Soler Wins 9th Stage of Tour De France

BRIANCON, France (AP) _ Juan Mauricio Soler Hernandez of Colombia won Tuesday's ninth stage of the Tour de France, with Michael Rasmussen of Denmark retaining the yellow jersey after the last Alpine

Tuesday, July 17th 2007, 7:46 am

By: News On 6

BRIANCON, France (AP) _ Juan Mauricio Soler Hernandez of Colombia won Tuesday's ninth stage of the Tour de France, with Michael Rasmussen of Denmark retaining the yellow jersey after the last Alpine stage.

The expected race contenders didn't gain any ground on Rasmussen during the 99.1-mile course from the Val d'Isere ski station to Briancon. But pre-race favorite Alexandre Vinokourov, who is nursing knee injuries from a crash, lost more time against the Dane.

The 24-year-old Colombian, competing in his first Tour for the newcomer Barloworld team, clocked 4 hours, 14 minutes and 24 seconds for the ride featuring three tough climbs, including the fabled Galiber and Iseran passes.

``I'm really happy ... Winning a stage is a dream,'' Soler Hernandez said.

Spain's Alejandro Valverde was second and Cadel Evans of Australia trailed third, each 38 seconds back.

The last of three Alpine stages dealt a heavy blow to Vinokourov's hopes of a Tour title. The Kazakh rider with Team Astana team had come into the stage 5:23 behind Rasmussen, and lost about 2 more minutes.

``I did what I could. The team worked well again ... and tried to reduce the gap,'' Vinokourov told France television.

``It was another horrible day for me,'' he said before breaking into tears.

Overall, Rasmussen is 2:35 ahead of Valverde with Iban Mayo in third, 2:39 back.