Degenkolb wins Tour de France ninth stage, Van Avermaet leads

ROUBAIX, France (Reuters) - German John Degenkolb won the ninth stage of the Tour de France, a 156.5-km ride from Arras on Sunday.

Belgian Greg van Avermaet took second place and retained the overall leader’s yellow jersey.

Another Belgian, Yves Lampaert, was third.

Among the contenders for the overall title, last year’s runner-up Rigoberto Uran lost ground on his rivals after hitting the asphalt about 30km from the finish on a stage that featured 21.7km of cobbled sectors. Australian Richie Porte pulled out after an early crash.

The peloton will enjoy their first rest day on Monday.

(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Toby Davis)