Tour de France 2026: Mathieu van der Poel wins heat-shortened stage nine – as it happened

On a day shortened because of extreme heat, it was a chance for opportunists and Mathieu van der Poel took advantage, with Tom Pidcock finishing third

Christian Prudhomme pokes his head out of the sunroof and waves his little yellow flag. Stage nine is underway…

The riders are rolling out of Malemort, racing begins in earnest in 5km.