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A disappointed Lennert Van Eetvelt part of strong breakaway in 9th stage Tour de France

Intermarché Lotto continued the attacking approach that has defined the past few days. After Baptiste Veistroffer and Liam Slock, it was Lennert Van Eetvelt who made it into today's breakaway. Van Eetvelt spent much of the stage at the front alongside seven other riders but was dropped from the group on the final climb. "I actually thought the peloton had already caught us by then, but that turned out not to be the case," a disappointed Van Eetvelt said.
Race 12 July 2026
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It took until halfway through today's stage, between Malemort and Ussel, for the eight-man breakaway to finally establish itself. Among them were Lennert Van Eetvelt, Mathieu van der Poel and Tom Pidcock. However, the peloton never eased off and continued to chase hard. Just before the final climb, the bunch- led by UAE and yellow jersey Tadej Pogačar- had closed the gap to just 30 seconds. "At that point, I was convinced the peloton was about to catch us," Van Eetvelt explained. "So I let the others go. I got it wrong, because the peloton never came back. I thought our effort had been for nothing. I'm disappointed in myself for letting them go. With a different mindset, I think I could have stayed with them. In a hard race like this, I normally have no problem following the pace."

Van Eetvelt had started the stage with some doubts after experiencing back pain. "I didn't feel completely comfortable, but my legs were actually better than expected. I'm not saying I missed out on a stage win today, but I do think a top-five finish was possible. That's what frustrates me. The rest day will definitely do me good."

 

Picture: PhotoNews