Anthony Turgis (Total Energies) claimed the biggest win of his career on stage 9 of the Tour de France, pipping Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) from the breakaway at the end of a breathless day of racing over the gravel roads around Troyes.
Turgis was part of the first main breakaway that formed after a frantic opening hour, with Pidcock joining ahead of the second of 14 gravel sectors and the group combining to hold off a peloton where the yellow jersey favourites traded numerous blows but somehow broke even.
Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek) stole a march with an attack ahead of the final sector and took a 10-second lead into the final few kilometres before things suddenly came back together under the flamme rouge for a sprint from seven. Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Qazaqstan), Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), and Derek Gee (Israel-Premier Tech) opened their efforts from range, but Turgis came surging through the middle. Pidcock, a former winner of Strade Bianche who possesses a fierce sprint, appeared stuck in the wheels and left it too late to nip out, bashing his handlebars in frustration as he watched Turgis celebrate.
Gee took the final spot on the podium, while the green jersey Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) and world champion Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) came home in a chasing group that formed with six sectors remaining but never made it across to the leaders. Race leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) finished in the main reduced peloton, 1:46 down on the winner, as the GC favourites settled for a draw despite an aggressive day of racing.
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