Contador pulls out of 2016 Tour de France, blames fever

A book author and former sports writer with The Sydney Morning Herald – reporting on cycling, rugby union, rowing and sailing – but some might argue that he is best known for his taste (or lack of it) in Hawaiian shirts.

Briton Chris Froome retained the overall leader’s yellow jersey after controlling his closest rivals in the ascent to Arcalis, a 10km effort.

Froome was the stage victor when the Tour last scaled Ventoux’s barren, 1,909-meter (6,263-foot) peak in 2013. To go from one end of the spectrum to the other like that made it quite hard out there.

In pouring rain, Tom Dumoulin (Team Giant-Alpecin) won stage nine, finishing 38 seconds ahead of Rui Costa and Rafal Majka in Andorra.

Briton Adam Yates started and finished the day second overall as he crossed the line alongside Froome to maintain his lofty position.

The attacks came from all angles in the final kilometres, with Froome, Richie Porte (BMC), Adam Yates (Orica BikeExchange) and Nairo Quintana (Movistar) edging clear of the pack in the final stages.

The Colombian, fourth overall and 23 seconds down, is seen as the man most likely to deny Froome a third Tour win – particularly after Tinkoff’s Alberto Contador abandoned on Sunday – although the expected attack never came in Andorra.

He slid back into the peloton as Contador, who had been distanced earlier, was struggling, rolling down to his team vehicle four times before getting off his bike for good. He just stuck to my wheel like glue. “Believe me, I did the best I can”. It made the race harder but it’s still a great day for us.

“It really is a good place to be at the moment and I’m really happy to have the yellow jersey on my shoulders, tactically and obviously for the morale for the team”, the 31-year-old told a news conference on Monday.

Speaking to the Irish Times after Sunday’s stage to Andorre Arcalis, Martin is hopeful he can continue his excellent form for the next fortnight.

Martin then attacked the group a kilometre later, with only last year’s runner-up Nairo Quintana of Movistar able to follow.

Quintana, Froome’s main rival, looked comfortable on the climbs but never attacked and his passivity at the top of Peyresourde cost him dearly. I thought I would give it [attacking downhill] a try. It was a tough day out there.

Froome will by no means leave the Pyrenees feeling a third Tour win is a fait accompli.

“It’s the first rest day, we’ve done the Pyrenees and he’s second overall in the young leaders’ white jersey”, he said. Half the time he doesn’t know what he is going to do let alone his team.

“I warned before the Tour that this would be the biggest battle of my career and that’s what it’s turning out to be”, Froome said. I figure that is what it is turning out to be.

After the shameful scenes of previous year, when spectators poured urine and spat on Froome, he was well within his rights to administer his own brand of roadside justice.

At the start of this Tour I was hoping that the French GC riders would stand up and really challenge Froome and Quintana for the overall.

Greg Van Avermaet of Belgium, who was in a breakaway with Cummings, held on to the yellow jersey he claimed two days earlier. We were put under pressure by Contador and Valverde in the first climb but we didn’t panic.

“That’s where”, Froome said, “the race will be won or lost”. The guys have ridden so, so well.