The French are still waiting to see one of theirs raise their arms at the finish in this Tour de France. But a Luxembourger, Bob Jungels, gave AG2R-Citroën the first victory for a French team in this edition, on Sunday July 10. He won solo in Châtel, Haute-Savoie, at the end of the 9th stage, 192.9 kilometers long, which started in Aigle, Switzerland.
The soloist was first part of a group of 21 breakaways, before giving up on the slopes of the Col de la Croix, the first of two first category climbs of this alpine day, more than 60 kilometers from the goal. . Briefly joined by the German Simon Geschke at the top, he then widened the gap on the descent, then in the next valley.
Jungels resisted Pinot
On the slopes of the Pas de Morgins, the second big difficulty of the day, Bob Jungels then resisted the offensive of Thibaut Pinot who closed at around twenty seconds. On the finish line, the Luxembourger preceded Spaniards Jonathan Castroviejo and Carlos Verona by 22 and 26 seconds. Pinot eventually took fourth place.
Aged 29, Bob Jungels won the Tour for the first time. Recruited for 2021 by the team of Vincent Lavenu, he had to be operated on last year for the iliac artery. He only recovered his level late, during the Tour de Suisse (6th). His triumph contrasts with the distress of his leader, the Australian Ben O’Connor, who has been suffering for several days. The last victory of a Luxembourger on the Tour dated back to 2011 and the success of Andy Schleck.
Pogacar remains in yellow
The Slovenian Tadej Pogacar (UAE), at the head of the group of favorites, kept the yellow jersey, winning 5th place in the sprint. This stage was also marked, before the start, by the abandonment of the Frenchman Guillaume Martin, 14th in the general classification, positive for Covid-19. After a day of rest on Monday July 11, the Tour will resume its course in Morzine on Tuesday July 12 for the 10th stage.
(Archives – Video of 07/17/2019)
