Tour de France 2018 Stage Nine

Germany’s John Degenkolb celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the ninth stage of the 105th edition of the Tour de France cycling race between Arras and Roubaix, northern France, on July 15, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / Philippe LOPEZ

Tour de France 2018 Stage Nine: Porte crashes out as Degenkolb wins

Joy and despair on a frantic day of action.

Tour de France 2018 Stage Nine

Germany’s John Degenkolb celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the ninth stage of the 105th edition of the Tour de France cycling race between Arras and Roubaix, northern France, on July 15, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / Philippe LOPEZ

John Degenkolb won a thrilling three-man break sprint in Roubaix, as Richie Porte crashed out on a day of cobbles carnage at the 2018 Tour de France.

The yellow jersey of Greg van Avermaet and Yves Lampaert pushed Degenkolb all the way after keeping the peloton – and the mayhem within it – at bay across 22km of rocky road.

Van Avermaet retains yellow, partly by virtue of staying clear of the mess unfolding behind.

It was an emotional success for the German, who was part of a group of six riders hit head-on by a car in a training accident in Spain in 2016.

The 29-year-old fought back the tears after the stage, saying:

“I’ve been chasing this victory for so long. It’s really hard to describe.

“It was a really hard day. We had a plan to stay out of trouble, and that worked out really well. I have been through a lot of things in the past, and had such a hard time.”

BMC leader Porte didn’t even reach the first section of the infamous stones before he hit the deck.

A broken collarbone retires him for this year’s Tour and leaves the Australian a serious doubt for the Vuelta a Espana next month.

It was a second consecutive abandonment for the much-fancied overall contender – and the pain for the big guns didn’t end there.

Reigning champion Chris Froome and fellow Team Sky giant Geraint Thomas both came a cropper inside the last 50km, collapsing in a heap behind the tumble of team-mate Gianni Moscon.

Local hero Romain Bardet was also in the wars once again, as was double stage winner Dylan Groenewegen.

More happily, especially for South African fans, was the presence of Reinardt Janse van Rensburg in the breakaway.

The Dimension Data man clung on with Damien Gaudin until 20km to go, before being swallowed up by the dust, chaos and whirling arms and legs of the peloton.

Monday brings a rest day for the walking wounded.

Boy do they need it. The Alps are coming next.

Tour de France 2018: Classification after Stage 9

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General (Yellow jersey)

1  GREG VAN AVERMAET BMC RACING TEAM 36H 07′ 17”
2  GERAINT THOMAS TEAM SKY 36H 08′ 00”
3  PHILIPPE GILBERT QUICK – STEP FLOORS 36H 08′ 01”
4  BOB JUNGELS QUICK – STEP FLOORS 36H 08′ 07”
5  ALEJANDRO VALVERDE MOVISTAR TEAM 36H 08′ 48”
6  RAFAL MAJKA BORA – HANSGROHE 36H 08′ 49”
7  JAKOB FUGLSANG ASTANA PRO TEAM 36H 08′ 50”
8  CHRIS FROOME TEAM SKY 36H 08′ 59”
9  ADAM YATES MITCHELTON – SCOTT 36H 08′ 59”
10  MIKEL LANDA MEANA MOVISTAR TEAM 36H 08′ 59”

Green Jersey

1  PETER SAGAN BORA – HANSGROHE 299 PTS
2  FERNANDO GAVIRIA RENDON QUICK – STEP FLOORS 218 PTS
3  DYLAN GROENEWEGEN TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO 132 PTS
4  ALEXANDER KRISTOFF UAE TEAM EMIRATES 129 PTS
5  ANDRÉ GREIPEL LOTTO SOUDAL 106 PTS
6  ARNAUD DEMARE GROUPAMA – FDJ 106 PTS
7  JOHN DEGENKOLB TREK – SEGAFREDO 100 PTS
8  ANDREA PASQUALON WANTY – GROUPE GOBERT 72 PTS
9  SONNY COLBRELLI BAHRAIN – MERIDA 64 PTS
10  PHILIPPE GILBERT QUICK – STEP FLOORS 55 PTS

Team

1 QUICK – STEP FLOORS 109H 02′ 46”
2 MOVISTAR TEAM 109H 07′ 37” + 00H 04′ 51”
3 MITCHELTON – SCOTT 109H 08′ 44” + 00H 05′ 58”
4 BAHRAIN – MERIDA 109H 08′ 53” + 00H 06′ 07”
5 TEAM SUNWEB 109H 08′ 54” + 00H 06′ 08”
6 BMC RACING TEAM 109H 09′ 22” + 00H 06′ 36”
7 BORA – HANSGROHE 109H 10′ 09” + 00H 07′ 23”
8 TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO 109H 10′ 15” + 00H 07′ 29”
9 TREK – SEGAFREDO 109H 10′ 38” + 00H 07′ 52”
10 AG2R LA MONDIALE 109H 10′ 38” + 00H 07′ 52”

Young rider

1  SØREN KRAGH ANDERSEN TEAM SUNWEB 36H 09′ 00”
2  THOMAS BOUDAT DIRECT ENERGIE 36H 16′ 00”
3  PIERRE ROGER LATOUR AG2R LA MONDIALE 36H 16′ 37”
4  MAGNUS CORT NIELSEN ASTANA PRO TEAM 36H 17′ 36”
5  GUILLAUME MARTIN WANTY – GROUPE GOBERT 36H 18′ 26”
6  STEFAN KÜNG BMC RACING TEAM 36H 21′ 07”
7  NILS POLITT TEAM KATUSHA ALPECIN 36H 21′ 42”
8  EGAN ARLEY BERNAL GOMEZ TEAM SKY 36H 25′ 09”
9  MICHAEL GOGL TREK – SEGAFREDO 36H 29′ 22”
10  FERNANDO GAVIRIA RENDON QUICK – STEP FLOORS 36H 31′ 18”

King of The Mountains

1  TOMS SKUJINS TREK – SEGAFREDO 6 PTS
2  SYLVAIN CHAVANEL DIRECT ENERGIE 4 PTS
3  DION SMITH WANTY – GROUPE GOBERT 4 PTS
4  LILIAN CALMEJANE DIRECT ENERGIE 3 PTS
5  DANIEL MARTIN UAE TEAM EMIRATES 2 PTS
6  FABIEN GRELLIER DIRECT ENERGIE 2 PTS
7  KEVIN LEDANOIS TEAM FORTUNEO – SAMSIC 1 PTS
8  ANTHONY PEREZ COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS 1 PTS
9  MARCO MINNAARD WANTY – GROUPE GOBERT 1 PTS
10  YOANN OFFREDO WANTY – GROUPE GOBERT 1 PTS