Tour de France: Stage 9 Issoire > Saint Flour, 208kms

Bedraggled sunflowers are witness to a speeding peloton...

SUNFLOWERSTDF

Geraint Thomas is on the attack with Jurgen Roelandts on the very first climb...

SKYESCAPETDF

Robert Gesink is in trouble, even on this 4th-category climb..!

David Millar needs his bike seeing to after a small fall...

GARMINTDFMECHANIC

A bike change is the mechanic's advice...

GARMINTDFMECHANIC

Jonathan Vaughters shows his passion, and belief in his team, by getting out and giving Millar a mighty push...

GARMINTDF

Juan Antonio Flecha is on the attack - another reason for the fast pace..!

Flecha's forged a six-man escape with Voeckler, Sanchez, Hoogerland, Terpstra and Casar - the peloton has stopped chasing...

Garmin-Cervelo are in control on the rolling hills of the Cantal area...

SCENERYTDF

Voeckler leads the escape up the Puy Mary - they have about five minutes in-hand...

EUROPCARESCAPETDF

The peloton is climbing its first real ascent of this Tour de France - and it's one of the prettiest as well..!

SCENERYTDF

Andreas Kloden is not laughing - he's been caught in a crash on the wet descent...

SHACKCRASHTDF

Half the Astana team is trying to get Vinokourov out of the trees and back up to the road...

ASTANACRASHTDF

It's like a war-zone - Zabriskie looks in a bad way and will abandon...

GARMINCRASHTDF

Frederik Willems has broken his collar-bone and is out of the Tour...

OMEGACRASHTDF

Vinokourov is unable to walk, let alone ride a bike - he abandons too...

ASTANACRASHTDF

A few kilometres further down, Jurgen Van den Broeck has fallen and broken his collar-bone - he's out too...

OMEGACRASHTDF

Tom Danielson picks up the chase for Garmin-Cervelo - but the crash and delays have made the gap grow to over seven minutes...

Thor Hushovd might well be spending his last day in the Yellow Jersey...

GARMINTDF

Stuart O'Grady is leadiing a Leopard-Trek effort to bring the gap down now...

LEOPARDTDF

The fast pace is making life difficult for sprinters like Mark Cavendish...

HTCTDF

Julian Dean is fighting to get back on to where his teamates need all the help they can get..!

GARMINTDF

A TV guest car has knocked Jonny Hoogerland off the road and into a barbed-wire fence - Flecha was also knocked off but survived better...

Flecha's gone from being in the escape to climbing the penultimate climb at the back of the peloton..!

SKYINJURYTDF

Sanchez leads what is now a trio of escapers into the last 25-kilometres...

RABOBANKTDF

BMC is forced to chase now - the gap has grown to five-minutes with 15-kilometres to go...

BMCTDF

Voeckler has got the bit between his teeth - he knows he's heading into the Yellow Jersey..!

EUROPCARESCAPETDF

Luis Leon Sanchez has won stage nine into St Flour - with his now familiar victory salute...

RABOBANKTDF

Andy Schleck today at the finish looks like Contador yesterday at the finish - what's going on..?!

LEOPARDTDF

It's a dream come true: Thomas Voeckler is the race-leader of the Tour de France - seven years after he last wore it in 2004..!

EUROPCARYELLOWTDF