Italian rider Riccardo Ricco made it two stage wins with his outstanding win in the first day of the Pyrenees. Ricco made his move on the Col D’Aspin where the peloton had already wore thin. His closest competitor, Vladimir Efimkin finished a minute four seconds behind Riccò.

Race Leader Kim Kirchen finished in pack and retains his Maillot Jaune, and his six second lead over second place Cadel Evans. Evans was able to regain his composure after a crash midway through the stage and was paced back up to the peloton by his team. American Christian Vandevelde moves up to third place on the day and is now forty four seconds behind Kirchen.

Kim Kirchen also is the points leader for the green jersey now, Andy Schleck moves into the white.

Stage 9 Results
1 Riccardo Riccò (Ita) Saunier Duval - Scott - 5.39.28 (39.59km/h)
2 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale - 1.04
3 Cyril Dessel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale - 1.17
4 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Crédit Agricole
5 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Milram
6 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone
7 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne
8 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas
9 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre
10 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Silence - Lotto

General Classification after Stage 9
1 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Team Columbia - 38.07.19
2 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence - Lotto - 0.06
3 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30 - 0.44
4 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner - 0.56
5 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank - 1.03
6 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne - 1.12
7 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Quick Step - 1.21
8 Oscar Pereiro Sio (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne
9 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi - 1.27
10 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC - Saxo Bank - 1.34

Full results here..

Jersey Standings:
Kim Kirchen
Kim Kirchen
David De La Fuente
Andy Schleck

Tour de France / Pro Cycling Forum - Click Here

Links to news sites…

“Ricco rocks Tour de France favourites as Evans suffers crash

BAGNERES-DE-BIGORRE, France (AFP) — No one would admit it after what proved to be a thrilling, but painful first day of climbing in the Pyrenees mountains on the Tour France.

But more than one team manager will watching for signs of weakness from leading yellow jersey contender Cadel Evans during Monday’s 10th stage over 156km from Pau to the race’s first summit finish at Hautacam.” Read more from AFP…

“Italy’s Ricco wins 9th stage of Tour de France

BAGNERES-DE-BIGORRE, France (AP) — Riccardo Ricco of Italy has won the ninth stage of the Tour de France as riders entered the Pyrenees mountains. It was his second stage victory in this race.

Kim Kirchen of Luxembourg was in the trailing pack and it wasn’t clear if he will keep the overall leader’s yellow jersey” Read more from the Associated Press…

“The Cobra strikes on the first real mountain stage of the 2008 Tour de France
Vande Velde moves into third overall
By VeloNews.com

Riccardo Ricco (Saunier Duval-Scott) won the ninth stage of the Tour de France on Sunday in a bold solo assault, while Kim Kirchen (Team Columbia) finished safely with the bunch to retain the overall lead.

It was the second stage win of the 95th Tour for the young Italian, who leapt away from the bunch on the Col d’Aspin and held a slim lead on the 26km run in to the finish. His first came on stage 6 to Super-Besse, where he sprinted to victory ahead of overall contenders Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) and Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne).” Read more from VeloNews.com…

“Riccò wins second mountain stage via solo Col d’Aspin flyer alla Pantani
Kirchen holds on to maillot jaune while Evans survives tumble
By Gregor Brown in Bagnères de Bigorre

Italy’s Riccardo Riccò opened up the throttle to distance his rivals on the Tour de France’s Col d’Aspin in a move similar to the late Marco Pantani to gain a solo win in Bagnères de Bigorre. The chase including classification favourites finished over a minute behind Riccò and included race leader Kim Kirchen (Team Columbia) and a bruised Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto), who crashed on the decent of the Col de Peyresourde.” Read more from CyclingNews.com…