Mathieu van der Poel narrowly missed the victory in the ninth stage of the Tour de France. The Dutchman was caught just before the finish after an impressive attack from the start. Tim Merlier sprinted to the win.
The thirty-year-old Van der Poel went on an adventure with his Belgian teammate Jonas Rickaert. The duo from Alpecin-Deceuninck rode ahead for almost the entire stage.
In the finale, Van der Poel continued solo and was very close to his second stage victory in this Tour. But in the final kilometer, he was caught. Merlier then narrowly beat Jonathan Milan (second) and Arnaud De Lie (third) in the mass sprint.
Tadej Pogacar retains the lead in the general classification. The Slovenian has a 54-second lead over Remco Evenepoel. Van der Poel dropped one place in the standings and is now sixth.
Van der Poel and Rickaert immediately on the attack
The ninth stage took the peloton over 174 kilometers from Chinon to Châteauroux. Immediately after the start, Van der Poel jumped away with Jonas Rickaert. The Dutchman then took twenty points in the intermediate sprint.
The expectation was that Van der Poel and Rickaert would drop back, but the duo from Alpecin-Deceuninck gained more and more lead. With 126 kilometers to go, the difference was 5.5 minutes, making Van der Poel virtually in yellow.
João Almeida had to let go from there. Tadej Pogacar’s Portuguese helper dropped out 80 kilometers from the finish due to a broken rib he sustained on Friday.
Van der Poel caught in the final kilometer
Meanwhile, the peloton significantly increased the pace, and the lead of Van der Poel and Rickaert decreased. With 30 kilometers to go, the difference was about one and a half minutes, and the peloton fell apart due to echelons. The big names were alert, but among others, the brothers Adam and Simon Yates missed the mark.
Van der Poel and Rickaert seemed to be caught, but a little later, the difference became slightly larger again. With 6 kilometers to go, Rickaert had to drop back, and his teammate continued alone with a half-minute lead.
Van der Poel stayed ahead in the finale and had an eight-second lead with 1.5 kilometers to go. But at 760 meters from the finish, he was still caught, after which Merlier sprinted to his second stage victory in this Tour.