Stage 9 of the 2025 Tour de France was billed as a sprint day, but what unfolded over 174.1km from Chinon to Châteauroux was a high-speed, high-stakes tug-of-war between a defiant early breakaway and a nervous, wind-battered peloton.
The day’s script was torn up just four kilometres into the stage when Mathieu van der Poel and Jonas Rickaert launched an audacious two-man move for Alpecin-Deceuninck. What seemed at first like a playful stretch of the legs quickly turned into a serious effort. By the time the peloton reached the 10km mark, the pair were already a minute clear; after 15km, the gap ballooned to over three minutes. With 143km still to race, they were more than five minutes ahead, averaging close to 47km/h.
Their goal, initially, seemed to be the intermediate sprint points at Saint-Benoît-du-Sault. Van der Poel duly collected the full 20 points, with Rickaert peeling back to let his leader take the honours and move up in the green jersey standings. Behind, Jonathan Milan led a small group through for the remaining points, just ahead of Biniam Girmay.
The high-speed stalemate continued for most of the day. Lidl-Trek, Uno-X Mobility, and later Soudal-QuickStep began taking turns at the front of the peloton, but they made only gradual progress. Aided by the tailwind, the break extended its advantage back over five minutes, even as crashes added further disruption in the bunch. A fall with 133km to go brought down Pavel Bittner, Ion Izagirre, Sam Watson, and Søren Wærenskjold, all of whom remounted, but it further complicated the chase.
With 80km remaining, the peloton began to work in earnest. The pace crept up to nearly 50km/h as Tadej Pogačar and Tim Wellens took turns driving at the front. A combination of tailwind and crosswinds split the bunch with 40km to go, leaving around 40 riders behind and briefly threatening a GC shake-up. Among those caught out was Wout van Aert, who would struggle back but never regain a strong position.
Alpecin-Deceuninck’s duo kept plugging away. Rickaert was dropped with under 10km to go after giving everything, leaving Van der Poel to push on solo. He still had 30 seconds at 6km to go and 20 seconds with 3km remaining, before the Lidl-Trek-led bunch finally reeled him in with just 700 metres to go. His audacious raid was over, heartbreakingly close to success.
That left a scrappy sprint. Danny van Poppel opened it up for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, but Milan powered through early, launching down the right-hand barrier. Tim Merlier, boxed in behind slower wheels, had to accelerate out and around with 150 metres to go. The Belgian showed exceptional closing speed and surged past Milan in the final few pedal strokes to snatch his second win of the race. Arnaud De Lie rounded out the podium in third, a further sign of the Belgian’s upward trend.
Despite the flat profile, the stage had been brutal. The finishing average speed was over 47km/h, with multiple splits, crashes, and a breakaway that very nearly upset the form book.
Photo Credit: GettyJoão Almeida abandons: a major blow for UAE
The stage was marked by a significant moment of attrition before the sprint had even been decided. João Almeida, Tadej Pogačar’s key mountain support and one of the best climbers in the peloton, abandoned the race roughly 80km from the finish. Still suffering from a fractured rib sustained in a high-speed crash on stage 7, Almeida was dropped early and never looked comfortable.
UAE Team Emirates-XRG confirmed his withdrawal via race radio, and later via social media:
“Despite trying his best to battle on from his stage 7 injuries, João Almeida has been forced to abandon the Tour. The Portuguese climber bravely tried to continue the race to support his teammates, but his TDF journey comes to an end on stage 9.”
Almeida had started the Tour in superb form, coming off overall victories at the Tour de Suisse, Itzulia Basque Country, and Tour de Romandie. He was widely expected to be Pogačar’s final man on the longest climbs. His loss significantly weakens UAE’s mountain train, with Adam Yates having already dropped out of GC contention, and Marc Soler banged up from his own crash on stage 8.
Almeida had struggled visibly on the bike from the start of the day. He was dropped with over 120km remaining and finally stepped off at the roadside, visibly dejected, as team staff helped him into the car. His exit leaves Pogačar with six teammates for the remaining 11 stages, including the high mountains to come.
Photo Credit: A.S.O./Charly LopezReactions: Merlier victorious, Pogačar cautious, Visma confident
Tim Merlier, speaking after the stage, was elated with his second Tour stage win and full of praise for Van der Poel’s efforts.
“We didn’t plan for the breakaway, but Mathieu said he had good legs and just went for it. It gave us a chance to control the day and it worked perfectly in the end. I had to come from far, but I trusted my speed.”
Jonathan Milan, disappointed with second, kept his head high.
“I had good legs and found space on the barriers, but in the final metres I couldn’t hold Merlier off. He was stronger today.”
Tadej Pogačar took the Almeida news in stride but admitted his team is now under pressure.
“I think they [Visma] should be confident – if I was them, I would be. Losing João is a disadvantage, but I still trust the team. It’s a long way to Paris.”
Asked if he would change tactics heading into the mountains, he offered a cryptic reply:
“Now we don’t have João, maybe we’ll follow…”
Mauro Gianetti, UAE team manager, confirmed they would switch strategy:
“Our tactics will change. All the team will now back Tadej. It’s not a huge lead, but in modern cycling, it’s a good chunk of time. We’re defending yellow now.”
Jonas Vingegaard, who finished safely in the bunch, was again surrounded by five teammates in the finale. His Visma-Lease a Bike squad looked cohesive and calm, perhaps contrasting UAE’s scattered support.
With the Tour’s first major mountain stage to Puy de Sancy up next, Bastille Day could bring fireworks. But with Almeida gone, the real tension might come from what Pogačar doesn’t do, rather than what he attacks.
Photo Credit: A.S.O./Billy Ceusters2025 Tour de France Stage 9 result
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