Tadej Pogacar continued his adventurous approach as he aggressively pursued defending champion Jonas Vingegaard during the thrilling Tour de France ninth stage filled with gravel roads on Sunday.
Anthony Turgis emerged victorious after a grueling 199km ride, securing France's third win of the edition through an impressively timed sprint from the leading group, although all eyes remained fixated on Pogacar and his competitors throughout the day.
The Slovenian retained his position as leader with the yellow jersey, strategically using several gravel sections to mount pressure on Vingegaard, who benefitted from protection offered by teammate Primoz Roglic while riding a borrowed bike after an unexpected puncture.
Pogacar crossed the finish line alongside Remco Evenepoel and Roglic as Vingegaard finished nearly half of the stage on a support vehicle. As they approach Monday's rest day, Pogacar leads by 33 seconds from Evenepoel, with Vingegaard trailing by 1 minute and 15 seconds and Roglic just ahead by 1 minute and 36 seconds.
Roglic faced distance during the second gravel section but his team increased speed to maintain their position. Despite a significant effort from Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe riders, it was ultimately Pogacar's determination that allowed him to catch up with Roglic.
After Vingegaard suffered a puncture and switched bikes with his teammate Jan Tratnik in the fourth gravel section, he worked hard to remain close to Evenepoel and Pogacar as they caught the breakaway group. Despite attempts at cooperation from Vingegaard, the trio eventually rejoined the main field and called a temporary truce among competitors.
Pogacar's powerful surge in the 11th gravel section left his rivals struggling to keep pace as he pulled ahead of Evenepoel and Roglic. However, Vingegaard managed to rejoin Pogacar with assistance from Jorgenson but not before allowing Evenepoel and Roglic a chance to recover.
In the final moments of the race, Jasper Stuyven launched an attack 11 kilometers from the end, only to be caught by fellow breakaway riders near the finish line.
Despite his challenging day, Turgis remained composed in the last sprint and triumphed over Tom Pidcock and Derek Gee for a victory that marks TotalEnergies' first win since 2017. "It's incredible," reflected Turgis. "I have been striving for this breakthrough for years, and today felt exhilarating."
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