One for Daryl Impey
The South African national champ rode six Tours without ever winning a stage. However, yesterday was the lucky day for the 34-year-old. He was part of the 15-rider breakaway that battled it out for the win. In the end, only Tiesj Benoot and Impey were left standing. And the more experienced pro had seemingly no problem riding past Benoot to claim the win.
Stage nine was very important for the hosts as it fell on Bastille Day. You would think Romain Bardet would have a lot of motivation because the stage ended in his hometown of Brioude. However, only a short-lived attack did not redeem Bardet who has been losing time constantly in the opening week. He sits 23rd overall, 2 minutes down on Pinot. His attack was almost instantly shut down by Team Ineos and that was the only GC action during stage nine. Alaphilippe stayed in yellow.
Stage 9 results
1. Daryl Impey (Mitchelton-Scott) – 4:03:12
2. Tiesj Benoot (Lotto-Soudal)
3. Jan Tratnik (Bahrain-Merida) + 10s
4. Oliver Naesen (Ag2r La Mondiale)
5. Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo)
6. Nicolas Roche (Sunweb) + 14s
7. Marc Soler (Movistar) + 21s
8. Iván García Cortina (Bahrain-Merida) + 1:50
9. Simon Clarke (EF Education First)
10. Anthony Delaplace (Arkéa-Samsic) + 2:42
General classification
1. Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) – 34:17:59
2. Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo) + 23s
3. Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) + 53s
4. George Bennett (Jumbo-Visma) + 1:10
5. Geraint Thomas (Team Ineos) + 1:12
6. Egan Bernal (Team Ineos) + 1:16
7. Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo-Visma) + 1:27
8. Rigoberto Urán (EF Education First) + 1:38
9. Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) + 1:42
10. Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) + 1:45
