photo credits @Le Tour
Today’s stage 9 of the Tour de France was covered at a furious 50.0 km/h, with Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and the peloton battling through the wind that eventually saw Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) sprint to victory in Châteauroux.
After spending the whole stage at the front, the Dutch attacker was caught inside the last kilometer, with the Belgian sprinter ultimately getting the better of Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) and Arnaud De Lie (Lotto) on the line. With Merlier’s win in Dunkirk and Remco Evenepoel’s in Caen, this is Soudal Quick-Step’s third success in the Tour.
Earlier, Alpecin-Deceuninck’s Jonas Rickaert attacked as soon as the flag dropped, who was quickly joined by Van der Poel, with the Dutch rider claiming 20 points at the intermediate sprint.
Meanwhile, the peloton trailed 3’45’’, only to see the gap swell to 5’35’’ at Châtellerault.
However, Visma-Lease a Bike put the hammer down with 33 kilometers to go, eventually bringing the gap down to 55’’ with 20 kilometers to go. But, a lull in the peloton allowed the gap to stretch back out to 1’20’’ during the last 15 kilometers.
Rickaert decided to throw in the towel with 6 kilometers remaining, while Van der Poel clung to a 30 second advantage.
Yet, the Dutchman was ultimately caught inside the last kilometer, with Milan setting a fierce pace. But, the Italian rider was overhauled by Merlier in a final drag race to the line by half a bike length.
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