The ninth stage of the 2011 Tour De France is complete and we have a new rider wearing the yellow jersey. Luis-Leon Sanchez claimed victory in the stage, but Thomas Voeckler's second place finish combined with a host of ugly crashes has given him a huge lead heading into the first rest day of the Tour. Voeckler holds a 1:49 lead on second-place Sanchez and a 2:26 lead on third-place Cadel Evans. Former leader Thor Hushovd dropped to 5:13 back.
Team Radio Shack has seen its main contender Andreas Kloden drop to 2:43 back of the yellow jersey. While his teammates, including Santa-Rosa based Levi Leipheimer, have been moved on to helping try to get him to the front of the pack, Kloden got mixed up in a crash that knocked Alexandre Vinokourov and Jurgen Van Den Broeck out of the race. Fortunately Kloden and his Radio Shack teammates were able to hang close to the front group and not lose as much time as others.
The most bizarre incident of the day saw a French TV car sideswipe a group of riders and send Giannoni Flecha flying into a fence. It was really the perfectly ridiculous cap on a day filled with a host of ugly accidents. The rest day could not come at a better time as most teams find themselves reevaluation their position following the insanity.
Here are the current overall standings following stage nine:
| Stnd | Rider | Rider # | Team | Time | Gaps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |
 VOECKLER Thomas |
181 | TEAM EUROPCAR | 38h 35' 11" | |
| 2. |
 SANCHEZ Luis-Leon |
47 | RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM | 38h 37' 00" | + 01' 49" |
| 3. |
 EVANS Cadel |
141 | BMC RACING TEAM | 38h 37' 37" | + 02' 26" |
| 4. |
 SCHLECK Frank |
18 | TEAM LEOPARD-TREK | 38h 37' 40" | + 02' 29" |
| 5. |
SCHLECK Andy |
11 | TEAM LEOPARD-TREK | 38h 37' 48" | + 02' 37" |
| 6. |
 MARTIN Tony |
175 | HTC - HIGHROAD | 38h 37' 49" | + 02' 38" |
| 7. |
 VELITS Peter |
179 | HTC - HIGHROAD | 38h 37' 49" | + 02' 38" |
| 8. |
KLÖDEN Andréas |
74 | TEAM RADIOSHACK | 38h 37' 54" | + 02' 43" |
| 9. |
 GILBERT Philippe |
32 | OMEGA PHARMA - LOTTO | 38h 38' 06" | + 02' 55" |
| 10. |
 FUGLSANG Jakob |
13 | TEAM LEOPARD-TREK | 38h 38' 19" | + 03' 08" |
| 11. |
 BASSO Ivan |
91 | LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE | 38h 38' 47" | + 03' 36" |
| 12. |
CUNEGO Damiano |
161 | LAMPRE - ISD | 38h 38' 48" | + 03' 37" |
| 13. |
 ROCHE Nicolas |
101 | AG2R LA MONDIALE | 38h 38' 56" | + 03' 45" |
| 14. |
DE WEERT Kevin |
124 | QUICK STEP CYCLING TEAM | 38h 38' 58" | + 03' 47" |
| 15. |
 GESINK Robert |
41 | RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM | 38h 39' 12" | + 04' 01" |
We'll be here for the entire race providing news updates and stage previews and recaps, particularly as they relate to Bay Area cyclist Levi Leipheimer. For more in-depth discussion on the 2011 Tour De France, head over to Podium Cafe. For more general Tour coverage, head over to the SB Nation story stream.