2019 Giro Rosa, 2019 Tour de France, Annemiek Van Vleuten, Daily News Digest, Daryl Impey, Features, Jakob Fuglsang, Julian Alaphilippe, Marianne Vos, News - July 15, 2019

Impey tops Benoot to win stage 9 of the Tour de France: Daily News Digest

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Welcome to your Daily News Digest. Here’s what’s happening today:

Daryl Impey tops breakaway companion Tiesj Benoot to win stage 9 of the Tour de France, Annemiek van Vleuten wins the Giro Rosa as Marianne Vos nabs the final stage, riders vent frustration with TV motos at the Tour. Those stories and more in today’s Daily News Digest.

Story of the Day: Impey tops breakaway companion Benoot to win stage 9 of the Tour de France

Daryl Impey (Mitchelton-Scott) won stage 9 of the Tour de France on Sunday, out-kicking breakaway companion Tiesj Benoot (Lotto-Soudal) in a two-rider sprint in Brioude. Jan Tratnik (Bahrain-Merida) led a small group of chasers over the line to take third on the day.

“It’s the seventh time I’m riding the Tour de France and have been in a number of breakaways. To finally nail it today, it’s a dream come true,” Impey said. “I really don’t have any words.”

Julian Alaphilippe finished with the GC contenders in a reduced peloton over 16 minutes later to stay in control of the yellow jersey, giving French fans a homegrown Tour leader on Bastille Day.

The lumpy profile of the 170.5-kilometer stage from Saint-Étienne made it another great day to be in the breakaway, and the battle to get clear in the early goings was fierce. The first 20 minutes of the stage saw several attacks and regroupings, as well as a bad crash that saw Alessandro De Marchi (CCC) abandon the race.

The decisive move went clear just under 20 kilometers into the stage, with Impey, Benoot, and Tratnik among a group that also included big names like Tony Martin (Jumbo-Visma), Oliver Naesen (Ag2r La Mondiale), Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data), and Nicolas Roche (Sunweb). With no major GC threats in the selection, the peloton was content to give the move plenty of breathing room.

The gap was up to 10 minutes with 120 kilometers to race, and that’s where it hovered for most of the rest of the stage, setting up a battle for the stage victory from the break.

Lukas Pöstlberger (Bora-Hansgrohe) attacked from the escape with around 40 kilometers to go and built a substantial advantage solo, but he was caught by the surviving breakaway riders inside the final 20 kilometers on the day’s last categorized climb.

With Pöstlberger caught, Benoot attacked, drawing Roche with him, and Impey dug deep to bridge before the top of the final climb. That made for a three-rider lead group heading into the last 10 kilometers, until Benoot kicked again, dropping Roche. From there, the stage was down to Benoot and Impey.

In the peloton behind, Richie Porte (Trek-Segafredo), Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale), and George Bennett (Jumbo-Visma) briefly jumped clear of the pack in a bid to gain time, but the trio was caught before long.

Impey led Benoot into the final kilometer, with the latter knowing the former’s strength in the sprint. With 200 meters to go, Benoot launched from behind, but Impey wound up to speed in short order and pulled clear to take the win.

Stage 9 results

1 Daryl Impey (RSA) Mitchelton-Scott 4:03:12
2 Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal
3 Jan Tratnik (Slo) Bahrain-Merida 0:00:10
4 Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
5 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo
6 Nicolas Roche (Irl) Sunweb 0:00:14
7 Marc Soler (Spa) Movistar 0:00:21
8 Ivan Garcia (Spa) Bahrain-Merida 0:01:50
9 Simon Clarke (Aus) EF Education First
10 Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Arkéa Samsic 0:02:42

1 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck-QuickStep 38:37:36
2 Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:23
3 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:00:53
4 George Bennett (NZl) Jumbo-Visma 0:01:10
5 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Ineos 0:01:12
6 Egan Bernal (Col) Ineos 0:01:16
7 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 0:01:27
8 Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Education First 0:01:38
9 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana 0:01:42
10 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:01:45

Socially Speaking

Sunday’s Tour stage also saw Peter Sagan flex his clout off the bike …

Only @petosagan could stop a team bus so that he could cross the road ?????????
Il n'y a que Peter Sagan qui peut arrêter un bus pour traverser la route ?????????#TDF2019 pic.twitter.com/atyrUnQ8Er

— Tour de France (@LeTour) July 14, 2019

… and some incredible artistry from a groundskeeper in Brioude, hometown of Ag2r La Mondiale’s Romain Bardet.

Impey’s win was impressive, but this is next level#tdf pic.twitter.com/WsED8Kuqev

— Panache (@Kiss_my_Panache) July 14, 2019

Race Radio

Van Vleuten wraps up Giro Rosa overall as Vos take final stage

Annemiek van Vleuten (Mitchelton-Scott) sealed the overall victory at the Giro Rosa on Sunday as Marianne Vos (CCC-Liv) won the finale.

Vos topped Lucinda Brand (Sunweb) and Lotte Kopecky (Lotto-Soudal) in Udine to take stage 10, her fourth victory of this year’s race.

Van Vleuten finished safely to wrap up her second straight Giro Rosa GC title. Joining her on the final podium were Anna van der Breggen (Boels-Dolmans) and Amanda Spratt (Mitchelton-Scott).

“It was a big goal of mine this year, to finish it off for the second time in a row is really special,” Van Vleuten said. “The whole team was prepared, we reconned stages, and we all worked so hard for this. ”

The 120-kilometer final stage from San Vito al Tagliamento featured a mostly flat profile with only one small categorized climb before the uphill, cobbled finishing stretch. The day saw multiple breakaway attempts reeled in before the final half hour of racing. Aude Biannic (Movistar) stuck a solo move into the waning kilometers, but she too was caught near the flamme rouge, setting up an uphill kick in the peloton.

Given her skill set, Vos was an obvious favorite for the finish, and she delivered with a powerful surge that no one could match. Brand came closest, topping Kopecky for runner-up honors on the day.

Having entered the stage with an advantage of nearly four minutes over van der Breggen on the overall leaderboard, van Vleuten was able to play it safe in the finale. A 21st-place finish was more than good enough for the defending champ to seal the overall title at the 2019 Giro Rosa.

Stage 10 results

1 Marianne Vos (Ned) CCC-Liv 2:51:45
2 Lucinda Brand (Ned) Sunweb 0:00:01
3 Lotte Kopecky (Bel) Lotto Soudal
4 Soraya Paladin (Ita) Ale Cipollini 0:00:04
5 Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Pol) Canyon-SRAM
6 Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (RSA) CCC-Liv 0:00:06
7 Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:07
8 Demi Vollering (Ned) Parkhotel Valkenburg 0:00:09
9 Rasa Leleivyte (Ltu) Aromitalia-Basso Bikes-Vaiano
10 Arianna Fidanza (Ita) Eurotarget-Bianchi-Vittoria 0:00:10

Final GC

1 Annemiek van Vleuten (Ned) Mitchelton-Scott 25:01:41
2 Anna van der Breggen (Ned) Boels-Dolmans 0:03:45
3 Amanda Spratt (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:06:55
4 Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (RSA) CCC-Liv 0:07:54
5 Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Pol) Canyon-SRAM 0:07:57
6 Lucinda Brand (Ned) Sunweb 0:08:01
7 Katharine Hall (USA) Boels-Dolmans 0:08:16
8 Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:08:19
9 Soraya Paladin (Ita) Ale Cipollini 0:09:13
10 Erica Magnaldi (Ita) WNT-Rotor Pro Cycling 0:09:31

Riders criticize TV motos at Tour

Some big names have vented their frustration with the proximity of TV camera motorcycles to riders at the Tour de France.

Astana’s Jakob Fuglsang said after Saturday’s eighth stage that Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) and Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) were assisted by the slipstream of a TV moto in their attack out of the peloton.

“I just missed out as the two Frenchmen followed the [motor] bike over the top,” Fuglsang said, according to Cyclingnews. “So even though we were part of the lead group behind, we couldn’t catch them.”

Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) and Dan Martin (UAE-Team Emirates) also voiced frustration with the motos. Alaphilippe, for his part, denied the accusation that he and his compatriot had taken advantage of the chance to ride in the slipstream of a TV motorbike.

“I was really going full gas and Pinot was also,” he said, Cyclingnews reports. “They were also full gas behind. I don’t know what I can say – I was not behind a moto.”

Route of Santos Tour Down Under Classic and women’s race stage 4 unveiled

Organizers have revealed the Adelaide circuit that will host both the Santos Tour Down Under Classic and the fourth and final stage of the Women’s Tour Down Under.

The 1.7-kilometer course starts and finishes on Flinders street. The fourth stage of the Women’s Tour Down Under will cover 25 laps of the circuit, while the Tour Down Under Classic will take on 30.

Courtney, Schurter take cross-country World Cup wins in Les Gets

Kate Courtney and Nino Schurter took the cross-country wins at the mountain bike World Cup round in Les Gets, France.

Courtney took a clear victory 33 seconds ahead of Jolanda Neff, with Elisabeth Brandau nabbing the final spot on the women’s podium. Schurter won a close battle against Gerhard Kerschbaumer on the final lap, with Henrique Avancini taking third.

Coming Up at the Tour

The Tour de France rolls on with Monday’s stage 10, 217.5 kilometers from Saint-Flour to Albi.

The sprinters will like their chances to battle for the win with no categorized climbs inside the final 50 kilometers of the stage, the last day of racing before the Tour’s first rest day.