France’s Turgis wins tough stage on gravel roads

TROYES, FRANCE — Frenchman Anthony Turgis emerged victorious from a long breakaway through the dust of gravel roads to claim the ninth stage of the Tour de France after a hectic day of racing Sunday. Behind the breakaway, race leader Tadej Pogacar was constantly on the attack but could not gain time on his main rivals for the yellow jersey.

Turgis posted the biggest win of his career in a sprint, edging Tom Pidcock and Derek Gee. There was no major change in the overall standings, with Pogacar keeping his 33-second lead over Remco Evenepoel. Twotime defending champion Jonas Vingegaard remained in third place, 1:15 off the pace.

The tough stage took riders on a nearly 124-mile trek through 14 sections of so-called white roads — including six in the stage finale — that have become a trademark of Italy’s Strade Bianche. Pogacar loves riding on this difficult terrain, having won the Strade Bianch twice, and proved it with relentless attacks that put his rivals on the back foot. Primoz Roglic suffered but managed to bridge gaps every time he got dropped and kept his fourth place overall, 1:36 behind Pogacar.

Today, the peloton will enjoy its first rest day.

The Tour paid tribute to Norwegian rider Andre Drege, who died Saturday after crashing in a downhill at the Tour of Austria. To honor his memory, cyclists from the Norwegian team Uno-X Mobility arrived at the start line five minutes ahead of the start, with the rest staying behind during a moment of applause.

There was a flurry of attacks from the start. A group of 10 riders including Turgis managed to escape before the first sector of gravel and were joined by a handful of counterattackers. Behind, a traffic jam of riders formed at the foot of a very steep segment of white roads, with many competitors forced to dismount and to run up the climb.