USSEL, France — Mathieu van der Poel timed his attack perfectly to win the hilly ninth stage of the Tour de France in a sprint finish, while defending champion Tadej Pogacar kept the race leader’s yellow jersey on Sunday.

Van der Poel was in a group of four contesting the victory. He accelerated with about 200 meters to go, then held off Norwegian rider Tobias Johannessen and Britain’s Tom Pidcock before spreading his arms as he crossed the line. All three were timed at 3 hours, 27 minutes, 51 seconds.

“It was a really hard stage after a hard week for the team,” said Van der Poel, who rides for Alpecin-Premier Tech.

Van der Poel said the brutally hot start of the Tour sapped his strength.

“The heat takes away a lot of energy and I had the feeling that I wasn’t recovering properly in the first few days,” he said. “Today was the first stage when I felt I had the legs (to win).”

It was a third career Tour stage win for the 31-year-old Dutchman, whose vast pedigree includes multiple victories in one day classics and Cyclo-cross world championship titles. He is also a former world road race champion, and cycling runs through his veins.

His maternal grandfather was French cyclist Raymond Poulidor, who raced in the 1960s and ’70s, finishing second on the Tour three times and third five times. Nicknamed “Poupou” and “The Eternal Runner-up” he was adored by French fans.

Van der Poel was asked if he had thought about Poulidor, who died in 2019, during the stage.

“Always,” he told French television.

NASCAR runs late

HAMPTON, Ga. — Ryan Blaney led the NASCAR Quaker State 400 race at EchoPark Speedway late Sunday night through 108 of 260 laps.

The race was halted under a lightning hold at 8:25 p.m.

Elsewhere:

n Justin Allgaier won the O’Reilly Auto Parts Focused Health 250 on Saturday at EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, Ga.

n Grant Enfinger won the Craftsman Trucks Liuna 150 on Saturday at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Conn.