Roglic leads Tour after mountain trek

LARUNS, France – Primoz Roglic finally seized the race leader’s yellow jersey after another hectic day of Tour de France racing in the mountains as debutant Marc Hirschi of Switzerland delivered an impressive 90-kilometer solo effort across four Pyrenean climbs.

Roglic, the Slovenian favorite this year alongside defending champion Egan Bernal, displayed his strong climbing credentials in the final ascent Sunday to dethrone overnight leader Adam Yates.

Jumbo-visma leader Roglic has been flawless so far and able to respond to every attack with ease over the first weekend in high mountains. It’s a performance that earned him the first yellow jersey of his career after nine days of racing.

“Everyone is dreaming about wearing it, I’m super happy,” said Spanish Vuelta champion Roglic, a former ski jumper. “But the mission is to try to win the race in Paris, we need to maintain our focus. It’s just the beginning.”

Hirschi, a former under-23 road race world champion, got away away from the peloton in the first major ascent of the 153-kilometer (95-mile) trek then resisted the favorites’ chase until he was caught with only 2 kilometers left. He launched a sprint to the finish line but was not fast enough as Tadej Pogacar prevailed to win Stage 9 ahead of fellow Slovenian Roglic. Hirschi finished third in the town of Laruns.

“It’s really crazy, after that hard day to win the stage,” said Pogacar, who put his hands on his helmet after winning his first Tour stage at just 21. “Actually I wanted to gain as much time as I could in the general classification, but in the last 100 meters I thought of the 10 seconds awarded to the winner. I focused on the sprint, I just went full gas.”

A Tour debutant, Pogacar is lagging 44 seconds behind Roglic in seventh place.

Ahead of Monday’s first rest day, Roglic leads Bernal by 21 seconds thanks to the bonus time he amassed at the top of the mountain and on the finish line. Frenchman Guillaume Martin is third, 28 seconds off the pace. Bernal finished the stage in the same time as Pogacar.

“I know that I have lost time to Roglic but I should be patient,” Bernal said.

BENOIT TESSIER/POOL VIA AP Slovenia’s Primoz Roglic celebrates Sunday after completing the ninth stage of the Tour de France with finish in Laruns, France.