Tour de France – Stage 9 » Aigle › Châtel les portes du Soleil, 192.9km
Jonathan Castroviejo put in a spirited ride in the breakaway to finish in second place on stage nine at the Tour de France.
The Grenadier worked hard to get into the day’s 21-man move and finished strongly over the Pas de Morgins climb, overhauling Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) in the final metres and distancing Carlos Verona (Movistar) at the finish.
30 seconds later the GC contenders sprinted in, with Geraint Thomas and Adam Yates finishing seventh and eighth respectively. Tom Pidcock also dug deep to remain in contact with the group as the trio retained their overall positions, but sadly Dani Martinez became distanced on the final climb.
Thomas remains third as the race arrives at the second rest day, 1:17 back on Tadej Pogacar (UAE-Team Emirates). Yates sits fourth at 1:25, with Pidcock still an impressive seventh at 1:46.
The team worked hard early on to get into the break, with Dylan van Baarle and Castroviejo making efforts to get up the road. The stage had been highlighted for Castroviejo who produced a superb result on the day. However there was no catching Bob Jungels (AG2R Citroen Team) on the day as he took a solo victory by 22 seconds.