The stage victory gives Philipsen the first race leader's jersey of the race as well as the first green jersey. Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) leads the mountains classification after claiming two points from the day's breakaway while Girmay, 25, is the best young rider.

Belgian sprinter Tim Merlier wins the ninth stage of the Tour de France in a thrilling mass sprint. The stage, held Sunday, covered 174 kilometers of flat terrain.

Ben O'Connor is a late faller on a chaotic first day of the Tour de France as two key contenders lose time after a split and two riders abandon the race after crashes.

CHATEAUROUX, France - Tim Merlier powered past Jonathan Milan to win stage nine of the Tour de France on Sunday, denying the green jersey holder back-to-back wins after Mathieu van der Poel's audacious solo attack ended in heartbreak just 700 metres from the finish.

Italian rider Jonathan Milan timed his attack perfectly, adding a stage victory to the Olympic gold he won in the team pursuit at the 2021 Tokyo Games.

The Visma-Lease a Bike team of Jonas Vingegaard were the protagonists, with several contenders for the overall classification — including Remco Evenepoel — distanced as the echelons formed. That main part of the peloton, which also contained Primoz Roglic and Geraint Thomas, ended up losing 49 seconds to the stage winner.

Pogacar was happy to cruise around the peloton and stay safe on stage eight and still leads the general classification by 54 seconds from Remco Evenepoel, with Frenchman Kevin Vauquelin a further 17 seconds down and Jonas Vingegaard 1:17 adrift of his big rival.

This year's Tour de France will begin with Stage 1 on Saturday, July 5. A neutralised start will take place in Lille, France, at 1:10 p.m. local time, ...