Numbers, curiosities and statistics help us re-read and delve deeper into what we experienced in yesterday's stage. Follow us:

3: VAN DER POEL'S THREE-POINTED HAT
Imperious yesterday at Ussel, Mathieu Van der Poel claimed his third Tour de France stage victory of his career, after a day of hard-fought battle. The Dutch rider opened his account in 2021 at Mûr-de-Bretagne before winning at Boulogne-sur-Mer last year. "MVDP" thus surpasses his father, who won twice at the Tour de France, in 1987 and 1988, but remains four victories short of his grandfather Raymond Poulidor, who won seven stages between 1962 and 1974.

64: THE FIRST TIME FOR "POUPOU"
Exactly 64 years ago, on July 12, 1962, Raymond Poulidor, the illustrious grandfather of Mathieu Van der Poel, achieved his first stage victory at the Tour at Aix-les-Bains. And by chance or fortune, Masbaraud-Mérignat, the birthplace of "Poupou", is located... 64 kilometers as the crow flies from Ussel, the finish town of the ninth stage.

172: A NEW BOUQUET FOR THE NETHERLANDS
With his success, Mathieu Van der Poel gifts the Netherlands their 172nd stage victory at the Tour de France, the second this year after Olav Kooij on the fifth day of racing at Pau. It is the first time since 2022 that two Dutch riders have won a stage in the same edition. That year, Fabio Jakobsen and Dylan Groenewegen were the fastest in two bunch sprint finishes of the Danish Grand Départ. This year, the Dutch harvest was completed by the Visma-Lease a Bike team's success, winners of the team time trial event at the Barcelona opener.

2: SUPER COMBATIVE, A MATTER OF FAMILY
On the attack throughout the day, Mathieu Van der Poel also received the award for combativeness. The former world champion had already obtained the recognition at the end of the twelfth stage in 2023, after a solo breakaway. And if this is the third super combative award won by Alpecin–Premier Tech—the one conquered last year by Jonas Rickaert at Châteauroux—Van der Poel will need to win two more to equal his father, Adrie, who has won four in his career.

6: JULY RHYMES WITH SUCCESS
Alpecin–Premier Tech doesn't let a month of July pass without a victory. Thanks to Mathieu Van der Poel's win, the Belgian team, which has participated in the Tour de France since 2021, has achieved the feat of winning at least one stage in each of its participations, bringing the total victories to 15. The streak began with the second stage of the 2021 edition, when Van der Poel himself triumphed atop Mûr-de-Bretagne, followed the next day by Tim Merlier at Pontivy. Since then, successes have followed, thanks in particular to sprinter Jasper Philipsen, the sole winner for his team in 2022 (2 times), 2023 (3 times) and 2024 (3 times). Last year, "MVDP", Philipsen and Kaden Groves continued the tradition.

59: POGACAR IN FROOME'S BACKYARD
Tadej Pogacar will spend the first rest day of this Tour de France with the Yellow Jersey on his shoulders, the 59th of his career. A luxury that allows the Slovenian to equal Chris Froome and enter the group of the top 4 riders who have worn the precious tunic most often. And the podium of this prestigious ranking is within reach of the two-time world champion, given that with 60 days in yellow between 1991 and 1995, Miguel Induráin is currently in third place. Eddy Merckx, the absolute record holder, and Bernard Hinault are still far away, with 111 and 79 yellow jerseys respectively.

2'42'': POGACAR'S BEST STARTING POSITION
After nine stages, Tadej Pogacar has never found himself in such a comfortable position in the general classification. Because with a margin of 2'42'' over the second-placed Jonas Vingegaard, the Slovenian will open the second week of the race with the largest advantage he has ever had at the Tour at this point. If in 2020 he was already 44'' behind his compatriot Primoz Roglic (7th at this point of the race, before taking the yellow jersey on the 20th stage) and then 17'' behind Vingegaard in 2023 (2nd, which was also his final classification), Pogacar already had an advantage of 2'01'' over Ben O'Connor in 2021 after nine stages.

8: A GROUP DEPARTS
The strong start in Barcelona and the first week of racing have not spared the 176 riders who started in Barcelona. In nine stages, eight retirements or finishes outside the time limit have been recorded. In the last decade, the highest number of retirements after nine days dates back to 2021 (16 retirements and outside time limit, including 12 alone during the Tignes stage, disputed in freezing rain) and 2017 (15 retirements and outside time limit, of which 12 in the Chambéry stage).