Sunday's 9th stage of the Tour de France 2021 was won by Australian Ben O'Connor from the AG2R team. Peter Sagan came in the back today.

today 17:37
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Australian cyclist Ben O’Connor became the winner of the 9th mountain stage of the Tour de France. A member of the AG2R Citroën team triumphed on the 145 km long track from Cluses to the Tignes ski resort with a lead of 5:08 minutes over the Italian Mattio Cattanane.

You could watch the course of the 9th stage of the Tour de France 2021 ONLINE also on ŠPORT.sk >>

Cattane’s compatriot Sonny Colbrelli finished third. Slovenian Tadej Pogačar kept the yellow jersey for the leader of the overall standings. Slovak rider Peter Sagan did not fight for the front rungs. He arrived at the finish line with a loss of more than 31 minutes behind O’Connor and fit into the time limit. In the scoring competition for the green jersey, he is eighth with 72 points.

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On the route of the 9th stage, the competitors had to cross more than four thousand meters of altitude and complete a challenging 21 km long finish climb. There was no shortage of leaks from the very beginning. Harry Sweeny and Davide Ballerini were the first to try, but before the first Côte de Domancy mountain bonus, their peloton engulfed them. One hundred and sixteen kilometers before the finish line, a 43-member group was formed at the head, which included Guillaume Martin, Julian Alaphilippe, Nairo Quintana and Jakob Fuglsang.

Just before the first speed bonus, the leading group split into two parts. Alaphilippe, Colbrelli, Michael Matthews, Dylan Teuns, Stefan Küng and Christopher Juul-Jensen stayed ahead. Colbrelli was the first to arrive at Praz-Sur-Arly, scoring 20 points, and Matthews was second.

Immediately after the bonus, the leading six returned to a large group, which developed a lead of more than three minutes. Seven kilometers before the summit of the Col des Saisies, Wout Poels attacked. He scored ten points when he defeated Quintana by a few centimeters and consolidated his position as the leader of the mountaineering competition. The Colombian then continued his solo ride, but it did not last long.

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Quintana was overtaken by five Poels, Michael Woods, Ben O’Connor, Sergio Higuita, Lucas Hamilton. The leading group began to climb the Col du Pre – the first premium of the special category of the so – called. hors. 1.5 km before the prize, Quintana stepped up the pace, losing 20 points and overtaking Poelsa at the top of the mountaineering competition.

O’Connor virtually dressed in a yellow jersey. Pogačar rode in the main peloton with a loss of more than eight minutes. Quintana also won a bonus to Cormet de Roselend over his compatriots Higuit and O’Connor, the leading trio was almost two minutes ahead of the lone Woods.

Higuita managed the long descent from Cormet de Roselend on the wet road best. O’Connor began to lose, but gradually caught up with the Colombians. Before the final climb to the Montee de Tignes, Quintana got into a crisis and dropped out of the fight for the stage championship. Seventeen kilometers before the finish, O’Connor moved to the decisive blockbuster, disengaged from Higuit and came for the first stage laurel on the Tour. In the overall standings, he moved to second place by 2:01 min for Pogachar, who was sixth on Sunday.

“It’s a big step in my career, my dream has come true. I’ve proved to myself that I have it. I would like to thank the members of my team and everyone who kept their fingers crossed for me in Girona and Australia. It was a crazy stage in a challenging Before the start, I didn’t think it would work out today.

Before the final climb, I was worried that the Colombians would miss me, but I was still able to go at a high pace and disengage from them. Great emotions were breaking through me on the finish line. Winning a stage on the Tour is a big deal. “ he confessed in the first interview to O’Connor, who celebrated his second triumph at the GrandTour. Last year, he won a stage at the Giro d´Italia with a goal at the Madonna di Campiglio ski resort.

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Before the 9th stage, Slovenian Primož Roglič and the Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel resigned from the race. Roglič was eliminated from injuries after two falls, which he suffered in the first three stages. Although examinations did not reveal fractures, he suffered numerous bruises and scratches, especially on the left side. Roglič was one of the favorites at the event after last year’s second place. However, after heavy falls, there has been speculation as to whether he will be able to complete the race at all.

Van der Poel was third in the points competition before the 9th stage and spent six days in a yellow jersey for the race leader, but before the following mountain stages he preferred to prepare for the Olympic Games. According to the AFP agency, he wants to give priority to his favorite mountain biking in Tokyo.