Peter Sagan

Peter Sagan of Tinkoff Team is just a few points behind the green-jersey leader, Mark Cavendish, and now holds the Maillot Gris of the Point d’Appui, having landed at the middle of the general classification at the end of Stage 9.

Sagan, of course, also held the yellow jersey for three stages after winning Stage 2. He fell back sharply in the standings after Stage 5, slipped as low as 113th place in Stage 7 and rose Sunday to the fulcrum position of the peloton.

Tom Dumoulin won the 184-kilometer stage in a cold downpour just after a hailstorm pounded the finish line. He got into an early break after several attacks and then chased away from the front end just before the beginning of the final climb.

Stage 9 had three Category 1 climbs and an HC climb to the finish.

Four riders did not finish the day. Alberto Contador, the team leader for Tinkoff, bailed out midway through the day. Mark Renshaw of Dimension Data and Matthieu Ladagnous and Cédric Pineau, both of FDJ, abandoned before the end of the day as well. The withdrawal by Renshaw, the lead-out for Mark Cavendish, might portend Cavendish’s withdrawal from the race if he were to fall behind on points for the green jersey.

Sam Bennett of Bora-Argon 18 continues as the Lanterne Rouge, 2 hours, 22 minutes and 11 seconds behind the tour leader, Christopher Froome of Sky.