• Tour de France Stage Nine, Issoir - Saint-Flour

Crash claims major victims as Voeckler snatches yellow

Luis Leon Sanchez had too much in the tank for Thomas Voeckler © Getty Images

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Luis Leon Sanchez outsprinted Thomas Voeckler to deny France its first stage victory of the 2011 Tour de France in a dramatic Stage Nine that saw a number of high profile retirements.

Voeckler did all the hard work in the closing stages as the breakaway trio of Voeckler, Sanchez and Sandy Casar held off the chasing pack. Despite missing out on the stage victory, the effort paid off as the Frenchman inherited the yellow jersey from Thor Hushovd, but the stage was overshadowed by a major crash that proved to be the end for a number of high-profile names.

Alexandre Vinokourov was sent tumbling off the side of the road, bringing his final Tour to an abrupt end; the Astana rider reportedly suffered a broken femur and pelvis. Other victims included Jürgen Van Den Broeck (broken shoulder blade), Team Garmin's David Zabriskie (broken wrist) and Frederik Willems (broken collarbone).

David Millar and Cadel Evans were also involved in the pile-up but both were able to get back on their bikes and rejoin the peloton.

As the main group tried to chase down the breakaway group featuring Sanchez, Voeckler, Casar, Johnny Hoogerland and Juan Antonio Flecha, the breakaway was reduced to three with a little over 30km to go in bizarre circumstances when Flecha was hit by a car.

A vehicle for French TV appeared to swerve to avoid a tree, sending Flecha crashing from his bike, while Hoogerland was sent flying into a barbed wire fence. Remarkably, both returned to their bikes, but they were swallowed up by the chasing group.

Tour de France Stage Nine, Issoir - Saint-Flour:
1. Luis Leon Sanchez (Spa) Rabobank 5:27:09
2. Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar 0:00:05
3. Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJ 0:00:13
4. Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto - 0:03:59
5. Peter Velits (Svk) HTC-Highroad - same time
6. Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team - same time
7. Andy Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek - same time
8. Tony Martin (Ger) HTC-Highroad - same time
9. Frank Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek - same time
10. Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - ISD - same time

General classification after Stage Nine:
1. Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar 38:35:11
2. Luis Leon Sanchez (Spa) Rabobank - at one minute 49 seconds
3. Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team - at two minutes 26 seconds
4. Fränk Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek - at two minutes 29 seconds
5. Andy Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek - at two minutes 37 seconds
6. Tony Martin (Ger) HTC-Highroad - at two minutes 38 seconds
7. Peter Velits (Svk) HTC-Highroad - at two minutes 38 seconds
8. Andreas Klöden (Ger) Team RadioShack - at two minutes 43 seconds
9. Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto - at two minutes 55 seconds
10. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Leopard Trek - at three minutes eight seconds

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