cycling: Tour de France Rest Day #1: Drama & Suspense

Cycling: The heroes of the Tour de France have completed nine of 21 stages. A lot has already happened before the first rest day. We look back, assess all ratings and look ahead.

Lots of drama: falls, disqualification & out of time limit

Every year, the Tour de France becomes an ordeal for some. Yesterday, we witnessed several dramatic moments on the ninth stage . Arnaud Démare and three of his FDJ teammates struggled all day and ultimately lost the battle. Since they didn't make the time cut, they are no longer allowed to start the Tour de France tomorrow. Richie Porte (BMC) fared even worse, having to abandon the race after a heavy crash. The same fate befell Geraint Thomas (Sky), among others, who won the first stage in Düsseldorf. However, the biggest controversy of the 2017 Tour de France is the responsibility of the world champion. Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe) was disqualified! On the fourth stage , he allegedly pushed Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) against the barrier with his elbow. Since then, the team has been exploring all legal options. TV footage proves that it was a typical racing incident.

Flop: We expected more from Contador, Pinot and Quintana

Every tour produces winners and losers. After one of three weeks, no final conclusion can be drawn, but already the Tour de France does not seem to be going according to plan for some riders. Nairo Quintana (Movistar), for example, lined up to finally win the Grand Loop. The Colombian is already more than two minutes behind. The tour victory already seems to be hardly possible. But Quintana also has the Giro d'Italia under his belt, as does Thibaut Pinot (FDJ). The Frenchman does not compete in the overall classification at this year's Tour de France. But even when he tried to break away, he didn't cut a good figure. Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) was fully focused on the Tour de France. On the ninth stage he conceded more than four minutes. The Spaniard can already check off the podium.

Top: Aru, Kittel, Bardet and Uran inspire the audience

Who would have thought? Rigoberto Uran (Cannondale-Drapac) is back! The Colombian won the ninth stage and is within striking distance in the overall standings. The same applies to the French Romain Bardet (Ag2r) and the Italian Fabio Aru (Astana). After the fall of Richie Porte (BMC) and the lack of form from Nairo Quintana and Alberto Contador, these three will now challenge Chris Froome. The problem: In the time trial, the Briton is much stronger. In the remaining mountain stages, they would have to take a lot off the defending champion. Marcel Kittel (Quick-Step Floors) doesn't care about the overall ranking. The German sprinter has already won three stages and wears the green jersey. After Peter Sagan and Arnaud Démare were eliminated, Marcel Kittel should have a good chance.

Exciting ratings: who will secure the jerseys?

At a Tour de France, almost every team has goals in some category. After nine stages, we can see tendencies in all ratings, but none of them seem to have been decided yet. In the overall standings, Chris Froome is just 18 seconds ahead of Fabio Aru. Together with Romain Bardet and Rigoberto Uran they are within a minute. In terms of points, there could be a three-way battle between Marcel Kittel (212 points), Michael Matthews (160) and André Greipel (130). Some drivers have already collected mountain points. Warren Barguil (60) is currently leading ahead of Primoz Roglic (30) and Alexis Vuillermoz (27). But there are still a few points on the way to Paris. Bauke Mollema, Thibaut Pinot, Pierre Rolland and Lilian Calmejane could also have ambitions here. In the junior classification, the status seems to be a bit clearer. Simon Yates is almost three minutes ahead of Louis Meintjes. Emanuel Buchmann is 6:44 minutes behind. The Tour de France 2017 can definitely be described as extremely exciting.

Tour de France preview: Those were the Velomotion predictions

The current overall ranking of the 2017 Tour de France after 9 of 21 stages