“I tried everything” – Jasper Stuyven’s attack fails on the gravel stage of the Tour de France

The award for most combative rider that Jasper Stuyven received on stage 9 of the Tour de France was obviously no great consolation, the disappointment was clearly audible in the Lidl-Trek rider’s voice during the post-stage interviews. The first victory in the French Grand Tour seemed within reach for a moment, but was snatched away from him again.

Stuyven has made it onto the stage podium four times, his best result being a second place on stage 7 in 2021, the year he won Milan-San Remo. Back then, he was in the lead with eventual winner Matej Mohorič, but was dropped at the Signal d’Uchon. On this year’s gravel-heavy stage, it was Stuyven who instead tried to drop all his rivals.

At the front of the breakaway, Stuyven cleverly waited until his opponent’s attempted attack was caught and then quickly countered with just over 11km to go. Despite the jostling behind him, he was able to open up a small gap to prevent the strong European gravel champion from getting away.