Sandy Casar wins stage nine of Tour de France
Sandy Casar riding for Française des Jeux has won stage nine of the Tour de France at Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne.
In a seven-man sprint towards the finish under the Flamme Rouge, the Frenchman crossed the line first ahead of Luis-Leon Sanchez and Damiano Cunego.
Casar’s major achievements have included one stage win on the Tour, back in 2007 where he won the 18th stage, and the Route du Sud in 2005. His team also confirmed he rode the stage with a fractured elbow.
After today’s stage, Luxembourg’s Andy Schleck for Team Saxo Bank will lead the overall standings, taking the yellow jersey from world champion Cadel Evans, who felt the pressure today as he lost a vast amount of time on the Col de la Madeliene.
Along with brother Fränk, it is the first time since 2001 that two brothers have held the yellow jersey at the Tour thanks to Andy’s triumph today. Norway’s Thor Hushovd maintains the green jersey in the points standings as well.
Schleck, runner-up to Contador last year, crossed the line in seventh, with Alberto Contador in sixth. Both Contador and Schleck caught the leaders of four-riders as they made up time on their opponents.
The ninth stage was the main alpine stage for the riders, with a total distance of 204.5 kilometres being completed after the first rest day. The riders set off from Morzine-Avoriaz, with an altitude of 1,000 metres, in the authentic Savoy village.
Last year’s Tour winner Contador is now second in the overall standings, 41 seconds behind Schleck, with Samuel Sanchez of Spain two minutes and 45 seconds off Schleck.
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