Tour de France: Evenepoel overcomes major test

Our rider kept his place on the overall podium after a remarkable ride.

Stage 9 was one of the most crucial of this edition, comprising fourteen dirt road sectors for a total of 32 kilometers of gravel that spiced up the race and widened the gaps between the general classification contenders just ahead of the first rest day. Held in the Champagne wine region, and starting and finishing in Troyes – the city which made its first appearance at the race 85 years ago – the stage was full gas from the opening kilometer, when half a dozen teams tried to book a place in the breakaway.

The kind if day where you can’t win the Tour but you can definitely lose it, this 199km stage turned into pure chaos as soon as the peloton hit the first gravel sector. Soudal Quick-Step made sure Remco Evenepoel was in an ideal position every time, thanks to an incredible effort of Yves Lampaert and Gianni Moscon, the latter guiding his leader and keeping him at the front as the bunch split, leaving only 50-odd riders in the main group.

With each kilometer and each gravel roads segment that passed, Evenepoel felt better and better, and with an incredible 77 kilometers to go, as the unsurfaced road went up, he took off putting 15 seconds into the chasers from just a couple of pedals. Joined by the yellow jersey and the defending champion, the 24-year-old Belgian kept pushing through the dust, taking their buffer to almost half a minute.

The move had potential, but the lack of collaboration ended any hope of it going all the way, allowing the chasing group to bridge across. Remco had the incredible Mikel Landa for company – the Basque producing a fantastic effort on this challenging stage – and remained prominent and in the thick of the action as more attempts to split the peloton came on the many white roads stacked in the last 50 kilometers.

More to follow…