Attackers narrowly got the better of the peloton on a spectacular stage 9 of the 2026 Tour de France that eventually saw Mathieu Van der Poel power to victory in Ussel, after 154.6 km of exhilarating battle from Malemort.
On the roads of Corrèze, the Flying Dutchman was instrumental in getting the breakaway established. He then split the front group on the final ascent of the day. And he eventually dominated Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) and Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) to take his third stage win in the Tour. Van der Poel continues his team’s streak in the race: Alpecin-Premier Tech have now won stages in every edition since their debut in 2021. After Monday’s rest, the race will resume with a demanding stage in the Massif Central for climbers and puncheurs to bring fireworks on Bastille Day.
It was the final stage before the first rest day of the Tour de France 2026. Bastille Day is close and attackers promised fireworks today with a hilly course on the roads of Corrèze. The route was adapted to the weather conditions: 154.6 km from Malemort to Ussel, with four categorised climbs and some 3,000 metres of elevation gain.
An Intense Start
The road rose immediately and attackers set off as soon as the flag dropped for the 176-man peloton, at 13:57. There were many contenders for the breakaway, but Lidl-Trek controlled them all the way to the intermediate sprint in Beynat (km 13.9), where Mads Pedersen took the full points ahead of Biniam Girmay (NSN). Attacks kept flying en route to Côte de Naves, the first categorised climb of the day. Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quic-Step) led the way at the summit (km 46) but attackers were still able to make the break.
After a series of attacks and counter-attacks that saw him play a leading role, Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) set off again at km 57. A group of 16 riders emerged at the front with the latest additions of Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility), Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-W36.5) and Clément Braz Afonso (Groupama-FDJ United).
Johannessen and Simmons attack from that group ahead the Suc au May ascent (cat. 2, 3.8 km at 7.7%). Pidcock and then Van der Poel set off in pursuit, making it an eight-man front group led by the Brit at the summit (km 98.5). Van der Poel and Johannessen are up there, as well as Derek Gee-West, Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek), Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto Intermarché), Pablo Castrillo (Movistar) and Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost).
Relentless Action
UAE Emirates-XRG set a strong pace in the bunch. The gap never got higher than 1’25”, at the summit of the Suc au May ascent. Netcompany Ineos brought more manpower to the chase with just over 40 kilometres remaining. The situation frustrated the attackers, who no longer collaborated smoothly.
Van der Poel attacked on the final ascent of the day, the cat. 4 Mont Bessou (summit at km 24.5). Johannessen, Pidcock and Baudin follow his move to make it a four-man lead group into the last 20 kilometres. Behind them, Simmons and Gee-West wait for the bunch to try and set a bunch sprint for Pedersen.
The four leaders worked well together until the final kilometre. Van der Poel was at the front. He controlled his rivals as well as the gap to the bunch and eventually powered to victory ahead of Johannessen and Pidcock.
Filippo Ganna (Netcompany Ineos) is the first rider from the bunch, crossing the line just 6 seconds behind Van der Poel.
2026 Tour de France: Stage 9 Brief Results
- Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin Premier Tech) @ 3h 27’51”
- Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) s.t.
- Tom Pidcock (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling) s.t.
- Alex Baudin (EF Education – EasyPost) s.t.
- Filippo Ganna (Netcompany Ineos) @ 6″
General Classification After Stage 9
- Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates XRG) @ 32h 17’04”
- Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), +2’42”
- Isaac del Toro (UAE Emirates XRG), +3’27”
- Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), +3’30”
- Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek), +3’34”
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