Key events
Who’s wearing what jersey
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Yellow: Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 31hr 21min 13sec
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Green: Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) 216pts
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Polka-dot: Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) 33pts
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White: Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick-Step)
Stage seven report: Biniam Girmay’s second stage win in the 2024 Tour de France in Charles de Gaulle’s home village of Colombey-les-Deux-Églises was overshadowed by the death of the 25-year-old Norwegian André Drege during stage four of the Tour of Austria. Jeremy Whittle reports from Colombey-les-Deux-Églises …
The top 10 on General Classification
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Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 31hr 21min 13sec
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Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick-Step) +33sec
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Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) +1min 15sec
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Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +1min 36sec
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Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) +2min 16sec
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João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) +2min 17sec
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Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos Grenadiers) +2min 31sec
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Mikel Landa (Soudal-Quick-Step) +3min 35sec
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Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) +4min 3sec
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Aleksandr Vlasov (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +4min 36sec
Stage nine: Troyes to Troyes, 199km
William Fotheringham on stage nine: As France goes to the polls in the second round of Macron’s snap election, on the Tour it’s a tense day of constant small climbs and 14 stretches of gravel roads through the Champagne vineyards. It will be dusty and spectacular, and there will be punctures and crashes, particularly if it rains. Pogacar will relish this, having twice won the very similar Italian Strade Bianche race; cyclo-cross specialists Van der Poel and Wout van Aert could also shine.
Preamble
Welcome to the Guardian’s latest Tour de France live blog and a stage that introduces gravel to the parcours which will, most likely, bring some chaos to the peloton. Don’t just take my word for it. Jai Hindley of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe told Rouleur magazine ahead of today’s stage: “I think it will be super stressful, the guys told me that the gravel is going to be chaotic and also the roads in between are shit.”
Of the near 200km route on stage nine that begins and ends in Troyes, 32km of it will be on gravel. That’s 14 segments of unpaved terrain facing them. This could suit riders who have off-road credentials such as Tom Pidcock, Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert and Matej Mohorič, so they will be ones to watch. Will they be going for a win in this unique stage of the 2024 Tour de France?
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Neutralised start: 12.15pm BST/1.15pm CET
