The best rider award won by Jasper Stuyven on stage 9 of the Tour de France was clearly no consolation. His first win in the French Grand Tour seemed within reach for a moment, but once again it was taken away from him. Stuben had 25 top-10 finishes in Tour de France stages, four on the podium, and his best result was second place on stage 7 in 2021, when he won Milan-San Remo. On that occasion, he was leading the race with winner Matej Mohoric, who fell at Signal Duchon, but on this year's gravelly stage, Stuyven instead tried to drop all of his rivals.

Stuyven was at the front of the breakaway group, skillfully waiting for his rivals to reel in their attacks, and quickly countered with around 11km to go. Despite struggling at the back to stop the European gravel champion's attempt to break away, Stuyven managed to build a small gap.

Stuyven built a 10-second gap and entered the final gravel section alone.

"I tried everything," said Stuyven.

"It was probably a good thing there wasn't a strong headwind for the last few kilometers.

As Stuyven appeared to fade a bit, a chase ensued behind him, and eventually a small group caught the 32-year-old Stuyven, making his eighth Tour de France appearance, about a kilometer from the finish. He then had to watch the group jump ahead and fight for the victory that until a few minutes earlier had seemed to be his. Anthony Turgis (Total Energies) won ahead of Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) and Derek Gee (Israel Premier Tech).

"It would have been nice to push a little more in the closing stages, but that was the reality and unfortunately it wasn't enough," Steuben said in a team media release.

Asked in a post-race interview if there was any satisfaction to be gained from his strong performance, Steuben replied: "It's hard to think of anything positive at the moment.

"It was a great opportunity for me and I was one step away. Now I just want to enjoy the rest day and see what is possible in the next race and if there are more opportunities. Unlimited access to all Tour de France information - including breaking news and analysis from local journalists - from every stage of the race at the moment. Learn more [15].