The 2024 Tour de France’s ninth stage delivered a thrilling climax in Ussel, France on Sunday, as Dutch cycling star Mathieu van der Poel executed a perfectly timed late attack to secure victory in a reduced sprint, while defending champion Tadej Pogacar successfully defended his overall race lead and retained the iconic yellow jersey.
Originally planned as a 184.6-kilometer journey across central France’s hilly terrain from Malemort to Ussel, the stage was cut short by roughly 30 kilometers after organizers opted for a revision amid a red extreme heat alert issued by French meteorological services. The revised 154.6-kilometer undulating route played to the strengths of versatile all-around riders known in cycling circles as *baroudeurs*—hard-riding competitors capable of thriving across varied terrain.
An early breakaway of five riders, including two-time world road race champion Julian Alaphilippe, was reeled in by the peloton early on. With 80 kilometers remaining in the stage, a new 8-rider breakaway group formed, featuring fan favorites van der Poel, two-time Olympic mountain bike champion Tom Pidcock of Great Britain, and Italian star Filippo Ganna. Though none of the breakaway riders threatened the overall standings of top general classification contenders, defending champion Pogacar positioned himself near the front of the chasing pack to protect his lead, drawing on his well-known reputation for aggressive attacks from any point on the course.
Van der Poel made his decisive move with 25 kilometers left to race, whittling the leading breakaway group down to just four riders as rivals including Ganna were dropped. Entering the final sprint, the Dutch champion unleashed his acceleration with only 200 meters between him and the finish line, powering past Norway’s Tobias Johannessen and Britain’s Tom Pidcock to cross the line with arms outstretched in celebration. All three top finishers clocked the same official time of 3 hours 27 minutes and 51 seconds.
The victory marks van der Poel’s third career Tour de France stage win, adding another accolade to a already legendary resume that includes multiple Cyclo-cross world championships, multiple one-day classic victories, and a former world road race title. Cycling is a multigenerational legacy for the 31-year-old: his maternal grandfather was beloved French cycling icon Raymond Poulidor, who competed in the Tour de France through the 1960s and 1970s, finishing second overall three times and third five times to earn the nickname “The Eternal Runner-up” and a permanent place in French cycling fans’ hearts. Poulidor died in 2019, and when asked if he thought of his grandfather during Sunday’s stage, van der Poel told French television: “Always. Every day on the Tour is special.”
Speaking after the finish, van der Poel acknowledged the extreme heat that has marked the opening week of the race had taken a major toll on his fitness. “It was a really hard stage after a hard week for the team. The heat takes away a lot of energy and I had the feeling that I wasn’t recovering properly in the first few days. Today was the first stage when I felt I had the legs (to win),” he explained.
Pogacar, a four-time Tour champion, crossed the finish line six seconds behind van der Poel in a front chasing group that also included his primary general classification rival, two-time champion Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark. The result left Pogacar’s overall lead unchanged: he holds a 2 minute 42 second advantage over Vingegaard going into the first rest day, with his teammate Isaac del Toro sitting 3 minutes 27 seconds back in third place overall.
Monday marks the first of two scheduled rest days for the 21-day race. Competition will resume on Tuesday with the challenging mountain stage 10, and the 2024 Tour will conclude with its traditional ceremonial finish on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on July 26.