Stage 9 | Sunday, 13 July 2025 | Chinon - Châteauroux | 174.1 kilometres | 1400 vertical metres
Jens Voigt's assessment of stage 9
Stage 9 from Chinon to Châteauroux is even shorter than the previous day. It continues to be very flat through the centre of the country. The entire stage is within 100 metres of altitude, only a few changes of direction in the finale of the stage could cause some excitement. On the flat finishing straight in Châteauroux, the stage is set for a classic bunch sprint. The fast men in the peloton will be particularly excited by the fact that they can already see the peaks of the Massif Central at the finish. The message: This is the last chance for the time being before heading into the mountains. My prediction is almost 100 per cent for a sprint finish - because the fastest riders and their teams won't want to miss out on this opportunity. There is no mountain classification on the route, and after 24 kilometres there is already an intermediate sprint in the march table.
In the past, this stage would have been called a Cavendish day - the perfect terrain for the Tour's record stage winner: Mark Cavendish, who surpassed Eddy Merckx's 49-year-old record in 2024 with his 35th stage win. The "Manxman" then ended his professional career. This year, his successors are therefore in demand, such as the Belgians Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin - Deceuninck) or the Italian Jonathan Milan (Lidl - Trek).
Schedule, TV coverage & live stream of stage 9 of the Tour de France 2025
- Neutral start: 13:10, sharp start 13:25
- Estimated arrival time: between 17:07 and 17:28
- TV broadcast: ARD 14:05-17:59, Eurosport 1 13:00-17:30
- Live stream: sportschau.de, Discovery Plus (fee required)
- All stages of the Tour de France 2025 at a glance
Highlights of the 9th stage
- 13:55: After just 24.2 kilometres, the intermediate sprint of the day is already on the schedule. Will the teams with ambitions for the green jersey collect the points?
- 17:00: Approach to the bunch sprint: The finish on the Avenue de la Châtre in Châteauroux is at the end of a 1.6 kilometre long straight.
TOUR expert Jens Voigt
Nobody in the German-speaking world knows the Tour de France better: Jens Voigt competed as a professional in the most important cycling race a total of 17 times between 1998 and 2014. Only the Frenchman Sylvain Chavanel, the current record holder, has managed one more participation. Voigt knows the race from the perspective of the winner and the tireless helper in the team. He won two stages himself and wore the yellow jersey for one day each in 2001 and 2005. In 2010, as a team-mate in Team Saxo Bank, he accompanied Luxembourg's Andy Schleck to his overall victory (after the doping disqualification of Alberto Contador, who initially came first; editor's note). The 53-year-old Berliner currently works as a brand ambassador for the bike manufacturer Trek and as a pundit for the Eurosport channel.
For TOUR readers, the former pro gives his predictions for the course of the 21 stages, points out difficulties and things worth seeing. For each day's stage, he gives a tip on what role the course could play in the final standings in the individual classifications in Paris. If three of the jerseys are coloured, this means that this day could be decisive for this classification - i.e. overall classification (yellow), sprint/points classification (green) and classification of the best climber (red dotted jersey). We also give you the broadcast times of the TV channels in Germany (ARD and Eurosport) and their live streams - plus tips on when it might be particularly worth tuning in.
