The seventh and biggest victory in the career of Anthony Turgis came on Sunday afternoon and in a stage for the ages at the 2024 Tour de France too as the TotalEnergies rider triumphed on the hotly anticipated gravel stage 9.
"'I didn't even dare to raise my hand beforehand when asked who of us could win a stage, but this is the holy grail. This is really a fantastic experience," reflected an emotional Turgis in his post-stage interview, having fought off competition from the likes of Tom Pidcock, Derek Gee, Ben Healy and Alex Aranburu among others in a frantic sprint for the line from the breakaway.
Heading into the finale though, Turgis was actually a little out of place as Jasper Stuyven took the Flamme Rouge solo. "With Stuyven we had a tough nut to crack, but at the finish I looked left, right and again… Then you think: I'm riding in the lead in the Tour de France," recalls the 30-year-old Frenchman, who is riding his 7th Tour. "All sorts of things go through your head, and then you win. An incredible feeling!"
"This is a prestigious victory. Earlier this year I was unlucky, because I was also in that big crash in Dwars door Vlaanderen," Turgis concludes. "But this is so good. We are going to drink a lot of champagne now, because we have a rest day tomorrow."
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2024 Tour de France stage 9 results:
| 1 | TURGIS Anthony | TotalEnergies | 210 | 04:19:43 |
| 2 | PIDCOCK Tom | INEOS Grenadiers | 150 | + 00 |
| 3 | GEE Derek | Israel-Premier Tech | 110 | + 00 |
| 4 | ARANBURU Alex | Movistar Team | 90 | + 00 |
| 5 | HEALY Ben | EF Education-EasyPost | 70 | + 00 |
| 6 | LUTSENKO Alexey | Astana Qazaqstan Team | 55 | + 00 |
| 7 | ROMO Javier | Movistar Team | 45 | + 12 |
| 8 | STUYVEN Jasper | Lidl-Trek | 40 | + 18 |
| 9 | GIRMAY Biniam | Intermarché-Wanty | 35 | + 01:17 |
| 10 | MATTHEWS Michael | Team Jayco-AlUla | 30 | + 01:17 |
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