Sunday 05 / May / 2024
Arcalis: Tom Dumoulin of the Netherlands attacked near the foot of the final climb to claim victory in the ninth stage of the Tour de France in extreme weather conditions as Alberto Contador pulled out of the race on Sunday.
Giant Alpecin rider Dumoulin, sixth in last year's Vuelta, was the strongest of the day's breakaway riders, taking a solo victory in a deafening hailstorm after riding most of the day in temperatures nearing 40 degrees Celsius.
Briton Chris Froome retained the overall leader's yellow jersey after controlling his closest rivals in the ascent to Arcalis, a 10.1km effort at an average gradient of 7.2 percent.
Contador, who had crashed twice in the two opening stages and had a fever in the morning, called it quits 104km from the finish line after trying his luck one last time with a vintage early move.
"I have not recovered from the crashes, I've been sick overnight, that's why I made this decision. I could not continue," said the Spaniard.
Other top favourites had a tough time with Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), Italian Fabio Aru (Astana) and American Tejay van Garderen (BMC) losing ground in the ultimate climb of the first summit finish of the Tour.
Overall, Froome, who made a few brief attacks in the finale, could not distance himself from last year's runner-up Nairo Quintana (Movistar) of Colombia, former team mate Richie Porte (BMC) of Australia, fellow Briton Adam Yates (Orica-Bike Exchange) or Ireland's Dan Martin (Eticc-Quick Step).
Frenchman Thibaut Pinot, who lost all hope of a decent overall finish in Paris in the first Pyrenean stage, snatched the polka dot jersey for the best climber with a strong ride in the breakaway.
Contador exit
Alberto Contador's hopes of claiming a third Tour de France title vanished into thin air on Sunday when the Spaniard abandoned during the ninth stage.
Contador, who had a fever in the morning and had crashed twice in the two opening stages, got off his bike and stepped into his Tinkoff team car with about 104km left in the 184.5km ride from Vielha Val d'Aran.
The Spaniard, who was 20th overall, 3:12 off the pace, had launched an early attack along with compatriot Alejandro Valverde as they looked to unsettle overall leader Chris Froome.
Contador, one of only six men with titles in all three grand tours (France, Italy, Spain), quickly faded away though and rolled down to his team car several times.
He called it quits on the second of the day's four climbs in the Pyrenees.
"It's bad news for me, it was my last chance to win the Tour de France," said team owner Oleg Tinkov, who is pulling out of cycling at the end of the year.
"But who knows maybe I'll come back in a few years."
Contador, 33, crashed out of the Tour in 2014 and finished fifth last year after winning the Giro d'Italia.
