Roglic takes yellow jersey from Yates as Pogacar wins stage nine

Primoz Roglic took the yellow jersey from Adam Yates as Tadej Pogacar won stage nine of the Tour de France.

Mitchelton-Scott rider Yates picked up the yellow jersey on Wednesday after Julian Alaphilippe was given a 20-second time penalty, but Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) took advantage of his slide ahead of Monday's rest day.

Yates was dropped on the final climb of the 153-kilometre mountain route from Pau to Laruns and consequently fell to eighth in the general classification, one minute and two seconds off the pace.

Rain made conditions tricky for riders during the early stages but Marc Hirschi (Team Sunweb) was in charge after the Col de la Hourcere and stretched his lead to more than four minutes on the approach to the final climb.

But the steepness of the category one Col de Marie Blanque proved too much for Hirschi as a quintet of riders caught him in the final two kilometres, with Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) sealing his first stage win in the Tour and Roglic taking the yellow jersey, despite the pair almost downing each other when touching wheels earlier in the race.

Roglic's lead is by no means emphatic, however, as defending champion Egan Bernal (Team INEOS) sits just 21 seconds adrift in the general classification.

YATES COULD NOT HANG ON

Yates has looked a strong contender over the past few days, but Sunday was a step too far.

Stage nine provided a tough reminder of the standards required and the quality of those who had been chasing him down.

In the end, Yates ruefully accepted there were other riders simply in better condition than he was, but he is still feeling optimistic.

"A hard day," he said. "The break didn't really go until the climb. I did my best. I gave everything I could to hang on.

"I think we can be proud of what we did and freshen up now on rest day. I did what I could, but there were some guys in a better condition than me. It is what it is.

"I said from the beginning, there's a lot of stages in the last week that suit me quite well, so I'll have a go and I'll see what I can do."

STAGE RESULT

1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 3:55:17

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS

General Classification

1. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 38:40:01

Points Classification

1. Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) 138

King of the Mountains

1. Benoit Cosnefroy (AG2R La Mondiale) 36

WHAT'S NEXT

The race resumes on Tuesday with stage 10, a mostly flat section that is 168.5km in length. Somewhat unusually for the Tour, the stage will partly take place on two islands, starting on Ile d'Oleron and ending on Ile de Re.