Fedrigo joined in the first counterattack right off the start, then stayed in the leading group over the two mountain climbs. The peloton made an effort to reel in the breakaway, but in the end, it came down to sprinting tactics and will, and Fedrigo won both contests.
Strategy in the Mountains
Stage Nine, 160.5 km from Saint-Gaudens to Tarbes, was short in length but not in altitude. The stage included the Category One Col d’Aspin for a warm-up, followed immediately by the heartbreaking climb up the Hors Categorie Col du Tourmalet, a 17-kilometer haul up a 7.4 percent grade. This climb goes on and on and up and up; any rider even a little tired from the past two days of climbing would start slipping back here.
The overall length, coupled with the fact that Monday would be a rest day, meant that some riders would be willing to spend themselves and charge down the long descent. With the final fifty km being flat and slightly downhill, it seemed likely that any big mountain attacks would be ridden down by the end.
Many of the teams which hoped to be competitive in the final week, realized that they needed to wear down Team Astana, which had dominated the peloton in every stage. This prompted attacks by big-name riders which otherwise would have been left to their lesser-known teammates.
When asked about whether Saxo Bank was trying to force the yellow onto Astana, to put more pressure on the team, Lance Armstrong replied: “That’s one theory; you never know what they’re thinking.
"That might actually have been a better move for us, considering the days that are coming up and the strength of the two teams comparatively you never know."
When asked how Astana would have reacted had they held the yellow jersey, Armstrong’s answer revealed Astana’s plans and priorities: “We would have changed our tactics. We would have let other groups go and tried, essentially, to give it away.”
Astana, it seems, is totally focused on the final week in the Alps, and totally focused on the overall win, not the overall lead.
When asked if Astana was planning any attacks in Stage Nine, Armstrong made a remarkably accurate prediction: “I would expect Saxo to do the same thing [as yesterday], put a Voigt or an Arvesen up in the break and see if one of the Schleck brothers can get across.”
Voigt Drives the Attack
Silence-Lotto riders Johann Van Summeren and Sebastian Lang attacked at the starting line, drawing a response from a group of ten competitors. Four out of this group—Jens Voigt (Saxo Bank), Franco Pelizotti (Liquigas), Leonardo Duque (Cofidis), and Pierrick Fedrigo (Bbox) pulled away from the lead group.
Lance Armstrong, apparently not willing to let so many powerful riders make an escape, launched an attack of his own at the 20 km mark, followed by yellow-jersey wearer Rinaldo Nocentini. This brought the whole peloton to life, and within five km, the breakaway was absorbed.
Jens Voigt, Franco Pelizotti, Pierrick Duqure, and Pierrick Fedrigo maintained a lead, but no one in the peloton was worried about a four-man breakaway. The four opened a gap of 2:30 as the peloton relaxed.
Once the climbing started, the individual attacks started. Laurens Ten Dam, then Amets Txurruka and Jürgen Van de Broek went out; Sergio Paulinho, Stephane Goubert, and Egoi Martinez followed. Katusha rider Vladimir Karpets crossed over to join them.
Jens Voigt’s crushing pace proved too much for Duque, who dropped.
Karepts flatted on the ascent, getting dropped, while Thomas Voeckler attacked, as did a few others. The descent went without incident, and at the base of the Tourmalet, the lead three were ahead by four minutes, with Duque behind, followed by a group of eight: Laurens Ten Dam, Amets Txurruka, Jürgen Van de Broek, Sergio Paulinho, Egoi Matrtinez, Juan Manuel Garate, David Moncoutie, and Thomas Voeckler a minute ahead of the peloton.
Maxime Bouet made an attempt to bridge the gap to the group of eight; after a long struggle, he caught them a few kilometers from the peak. However, he was dropped soon after, having spent himself crossing the gap.
Meanwhile, Pelizotti attacked, and Fedrigo followed, leaving Voigt on the ascent.
Back in the peloton, AG2Rput five riders onto the front of the peloton to control the pace and protect the yellow jersey. Astana was content to allow Nocentini to keep the jersey, some of the other teams, Saxo Bank in particular, were likely to want to push the issue.
The chase group caught up with Voigt a kilometer before the peak. Saxo Bank might have changed strategies. While it originally seemed that Saxo Bank planned to challenge the yellow jersey, it now seemed the team might have conceded the stage and the jersey.
The Pursuit
With about fifty km to go, Team Columbia racing director Brian Holm was heard on the race radio telling the team to pick up the pace to create a sprint finish at the end. Apparently Columbia thought they could catch the breakaway and contend for the stage victory.
Once the peloton decided to chase the breakaway, Caisse d’Epargne went to the head of the peloton. AG2R and Rabobank joined in.
Caisse d’Epargne had José Joaquin Rojas, Columbia had Kim Kirchen, Rabobank had Oscar Freire as power sprinters who could climb the mountains and still win a sprint at the end. Most of the pure sprinters—Thor Hushovd, Mark Cavendish—were off the back and weren’t going to catch the head of the peloton; now was a chance for their powerful lead-out men to win some glory.Very quickly, the peloton rode down the chase group, which eased up, realizing they would likely not stay away anyway.
With 25 km to go, the breakaway had a two-and-a-half minute lead on the peloton. The peloton, still led by Caisse d’Epargne, lifted the pace yet again.
With fifteen km to go, the break was 2:15 ahead. Columbia dropped off the front of the peloton, perhaps thinking the pursuit wouldn’t succeed, while Liquigas and Bbox sent their riders to the head, to try to slow the peloton to help their men in the break.
Caisse d’Epargne and Rabobank started to tire, and the gap held steady at 45 seconds. Andy Schleck had the bad luck to get a flat, but his team pulled him back. Mighty Jens Voigt, who lead much of the race and then dropped back to work for his team, dropped back to pull Schleck to the front.
With 2 km to go, the gap was 39 seconds and it seemed the break would survive. The leader weaved through the narrow streets of the city of Tarbes, which were lined with shouting fans.
With a kilometer to go, it was clear that Pelizotti and Fedrigo would stay clear. Now it was the chess match of sprint tactics.
Thirty meters out, Fedrigo pulled out of the slipstream and blasted past Pelizotti, timing his remaining power perfectly to just beat the Italian rider over the line.
Behind them, the peloton had its bunch spring, though only for third place. Rabobank rider Oscar Freire emerged from the madness to capture third.
The yellow jersey remains with Rinaldo Nocentini, and Astana keeps its strangle hold on the top five, as the Tour takes a day off before heading to the plains for five flat stages.
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| Stage Nine Results | |||
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| Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Fedrigo | Bbox | 4:05:31 |
| 2 | Franco Pellizotti | Liquigas | 0:00 |
| 3 | Osacar freire | Rabobank | +34:04 |
| 4 | Sergeuei Ivanaov | Katusha | +34:05 |
| 5 | Peter Velits | Milram | +34:06 |
| 6 | José Rojas | Caisse d’Epargne | +34:07 |
| 7 | Greg Van Avermaet | Silence-Lotto | +34:08 |
| 8 | Geoffroy Lequatr | Agritubel | +34:09 |
| 9 | Alessandro Ballan | Lampre | +34:10 |
| 10 | Nicolas Roche1AG2R |
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