kilometres I was completely empty. I just tried to keep going in order to score some points for the green jersey. I thought it was going to be a battle for GC riders, but in the end I found myself in the mix for the stage win and it was good fun. This first week has been absolutely perfect. The start of this Tour has been wonderful and I have enjoyed it so much. I have been super good both physically and mentally. I feel more confident after winning the third stage.”
Jasper Stuyven (Lidl – Trek): “I Left It All Out There”
“I tried everything and maybe it would have been nice not to have such a headwind for the last few kilometres. I think I left it all out there and I wish I could have pushed a little bit harder for the end, but it is what it is and it was not enough. At the moment it is hard to see the positives. I think from now most of the stages are really sprint stages or mountain stages so today was the very, very good chance and I was close. I think I’ll have to enjoy the rest day tomorrow and maybe take a look to see if there are any more opportunities.”
Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility): “This Week Has Been Amazing For Me”
“It’s the rest day tomorrow so I tried to get in the breakaway. It was a great ride from Rasmus (Tiller) today. We tried and hopefully we can get a victory another day. This week has been amazing for me. I’m so happy to have the climbers jersey from day one and the green jersey and second place on the second stage. It’s so, so big for me. I can’t believe it. Keeping the polka dot jersey?.. It is a hard day on Stage 11 and hopefully I can go in the breakaway there and get some points, but after the 14th stage I think it is not possible anymore, with a lot of first category climbs and that’s not so good for me. But we will see, I will still try to keep it as long as possible and try to find the climbing legs.”
Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) “Whatever Happens, I Adapt To The Situation”
“My day went well. I didn’t suffer that much and I felt good on the gravel. I knew Tadej was going to attack and I managed to stay in contact with him almost the entire time. There was only one time when I was in a bad position and I think my teammates weren’t aggressive enough to get me back to the front of the group, so I was surprised, but it was resolved straight away. It’s a shame that when there were three of us Jonas Vingegaard didn’t want to cooperate to widen the gap. We had the possibility of getting back to the leading group and securing the overall podium, but I respect the tactics of Visma, they chose to play defensively. Whatever happens, I adapt to the situation. I would have accepted before the race to find myself in this position at the rest day. Anything extra will be a bonus, I will now focus on defending this place.”
Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates): “I Think Visma Is Just Focusing On Me”
“It was pretty fun racing. There was lots of sand and dust all over the place, so it was impossible to get a clear picture of the race and you just had to ride on instinct and power. I had great legs, which is great news as this was one of the hardest stages of this Tour de France. I’m really happy with how this start of the Tour has gone for me. I feel very confident, as I am in great shape and have a very good team around me. So far, I have enjoyed this Tour de France a lot. I don’t know what happened in the race when I stopped for a nature break. I only know that it was quiet and then, somehow, I had to chase very hard along with Tim (Wellens) to regain my position in the peloton. From then on, every gravel sector was full of changes – first Visma led, then us, then Remco (Evenepoel) attacked, then me… At some point, Remco, Jonas (Vingegaard) and I went up the road. I think it was a great opportunity for us to put some time on the rest of the GC favourites and secure the podium, but Jonas refused to cooperate. I think Visma is just focusing on me and underestimating the other GC contenders. They just follow me, without thinking of Primož [Roglič] or Remco. Afterwards, it was a shame that there were some headwind towards the finish, as that made it impossible for me to break away in the closing kilometres.”
TOUR DE FRANCE 2024 | STAGE 9 | TROYES > TROYES | DAILY STA
7: A LUCKY NUMBER
On the 7th day of the 7th month of the year that sees him participate for the 7th time in the Tour, Anthony Turgis takes his maiden stage win! There are now 7 French stage winners in the peloton of the Tour 2024: Romain Bardet, Warren Barguil, Arnaud Démare, Christophe Laporte, Nans Peters, Anthony Turgis and Kévin Vauquelin. This is also the first stage win for Team TotalEnergies since Lilian Calmejane won 7 years ago, on 8 July 2017, to celebrate in style their manager Jean-René Bernaudeau’s birthday. This time, the 8th of July is a rest day, so the gift was delivered one day in advance.
3: FRENCHMEN ARE ON A ROLL
After Romain Bardet (stage 1) and Kévin Vauquelin (stage 2), Anthony Turgis delivers a third French victory in this edition, matching the record of Julian Alaphilippe and Thibaut Pinot in 2019. In order to find (at least) three different French stage winners, we need to go back to 2017, with successes for Romain Bardet, Warren Barguil, Lilian Calmejane and Arnaud Démare. As for the last time France claimed three victories in the first 9 days, it happened in 2009, with Thomas Voeckler (stage 5), Brice Feillu (stage 7) and Pierrick Fedrigo (stage 9).
37,0: TURGIS TAMES THE WHITE ROADS
The relentless action of the day saw Anthony Turgis maintain an average of 37.0 km/h over the 32.2 km of white roads (14 sections). With a fierce attack on sector 10, Remco Evenepoel even did 38.9km/h according to the NTT Data trackers. But the battle for the stage win unfolded at the front… As Jasper Stuyven was caught after the “flamme rouge”, Anthony Turgis averaged 52.4km/h in the final kilometre, with a spike at 67.5 to fly past his breakaway rivals.
27-28: MORE AND MORE JERSEYS FOR POGAČAR
Making the most of his Classics skills to tame the white roads, Tadej Pogačar is now up to 28 Maillot Jaune in his career, one more than Jonas Vingegaard, as many as Romain Maes, and one less than Fabian Cancellara. Pogačar has also collected 27 Grand Tour leader jerseys in 2024 (20 Maglia Rosa, 7 Maillot Jaune), the 8th highest figure ever in a single year. He matches the records of Romain Maes (27 Maillot Jaune in the Tour 1935), Freddy Maertens (1977 – 21 jerseys in La Vuelta, 6 in the Giro) and Bernard Hinault (1982 – 12 in the Tour, 15 in the Giro).
93%: 14 WHITE ROADS, 13 STRAVA KOMS BEATEN
With an all-out battle all day long, the likes of Tadej Pogačar, Remco Evenepoel, Tim Wellens, Jan Tratnik, Axel Zingle et al smashed the references set on Strava in 13 of the 14 white roads section of the day – a ratio of 93%. They only came short on sector 7, with Mathieu van der Poel being 1 second slower than the KOM!
1-3: PIDCOCK RETURNS TO THE TOP-3
With a place of 3rd in Troyes, Tom Pidcock finishes for the second time in the top-3 of a Tour de France stage, two years after his victory at L’Alpe d’Huez. On both occasions, he attacked from the bunch to bridge the gap to a breakaway established earlier. But this time, he couldn’t drop his rivals.
26: GEE, CANADA’S YOUTH
At 26 years 11 months and 4 days, Derek Gee is the youngest Canadian with a stage top-3 result in the Tour, beating Steve Bauer (28 years 1 month 14 days, 2nd in Paris, 1987).
He is also the first rider from Canada to finish inside the top-3 since Michael Woods won at the Puy-de-Dôme last year… at 36 years, 8 months and 27 days, which made him at the time the 3rd oldest rider ever to take a maiden stage win!
