Tadej Pogacar wins stage 9 as Roglic takes the Yellow Jersey

Adam Yates loses the Yellow Jersey on the Brutal Slopes of the Col de Marie Blanque

Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) sprinted to his first Tour de Stage win beating compatriot Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) and solo breakaway rider Marc Hirschi (Team Sunweb) in a closely fought sprint finish.  Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) and Mikel Landa (Bahrain McLaren) were just behind in the same leading group.

Marc Hirschi put in a courageous attack on the Col de la Hourcère, 80kms from the finish and looked likely to win the stage, however the increase in pace from the Jumbo Visma squad and the steep slopes of the Col de Marie Blanque saw Hirschi be caught by a leading quartet consisting of Pogacar, Roglic, Bernal and Landa, with just 2 kms to go.

Incredibly, he started the final sprint but was just passed by Pogacar and Roglic in the closing metres.

Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) was dropped near the summit of the Col de Marie Blanque and finished 54 seconds down, slipping to eighth overall.

Roglic took the Yellow Jersey with Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) 21 seconds behind and Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) third at 28 seconds.

Pogacar moved up to seventh thanks to the ten-second time bonus for winning the stage and is now at 44 seconds behind Roglic.

The other jerseys remain on the same shoulders heading into Monday's rest day. Egan Bernal is in white, Peter Sagan is in green, and Benoît Cosnefroy is in polka dots.

Here's what Pogacar had to say after the finish, "It's really crazy - after that hard day to win the stage. It's really incredible. Thanks to my teammates, they did a really good job all day. I'm really happy to pull that victory. Actually I wanted to gain as much time as I could in GC, but in the last 800m I knew the stage win was 10 seconds. I was focussing for the sprint - I just went full gas sprint"

"Primož is really good - he's won before he'll win more. I hope we can do together great things. I'm really happy overall so far - sure, one stage there was a little mistake but actually we take two stages so it's really good so far."

Egan Bernal, who lies in second overall and in the white jersey, said that he's happy with his race so far and was happy with today's stage even if he lost time to Roglic, "I think it was a good day again because it's not just about the time to gain or lost. I think in this part of the race the feeling you have on the bike is also important. The feeling I had today was better than yesterday."

Peter Sagan, green jersey holder: "I'm satisfied with the jersey and with the team's work, but I'm missing a stage win."

Benoît Cosnefroy, KOM leader: "To get out of the Pyrenées with this jersey, I wouldn't have believed it. I'm very happy and proud. I can't lie, I've been looking forward to the rest day! I'll do my best to defend the jersey!"

Egan Bernal, Guillaume Martin, Romain Bardet, Nairo Quintana and Rigoberto Uran are all within 32 seconds of Roglic's lead, as the race heads into the second week on Tuesday.

Tomorrow (Monday) is the first rest day and the riders travel to the French coast.

Stage 10 is a coastal stage between Il d’Oleron and Ile de Re and starts week two, the stage will be marked by the Vauban buildings in Royan, Rochefort or La Rochelle, but also by a course mainly set by the sea. Crosswinds will almost certainly disrupt this flat stage between two islands on the west coast.

VIDEO: 2020 Tour de France Stage 9 Highlights

2020 Tour de France Stage 9 Top 10

1 Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates 03:55:17
2 Primoz Roglic (Slo) Team Jumbo-Visma
3 Marc Hirschi (Swi) Team Sunweb
4 Egan Arley Bernal Gomez (Col) Ineos Grenadiers
5 Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Bahrain McLaren
6 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo 00:00:11
7 Guillaume Martin (Fra) Cofidis 00:00:11
8 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale 00:00:11
9 Richie Porte (Aus) Trek-Segafredo 00:00:11
10 Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Pro Cycling 00:00:11

2020 Tour de France GC after Stage 9

1 Primoz Roglic (Slo) Team Jumbo-Visma 38:40:01
2 Egan Arley Bernal Gomez (Col) Ineos Grenadiers 00:00:21
3 Guillaume Martin (Fra) Cofidis 00:00:28
4 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale 00:00:30
5 Nairo Quintana (Col) Team Arkea-Samsic 00:00:32
6 Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Pro Cycling 00:00:32
7 Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates 00:00:44
8 Adam Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott 00:01:02
9 Miguel Angel Lopez Moreno (Col) Astana Pro Team 00:01:15
10 Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Bahrain McLaren 00:01:42