Tour de France 2026: Van der Poel wins epic battle, Pogacar still in yellow

fotobureau Cor VosAfter a fiercely contested stage, Mathieu van der Poel, Tom Pidcock, Tobias Halland Johannessen and Alex Baudin battle it out for the stage victory. The Dutchman comes out on top, while Tadej Pogacar retains the overall lead. (Slideshow route/profile)

Stage 9 Results – 2026 Tour de France

1. Mathieu van der Poel (nld) 3:27:51
2. Tobias Halland Johannessen (nor) s.t.
3. Tom Pidcock (gbr) s.t.
4. Alex Baudin (fra) s.t.
5. Filippo Ganna (ita) + 0:06
6. Mads Pedersen (den) s.t.
7. Michael Matthews (aus) s.t.
8. Nicolas Breuillard (fra) s.t.
9. Jordan Jegat (fra) s.t.
10. Sean Quinn (N+VS) s.t.

GC after stage 9

1. Tadej Pogacar (slo)
2. Jonas Vingegaard (den) + 2:42
3. Isaac del Toro (Mex) + 3:27
4. Remco Evenepoel (bel) + 3:30
5. Juan Ayuso (spa) + 3:34
6. Paul Seixas (fra) + 3:55
7. Florian Lipowitz (ger) + 4:00
8. Lenny Martinez (fra) + 4:21
9. Mattias Skjelmose (den) + 4:57
10. Egan Bernal (col) + 9:12

Race report
Quinten Hermans sets off early with Stefano Oldani and Alex Kirsch following his move, while Georg Steinhauser and Ewen Costiou Ewen Costiou later bridges across to the group, but they are reeled in well before the intermediate sprint.

Mads Pedersen wins the intermediate sprint ahead of Biniam Girmay, after which Mathieu van der Poel launches an attack but fails to get away. More attempts to establish a breakaway come to nothing.

The attacks continue to fly before, with just under 100 kilometres remaining, a breakaway forms featuring Mathieu van der Poel, Tom Pidcock, Lennert Van Eetvelt, Marc Hirschi, Tobias Halland Johannessen, Tobias Foss, Derek Gee, Quinn Simmons, Alex Baudin, Valentin Paret-Peintre, Pablo Castrillo, Lars Craps, Ion Izagirre, Ewen Costiou, Jordan Jegat and Clément Braz Afonso.

Johannessen and Simmons go clear from the breakaway, taking a 30-second advantage into the ascent of the Suc au May. Pidcock sets off in pursuit with Gee-West and Van Eetvelt in tow. Van der Poel, Castrillo and Baudin later bridge across to them, and the six chasers reel in the two attackers in the final kilometre of the climb.

The lead group crests 1 minute and 20 seconds ahead of the peloton. The bunch keeps up the pressure and mops up the riders stranded between the two groups. On the Côte de la Croix de Pey, the gap falls below 1 minute. Over the next few dozen kilometres, the gap continues to hover around the 1e-minute mark.

UAE Team Emirates sets the pace of the chase throughout, before Netcompany INEOS comes to their assistance in the final 40 kilometres.

On Mont Bessou, the gap is down to 30 seconds when Van der Poel puts in an acceleration. He reaches the summit together with Johannessen and Pidcock. The Brit drops back shortly afterwards with a mechanical, while Baudin takes his place, but Pidcock manages to regain contact.

Simmons and Gee-West sit up and wait for the peloton to help with the chase, as their teammate Mads Pedersen is still in the bunch.

The four escapees head into the final 10 kilometres with a lead of 45 seconds. The gap holds remains steady, setting up a four-way battle for the stage victory.

Van der Poel leads onto the rising finishing straight. Keeping a close eye on his rivals, he launches his sprint inside the final 200 metres. Only Johannessen can respond, but he never manages to come alongside, so Dutchman takes the stage victory.

Behind them, the peloton closes to within touching distance. Ganna wins the sprint for fourth place, 6 seconds behind the stage winner, while Pogacar finishes 11th and retains the yellow jersey.

Another interesting read: route 9th stage 2026 Tour de France.