​Cobbled classics specialist Mathieu van der Poel capped his Tour de France by clinching a third overall victory with triumph on the ninth stage, which was shortened because of scorching heat. The 31-year-old Dutch rider, a former world champion, edged to victory in a sprint among the four-man breakaway, beating Tobias Johannessen into second and Tom Pidcock into third after a dramatic day on the course.
“It was a super hard day,” van der Poel said after crossing the line. “The start of the Tour wasn’t easy for our team, but, as always, we stayed calm. We have a really nice group here and we kept believing that it would turn around… but it’s really nice to go into the first rest day with a win.” For the past two days he had been riding as a sprint lead-out for his Alpecin-Deceuninck teammate Jasper Philipsen, who had finished fourth and fifth in the earlier sprint stages. On this occasion van der Poel finally had the chance to go for a stage victory himself.
Reigning champion Tadej Pogacar crossed the line in the chasing peloton six seconds behind van der Poel, preserving his lead in the general classification as the Tour reached its first rest day on Monday. Pogacar sits ahead of two-time winner Jonas Vingegaard by 2 minutes and 42 seconds, with Mexican rider Isaac del Toro another 45 seconds down in fourth overall. Van der Poel, renowned for his exploits in the cobbled classics—he has won the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix three times each—had previously claimed Tour stage wins in 2021 and 2025.
The ninth stage faced a shortened route of about 30 kilometers due to a red weather alert in central Correze. Temperatures again approached 40 degrees Celsius, though some stretches of the ride felt closer to 30 degrees. From the gun, the 154.6-kilometer route, running from Malemort to Ussel, was a battlefield as riders jostled to join the day’s breakaway.
Finally, an eight-man breakaway managed to escape on the demanding 3.8-kilometer Suc au May climb just after the halfway mark. The lead never exceeded a minute and a half, but the group worked cohesively to stay clear. Van der Poel surged away from that group with around 25 kilometers remaining on the last categorized climb of the day, the steep 900-meter Mont Bessou. Only Johannessen of Norway, Alex Baudin of France, and Tom Pidcock of Britain could follow, and the quartet charged toward the finish with a 50-second advantage over the reduced peloton.
The breakaway held a strong buffer as they rolled into the closing kilometers, even allowing a moment of cat-and-mouse as the riders eased slightly in the final kilometer. When van der Poel finally went into his final sprint, the outcome was clear: he had enough power to outpace his companions and seal the win.
“I spent a lot of energy trying to keep the break alive,” van der Poel admitted afterward. “There was a lot of pressure from the bunch, and the roads were horrible for a breakaway with a headwind all day. We fought for it, and I’m happy to finish it off.” The victory marks another high point in van der Poel’s storied career, underscoring his versatility and tenacity on the world’s grand tours. With the first rest day behind them, the focus now shifts to the mountains and the ongoing chase for the coveted yellow jersey.