Tour de France Stage 9 cut by 30km after red heatwave alert in Corrèze threatens 41°C spikes

Tour de France Stage 9 cut by 30km after red heatwave alert in Corrèze threatens 41°C spikes

Sunday’s race from Malemort to Ussel will start later and use a revised route as organisers respond to an intense heatwave.

By Peter Stuart · · 3 min read

ASO has shortened Sunday’s Tour de France Stage 9 from 185.5km to 155.5km after Météo-France placed Corrèze on a red heatwave alert, the organiser announced on Saturday 11 July.

The revised stage from Malemort to Ussel will start at 13:45, with the finish now expected at around 17:30. After passing through Brive-la-Gaillarde, the race will take the D921 directly to Lanteuil, 147.8km from the finish – cutting the route's opening loop south of Brive through Turenne, Collonges-la-Rouge and Meyssac.

ASO's French announcement, deviating slightly from the English version, said the route would change after the riders’ parade through Brive-la-Gaillarde, rather than from the beginning of the stage in Malemort.

The original Stage 9 schedule listed a 13:35 neutralised start and an expected arrival in Ussel at 17:47. Sunday’s revised start is therefore 10 minutes later, while the estimated finish moves forward by about 17 minutes because of the 30km reduction.

Related - How to watch the Tour de France in the UK

“This decision has been made necessary by the exceptional weather conditions,” ASO said. “It aims to ensure that the race can take place under conditions compatible with the red heatwave alert.” The organiser changed the route and kept the stage in competition.

Results

Jul 11

Velora
PosRiderTeamTime
🥇
Tim Merlier
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP3:52:50
🥈
Biniam Girmay
NSN CYCLING TEAM+0:00
🥉
Olav Kooij
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+0:00
4
Jasper Philipsen
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+0:00
5
Pavel Bittner
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+0:00
6
Rick Pluimers
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:00
7
Pascal Ackermann
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+0:00
8
Clément Russo
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+0:00
9
Max Kanter
XDS ASTANA TEAM+0:00
10
Milan Fretin
COFIDIS+0:00
11
Søren Wærenskjold
UNO-X MOBILITY+0:00
12
Mads Pedersen
LIDL-TREK+0:00
13
Fernando Gaviria Rendon
CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA+0:00
14
Dorian Godon
NETCOMPANY INEOS+0:00
15
Anthony Turgis
TOTALENERGIES+0:00
16
Mathieu van der Poel
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+0:00
17
Phil Bauhaus
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+0:00
18
Jenno Berckmoes
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+0:00
19
Alfred Brockwell Wright
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:00
20
Quentin Pacher
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+0:00
21
Anthon Charmig
UNO-X MOBILITY+0:00
22
Mauro Schmid
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+0:00
23
Niklas Märkl
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+0:00
24
Aurélien Paret Peintre
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+0:00
25
Thomas Pidcock
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:00
26
Frank van den Broek
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+0:00
27
Mike Teunissen
XDS ASTANA TEAM+0:00
28
Anders Skaarseth
UNO-X MOBILITY+0:00
29
Tobias Halland Johannessen
UNO-X MOBILITY+0:00
30
Remco Evenepoel
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+0:00
31
Magnus Nielsen
UNO-X MOBILITY+0:00
32
Maxim van Gils
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+0:00
33
Paul Seixas
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+0:00
34
Nelson Oliveira
MOVISTAR TEAM+0:00
35
Harold Alfonso Tejada Canacue
XDS ASTANA TEAM+0:00
36
Tom van Asbroeck
NSN CYCLING TEAM+0:00
37
Tim van Dijke
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+0:00
38
Guillaume Martin Guyonnet
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+0:00
39
Robert Stannard
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+0:00
40
Jonas Abrahamsen
UNO-X MOBILITY+0:00
41
Jose Felix Parra Cuerda
CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA+0:00
42
Damiano Caruso
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+0:00
43
Florian Vermeersch
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+0:00
44
Nils Politt
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+0:00
45
Mattia Cattaneo
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+0:00
46
Isaac del Toro Romero
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+0:00
47
Juan Ayuso Pesquera
LIDL-TREK+0:00
48
Brandon Mcnulty
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+0:00
49
Tadej Pogačar
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+0:00
50
Edoardo Affini
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+0:00
51
Jonas Vingegaard Hansen
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+0:00
52
Ilan van Wilder
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+0:00
53
Florian Lipowitz
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+0:00
54
Toms Skujins
LIDL-TREK+0:00
55
Per Strand Hagenes
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+0:00
56
Filippo Ganna
NETCOMPANY INEOS+0:00
57
Egan Arley Bernal Gomez
NETCOMPANY INEOS+0:00
58
Mattias Skjelmose Jennow Jensen
LIDL-TREK+0:00
59
Sean Quinn
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+0:00
60
Jordan Jegat
TOTALENERGIES+0:00
61
Huub Artz
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+0:00
62
Lenny Sydney Martinez
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+0:00
63
Mathias Vacek
LIDL-TREK+0:00
64
Yannis Voisard
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:00
65
Sepp Kuss
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+0:00
66
Pablo Castrillo Zapater
MOVISTAR TEAM+0:00
67
Adam Richard Yates
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+0:00
68
Davide Piganzoli
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+0:00
69
Joris Delbove
TOTALENERGIES+0:00
70
Lennert van Eetvelt
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+0:00
71
Kévin Vauquelin
NETCOMPANY INEOS+0:00
72
Alexandre Delettre
TOTALENERGIES+0:00
73
Cees Bol
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+0:00
74
Christopher Harper
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:00
75
Antonio Tiberi
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+0:00
76
Jasper Stuyven
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+0:00
77
Lorenzo Germani
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+0:00
78
Lewis Askey
NSN CYCLING TEAM+0:00
79
Derek Gee
LIDL-TREK+0:00
80
Alex Kirsch
COFIDIS+0:00
81
Michel Heßmann
MOVISTAR TEAM+0:00
82
Vlad van Mechelen
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+0:00
83
Louis Vervaeke
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+0:00
84
Krists Neilands
NSN CYCLING TEAM+0:00
85
Matteo Jorgenson
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+0:00
86
Victor Campenaerts
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+0:00
87
Matej Mohoric
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+0:00
88
Michal Kwiatkowski
NETCOMPANY INEOS+0:00
89
Mathis le Berre
TOTALENERGIES+0:00
90
Romain Gregoire
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+0:35
91
Jonas Rickaert
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+0:35
92
Edward Planckaert
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+0:35
93
Matteo Trentin
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:35
94
Jai Hindley
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+0:35
95
Thymen Arensman
NETCOMPANY INEOS+0:35
96
Georg Zimmermann
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+0:35
97
Clément Braz Afonso
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+0:35
98
Javier Romo Oliver
MOVISTAR TEAM+0:35
99
Frits Biesterbos
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+0:35
100
Quinten Hermans
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:35
101
Nico Denz
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+0:35
102
Carlos Verona Quintanilla
LIDL-TREK+0:35
103
Piet Allegaert
COFIDIS+0:48
104
Hugo Page
COFIDIS+0:48
105
Lars Craps
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+0:48
106
Xandro Meurisse
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+0:56
107
Kasper Asgreen
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+1:03
108
Thomas Jake Stewart
NSN CYCLING TEAM+1:03
109
Brent van Moer
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+1:03
110
Einer Augusto Rubio Reyes
MOVISTAR TEAM+1:03
111
Nicolas Prodhomme
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+1:11
112
Quinn Simmons
LIDL-TREK+1:11
113
Tiesj Benoot
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+1:11
114
Liam Slock
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+1:20
115
Jenthe Biermans
COFIDIS+1:20
116
Davide Ballerini
XDS ASTANA TEAM+1:29
117
John Degenkolb
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+1:29
118
Abel Balderstone Roumens
CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA+1:33
119
Felix Engelhardt
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+1:41
120
Kamil Gradek
BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS+1:41
121
Richard Antonio Carapaz Montenegro
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+1:49
122
Michael James Matthews
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+1:49
123
Luke Durbridge
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+1:49
124
Xabier Mikel Azparren Irurzun
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+1:49
125
Warren Barguil
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+1:49
126
Bruno Armirail
TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE+1:49
127
Baptiste Veistroffer
LOTTO INTERMARCHÉ+1:49
128
Aaron Murray Gate
XDS ASTANA TEAM+1:49
129
Felix Grossschartner
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+1:49
130
Tim Wellens
UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG+1:49
131
Damien Craig Howson
PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM+1:49
132
Raul Garcia Pierna
MOVISTAR TEAM+1:49
133
Anders Halland Johannessen
UNO-X MOBILITY+1:49
134
Jefferson Alveiro Cepeda Hernandez
MOVISTAR TEAM+1:49
135
Matthew Riccitello
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+1:49
136
Daan Hoole
DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM+1:49
137
Robbe Dhondt
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+1:49
138
Julius van den Berg
TEAM PICNIC POSTNL+1:49
139
Tobias Svendsen Foss
NETCOMPANY INEOS+1:49
140
Joshua Michael Tarling
NETCOMPANY INEOS+1:49
141
Alex Baudin
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+1:49
142
Matteo Vercher
TOTALENERGIES+1:49
143
Michael Valgren
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+1:49
144
Ben Healy
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+1:49
145
Max Walker
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+1:49
146
Georg Steinhauser
EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST+1:49
147
Jan Tratnik
RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE+1:49
148
Ben Alexander O'Connor
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+1:49
149
Ewen Costiou
GROUPAMA-FDJ UNITED+1:49
150
Ion Izaguirre Insausti
COFIDIS+1:49
151
Sergio Andres Higuita Garcia
XDS ASTANA TEAM+1:49
152
Alex Aranburu Deva
COFIDIS+1:49
153
Marc Hirschi
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+1:49
154
Benjamin Thomas
COFIDIS+1:49
155
Sebastian Berwick
CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA+1:49
156
George Bennett
NSN CYCLING TEAM+1:49
157
Ramses Debruyne
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+1:49
158
Tim Marsman
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+1:49
159
Simone Velasco
XDS ASTANA TEAM+1:49
160
Jakub Otruba
CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA+1:49
161
Nicolas Breuillard
TOTALENERGIES+2:20
162
Valentin Paret Peintre
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+2:41
163
Dylan van Baarle
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+2:41
164
Marco Haller
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+3:01
165
Stefano Oldani
CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA+0:00
166
Nicolya Vinokurov
XDS ASTANA TEAM+3:26
167
Silvan Dillier
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+3:56
168
Lucas Plapp
TEAM JAYCO ALULA+3:56
169
Thibault Guernalec
TOTALENERGIES+3:56
170
Matis Louvel
NSN CYCLING TEAM+3:56
171
Michael Storer
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+3:56
172
Julian Alaphilippe
TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM+3:56
173
Marco Frigo
NSN CYCLING TEAM+3:56
174
Joel Nicolau Beltran
CAJA RURAL-SEGUROS RGA+4:45
175
Pascal Eenkhoorn
SOUDAL QUICK-STEP+5:44
176
Emiel Verstrynge
ALPECIN-PREMIER TECH+6:12

Before the revision, the entirely Corrèze-based route included about 3,300 metres of climbing. The removed loop contained none of the stage's four classified ascents – the Côte de Naves, Suc au May, Côte de la Croix du Pey and Mont Bessou all feature after Lanteuil – so the categorised climbing should be unaffected, though ASO has not issued an updated profile or timetable to confirm the revised totals.

The UCI’s extreme-heat framework uses Wet Bulb Globe Temperature, an index combining temperature, humidity, solar radiation and wind speed. Ahead of the race, we reported on changes which meant officials can alter timings or neutralise part of a stage under the protocol, with cancellation also available. ASO did not publish a WBGT reading for Stage 9.

Tim Merlier in blue-and-white helmet and sunglasses during the Tour de France, photographed by cameras and fans.

The change comes a day after Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) sprinted to a second consecutive victory in Bergerac, with Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates XRG) untroubled in yellow. Stage 9's hilly Corrèze profile had been expected to favour a breakaway.

Local forecasts had reached 41°C in Malemort and 35°C in Ussel, according to AccuWeather. ASO directed spectators and residents to Corrèze’s state-services website for updated traffic restrictions and road closures.

Cover image credit: Charly Lopez

Velora newsletter

Never miss a story

The biggest cycling stories, tech insight and race analysis — twice a week, free.

Peter

Peter Stuart

Editor

Peter is the editor of Velora and oversees Velora’s editorial strategy and content standards, bringing nearly 20 years of cycling journalism to the site. He was editor of Cyclingnews from 2022, introducing its digital membership strategy and expanding its content pillars. Before that he was digital editor at Cyclist and then Rouleur having joined Cyclist in 2012 after freelance work for titles including The Times and The Telegraph. He has reported from Grand Tours and WorldTour races, and previously represented Great Britain as a rower.