Froome sees off rivals to retain lead as Dumoulin climbs to stage win

Defending champion Chris Froome held on to the yellow jersey and eliminated several of his main rivals in the toughest stage in the Pyrenees of the Tour de France yesterday.

Dutch rider Tom Dumoulin won the ninth stage with a solo breakaway in a hailstorm on the uphill finish. Part of an early breakaway, Dumoulin attacked with 12 kilometres remaining in the 184.5km (115-mile) leg from Vielha d’aran, Spain, to Arcalis in the principality of Andorra.

Two-time champion Alberto Contador pulled out with a fever midway through the stage.

Among those who couldn’t keep up with Team Sky’s Froome on the final climb were French favourite Romain Bardet, top American hope Tejay van Garderen and Fabio Aru of Italy.

Froome crossed the line in 11th place, 6:35 behind Dumoulin, right behind fellow British rider Adam Yates and immediately ahead of leading rival Nairo Quintana of Colombia.

In the overall classification, Froome holds a 16-second lead over Yates, with Dan Martin of Ireland third, 19 seconds behind, and Quintana fourth, 23 seconds back.

The ninth leg featured five demanding climbs, including the finish in Arcalis. Stage winner Dumoulin again demonstrated his versatility. He won the opening time trial in this year’s Giro d’italia and wore the overall leader’s pink jersey for six stages before withdrawing midway through the race with saddle sores. He also won two stages in last year’s Spanish Vuelta.

Rui Costa, the former world champion from Portugal, crossed second and Rafal Majka of Poland was third, each 38 seconds behind. For the second consecutive day, there was an incident involving a spectator. George Bennett of New Zealand knocked down a fan blocking his way while coming around a tight turn.

Today is the race’s first rest day. Then there is one more stage in the Pyrenees tomorrow, a 197-km (122-mile) leg from Escaldes-engordany, Andorra, to Revel in France.