Smooth sailing for Thomas and Bernal on stage 9 of Tour de France
In contrast to the hectic end to stage 8 of the Tour de France, Team Ineos enjoyed a more controlled, and certainly less strenuous, finish to stage 9 in Brioude.
On Bastille Day, the breakaway finished over 16 minutes up on the peloton, but even with the stage victory well out of sight, it didn't stop several riders going on the attack on the final climb of the Côte de Saint-Just.
Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) led the charge on home ground, while Richie Porte (Team Sunweb) and George Bennett (Jumbo-Visma) followed. But with Ineos on the front of the peloton, they didn't get far before being pulled back.
"It was not a bad day," said co-team leader Egan Bernal after the finish. "I think that it was a good day for us. The principal objective was not to lose time in the general classification, so we did it and we should be happy with this."
It was a sentiment echoed by Geraint Thomas, the reigning Tour champion who shares leadership with Bernal this July. After a shower and change of clothes, Thomas stepped off the bus to give his opinion on the day.
"We had to be aware of [Bardet's attack]," Thomas said to the waiting reporters. "He's quite far down on GC but Bennett and Richie were there, so you don't want to give time back to all three of them if you don't have to.
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