Merlier sprints to victory in Tour de France Stage 9 after Van der Poel's breakaway is thwarted

CHATEAUROUX, France (AP) — Belgian sprinter Tim Merlier won the ninth stage of the Tour de France in a mass sprint after Mathieu van der Poel spent the whole day at the front before being caught by the chasing pack less than a kilometer from the finish.

There was no significant change in the overall standings and three-time Tour champion Tadej Pogačar kept the race leader's yellow jersey.

Sunday’s stage headed into central France on a 174-kilometer (108-mile) flat stretch for sprinters.

But Van der Poel, a one-day classics specialist with a flamboyant style of riding, almost foiled their plans.

The Dutch rider joined his Alpecin-Deceuninck teammate Jonas Rickaert in an early breakaway and produced a tremendous effort over 173 kilometers at a speed of about 30 mph (48 kph) but could not go all the way and was swallowed less than a kilometer from the line.

"It’s hard not to be able to finish it off,” Van der Poel said.

Merlier won the sprint ahead of Jonathan Milan, the winner of Saturday's stage, with Arnaud De Lie completing the podium. It was Merlier's second stage win of this year’s Tour.

“I got boxed in a bit but then I managed to go all in and I was able to do my sprint like I wanted to and I’m happy to win my second stage here,” Merlier said. "It’s the second time I manage to beat Milan but he’s a really strong sprinter. It’s just nice we can show a nice battle between the two of us.”

In the overall standings, double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel remained 54 seconds behind Pogačar in second place. Frenchman Kévin Vauquelin was third at 1 minutes, 11 seconds, and two-time Tour champion Jonas Vingegaard sat 1:17 behind in fourth spot.

Ealier in the stage, João Almeida, a key teammate of Pogačar, abandoned the race. Almeida, who fractured a rib during Stage 7, was dropped early and the UAE Team Emirates-XRG later announced over the race radio that the Portuguese rider had retired.

Almeida was caught in a high-speed crash earlier this week as riders scrambled for position at the front, 6 kilometers (4 miles) from the finish line. Almeida escaped without a concussion but his rib fracture finally proved to be too painful to carry on in the three-week race.

Almeida finished fourth at the 2024 Tour de France and started this year's edition on the back of strong results elsewhere, having won the Tour de Suisse, Tour de Romandie and Itzulia Basque Country.

The mountainous stage on Bastille Day from Ennezat to Le Mont-Dore features seven second-category hills or passes. The final climb has an 8% gradient.

“We expect a very hot, hard stage tomorrow,” Pogačar said. “There will be a huge fight for the break, as it’s the French national day and all French riders will want to put on a great show. It will be hard to control, but we will be up there paying attention to the other team’s moves. It’s not the hardest course, but it offers a lot of possibilities.”

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Stage winner Belgium's Tim Merlier crosses the finish line ahead of second place Italy's Jonathan Milan, wearing the best sprinter's green jersey, and third place Belgium's Arnaud de Lie, right, during the ninth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 174.1 kilometers (108 miles) with start in Chinon and finish in Chateauroux, France, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Netherlands' Mathieu van der Poel, right, and teammate Belgium's Jonas Rickaert, left, ride breakaway during the ninth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 174.1 kilometers (108 miles) with start in Chinon and finish in Chateauroux, France, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Netherlands' Frank van den Broek rides during the ninth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 174.1 kilometers (108 miles) with start in Chinon and finish in Chateauroux, France, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Stage winner Belgium's Tim Merlier celebrates as he crosses the finish line of the ninth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 174.1 kilometers (108 miles) with start in Chinon and finish in Chateauroux, France, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Portugal's Joao Almeida retires from the race during the ninth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 174.1 kilometers (108 miles) with start in Chinon and finish in Chateauroux, France, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Portugal's Joao Almeida retired from the race during the ninth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 174.1 kilometers (108 miles) with start in Chinon and finish in Chateauroux, France, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Portugal's Joao Almeida retires from the race during the ninth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 174.1 kilometers (108 miles) with start in Chinon and finish in Chateauroux, France, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Portugal's Joao Almeida retires from the race during the ninth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 174.1 kilometers (108 miles) with start in Chinon and finish in Chateauroux, France, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)