FDJ enjoyed a quiet day in today's stage 9 of the Tour de France as the team rallied around Thiabut Pinot who is looking forward to racing tomorrow's big mountain stage in his home area. For Arnaud Demare, it was a day of suffering as the French champion still hasn't recovered from his injuries.

FDJ rallied around their two leaders in today's stage 9 of the Tour de France. While one part of the team tried to assist Arnaud Demare who is still in pain after having crashed a few times so far, another group supported Thibaut Pinot in the bunch.

"Arnaud has not yet fully recovered from his crash," said sports director Yvon Madiot. "He is still stiff and the start with the ascent of the Col de la Schlucht was not ideal for him. Quickly distanced in a gruppetto, it was supported by William Bonnet and Mickael Delage but we were never worried about the time cut."

"Arnaud learned his trade in the Tour de France," manager Marc Madiot continued. "And a medium mountain stage is always more dangerous for the sprinters than the mountain stages. The pace is not set by the climbers, it is always tense and, at the front, Tony Martin forced the peloton to ride fast. The race never stopped."

Pinot briefly showed his face when he attacked before the longest descent of the day. However, it was only to stay safe in the wet conditions.

"The day was quiet for me," he said. "I did not really have any interest in joining the break and use too much energy. When I took the lead on the Grand Ballon, it was especially in view of the descent because the road was wet and also because I had a bad legs.

"I mainly thought about tomorro. I am looking forward to a beautiful July 14, under the sun, in my area. I have focused on this stage for a long time, but I guess that I am not the only one. Tomorrow we will experience one of the toughest stages of the Tour. The legs will definitely do the talking."