Mathieu Van der Poel overcame intense heat to win the ninth stage of the Tour de France on Sunday, July 12, 2026. The stage, which was shortened by 30 kilometers due to extreme temperatures, saw Van der Poel sprint to victory ahead of Tobias Halland Johannessen and Tom Pidcock.

The 31-year-old Dutchman, a former world champion and cobbled classics specialist, claimed his third Tour de France stage win. The race from Malemort to Ussel was reduced to 154.6 kilometers as temperatures soared to nearly 40 degrees Celsius in the Corrèze department.

Van der Poel, who rides for Alpecin-Premier Tech, said the heat made the stage particularly challenging. "It was a super hard day. The start of the Tour was not great for our team, but I think, like always, we stayed calm," he said. "We have a really nice group here and we kept believing that it will turn around... but it's really nice to go to the first rest day with a win."

The stage was marked by an early breakaway group that included French veteran Julian Alaphilippe, but they were soon caught. The winning breakaway group of four, including Van der Poel, Johannessen, Pidcock, and Frenchman Alex Baudin, formed later in the race.

Pidcock, who was aiming for his second Tour de France stage win, was hampered by a mechanical issue with his bike. "My shifter stopped working," he said. "I couldn't change gear. My bike was perfect the whole race and then today when the win was there, it doesn't work. Anyway, Mathieu is a difficult one to beat in a sprint situation like that. It would be difficult anyway, so I'm happy for a good day's racing."

Defending champion Tadej Pogacar finished six seconds behind Van der Poel in the chasing peloton, maintaining his overall lead of 2 minutes and 42 seconds over two-time winner Jonas Vingegaard. Mexican rider Isaac del Toro is in third place, 3 minutes and 27 seconds behind Pogacar.

The extreme heat has been a major topic of discussion in this year's Tour de France. Pogacar, who has been vocal about the challenges posed by the heat, said he would change the racing calendar if he had the power. "If I had the power, I would change the entire calendar and not race in hot places in July and August," he said. "I would set up a completely different calendar, but that's not in my power."

This is the second stage of this year's Tour to be affected by weather conditions. The third stage was also impacted by wildfires near the Spanish-French border.

Van der Poel's victory is his third career Tour de France stage win, adding to his victories in 2021 and 2025. Despite a season that had not gone entirely to plan, with no wins in the prestigious Monument one-day classics, Van der Poel showed his class and determination in the challenging conditions.

As the Tour de France heads into its first rest day, riders and teams will be looking to recover from the grueling first week of racing. With Pogacar firmly in the lead, the competition is sure to heat up as the race continues.

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