FRENCHMAN ANTHONY TURGIS WINS TOUGH TOUR DE FRANCE STAGE ON GRAVEL ROADS

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, marked by relentless attacks on Sunday.

Behind the breakaway, race leader Tadej Pogacar tried to set the race on fire as the fight between the main contenders raged but could not gain time on his main rivals for the yellow jersey.

Turgis, who rides for the Total Energies team, posted the biggest win of his career in a sprint, edging Tom Pidcock and Derek Gee in the Champagne city of Troyes. It was the third stage win by a French rider since the race started last week.

“It's incredible, it was a long time since I did not win,” said Turgis. “It was a long day, the team put its trust in me by giving me carte blanche today. I dedicate this win to all the people who trusted me.”

There was no major change in the overall standings, with Pogacar keeping his 33-second lead over Remco Evenepoel. Two-time defending champion Jonas Vingegaard remained in third place, 1:15 off the pace.

The tough stage took riders on a nearly 200-kilometre (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 Bianche twice, and proved it with a series of sharp 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.

Vingegaard adopted a conservative strategy and did not collaborate with Pogacar and Evenepoel when they had the possibility to break away from other top contenders.

“For sure I will remember,” Pogacar said. “But everybody have their own race, I have nothing against it. I like to race with the heart and that was one of those days.”

Asked whether he thought Vingegaard and his team were afraid of him, Pogacar replied: “I think they are scared of me and they just follow me.”

Evenepoel was also critical of Vingegaard's strategy.

“It's a bit of a shame that Jonas did not take turns with us, because otherwise the race would have been over.”