Tour de France 2019 Favourites stage 9: Daredevil attackers in downhill finale

Bastille Day invites attackers to go all out. The route rises and falls from start to finish, although the inclinations are never outrageous. Is the early break going to be successful? Possibly. But a late attack is more likely to glorify. (Slideshow route/profile)

On a parcours with incessant uphills and downhills, two climbs stand out. The Mur d’Aurec-sur-Loire would be a fascinating finish with its 3.2 kilometres ramp at 11%, but as this Wall appears with more than 130 kilometres out it won’t have any lasting effect. The Côte de Saint-Just is something else though. The 3.6 kilometres climb at 7.2% is crested 12.5 kilometre before the finish, while the road runs virtually all downhill from the top.

So the likes of Alaphilippe, Sagan, Mohoric and Nibali will tap deep into their resources to be among the first riders over the summit. An extra incentive to crest the Saint-Just in the first positions are time bonuses of 8, 5 and 3 seconds, which could turn out to be a first step to the maillot jaune. After all, another 10 seconds bonus is awarded to the winner of the stage.

After his powerful solo attack on the third day of action, which also netted him the yellow jersey, Alaphilippe is the most likely winner on Bastille Day.

Favourites 9th stage 2019 Tour de France

*** Julian Alaphilippe, Peter Sagan, Matej Mohoric
** Michael Matthews, Vincenzo Nibali, Maximilian Schachmann
* Tim Wellens, Romain Bardet, Michal Kwiatkowski, Greg Van Avermaet

Take a look at the route of the 9th stage on the Tour de France.