Tour de France: Martin victorious in Bagnères-de-Bigorre

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Dan Martin (Garmin-Sharp) out-sprinted Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) to win stage 9 of the Tour de France at the end of a gripping day in the Pyrenees that saw serious weaknesses exposed in Sky’s armoury for the first time in the race. Although Chris Froome successfully repelled a concerted Movistar offensive to defend his yellow jersey, he did so in isolation as Richie Porte slid dramatically out of the overall picture by conceding over 18 minutes.

Martin’s Garmin-Sharp squad had vowed to create chaos before the Tour began and they were as good as their word a day after many had feared the race already over as a contest. They set the tone for the stage by launching a volley of attacks on the first climb, the Col de Portet d’Aspet, which scattered the Sky team to the four winds and left Froome with just Porte for company with 140 kilometres still to race.

Worse was to follow for Froome on the second climb, the Col de Menté, where Porte was dropped after he had helped the maillot jaune try and restore some semblance of order to the early anarchy. Froome himself tracked a cheeky attack from Alejandro Valverde on the way down the Menté, showing none of the jitters that contributed to Luis Ocaña's downfall in 1971, but when the dust settled in the valley before the Peyresourde, he was the only Sky rider in a 30-strong yellow jersey group that was now under the control of Movistar.

“It was one of the hardest days I’ve ever had on a bike but I’m happy to still be in the yellow jersey,” Froome said afterwards. “Credit is due to the Movistar team who really did a good race and put me under pressure. It was hard to be alone there.”

Movistar’s pace-making ensured that Porte’s flickering revival – he chased at two minutes for more than 50 kilometres – was ultimately snuffed out, and after setting tempo over the Peyresourde and the Col de Val Louron, the scene was set for a twin offensive from Valverde and Nairo Quintana on the final climb, the Hourquette d’Ancizan.

The anticipated Movistar pincer movement never materialised, however, for while the white jersey Quintana launched no fewer than four fierce accelerations on the col, a seemingly untroubled Froome responded smoothly each time, dragging the rest of the overall contenders across with him, including Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff) and Bauke Mollema (Belkin), while Valverde didn’t dare risk an attack of his own.

Indeed, for all his team’s numerical supremacy in the front group, Valverde ultimately failed to make any inroads into the numbers that truly count – while the Spaniard moved up to second overall, he remains 1:25 behind Froome’s yellow jersey. The Belkin duo of Mollema and Ten Dam lie third and fourth, at 1:44 and 1:50 respectively, while Contador stays 1:51 back in sixth place.

The day’s tactical master class was instead delivered by Dan Martin, who cleverly jumped away immediately after Quintana’s first acceleration a little over four kilometres from the summit. When Fuglsang bridged across shortly afterwards, Martin had a willing accomplice and the pair opened up a 50-second lead over the yellow jersey group by the top of the climb.

Martin and Fuglsang collaborated smoothly on the 30-kilometre drop to Bagnères-de-Bigorre and it soon became apparent that they would fight out the stage honours between them. The Irishman successfully marshalled Fuglsang to the front underneath the red kite, refused to bite too soon in the game of cat and mouse that ensued, and then swooped to lead into the final left-hand bend and comfortably take the sprint for stage victory.

“I knew the last 30 kilometres quite well,” said Martin, whose first major professional success came at the Route du Sud five years ago. “I was lucky Jakob came with me because I don’t think one guy would have survived out there alone. But it was a great team effort all day, the guys went on the attack from the start and I had to finish it off in the end.”

Martin closed a twenty-one year gap to become the fifth Irishman to win a stage of the Tour de Fr