Mathieu van der Poel falls 700 metres short of a 174km breakaway stage victory at the Tour de France

A pair of sprint stages were hardly the thrilling fare fans might have expected at the Tour de France which route planners had drawn for this weekend, but on Sunday’s ninth stage to Châteauroux, Mathieu van der Poel did at least bring some drama to proceedings.

The pan-flat 174.1km day, which featured no climbs, was livened up by an attack from the gun from Van der Poel and his Alpecin-Deceuninck teammate Jonas Rickaert. It was not until 173.4km later that Van der Poel’s day came to an end, an agonising 700 meters from the finish.