Stage 9: Pau>Laruns
Another day in the mountains with the first Category 1 climb making its Tour de France debut. The peloton stayed together as a group until the bottom of the Col de la Houcère when a group of 13 riders split off the front. They rode up into a low cloud which provided poor visibility, wet roads, and a treacherous descent.
Marc Hirschi took the lead on the descent over a group of eight. At the start of the final climb on the stage, he had a two and a half minute lead that dwindled down to 17 seconds over a group of four riders at the top. Yellow jersey holder Adam Yates couldn’t keep up and was dropped on the climb. Hirschi was caught with 1.5km left to the finish line. He managed to stay with the group and sprint for the finish but Tadej Pogacar crosses first, winning his first Tour de France stage.
A shakeup in the GC standings as the tour goes into it’s first rest day. Primoz Roglic, 3 seconds behind Yates at the start of the day, now holds yellow with a 21 second lead over Egan Bernal.
