Other than Richie Porte crashing out of the race, today’s Stage 9 of the 105th edition of the Tour de France may not influence the overall result in Paris a fortnight today, with the other big names getting through unscathed and most losing little in the way of time – but what a thrilling day’s racing it provided nonetheless as John Degenkolb got back to his best and Greg Van Avermaet extended his overall lead.

> Tour de France Stage 9: John Degenkolb rules the pavé Greg Van Avermaet extends lead

Here’s the video highlights of the stage from Arras to Roubaix,  while Velon cameras – as always – captured some of the more dramatic moments.

Stage winner John Degenkolb of Trek Segafredo

“I think it’s fantastic, I can’t find right words to express how it feels to win. I’ve waited for this victory for so long. A lot of people didn’t believe in me anymore and thought I wouldn’t come back to the same level anymore.

“A few months ago, I had another setback with a crash in Paris-Roubaix. My knee was injured. I had to stop training for almost four weeks.

“I doubted of myself but with the help of my wife and my whole family, I found the strength to work towards that goal of winning today’s stage. I knew I could sprint against these guys.

“The breakaway was kind of a déjà vu at Paris-Roubaix three years ago. It increased my confidence for the sprint.”

Yellow jersey Greg Van Avermaet of BMC Racing

“The day started pretty badly. Richie [Porte] crashed out and we had to rethink our strategy. The race goes on, so we needed to set new goals as soon as possible.

“I believed in my sprint. I’m pretty fast myself. Maybe I started sprinting too late. It’s a big disappointment. It was a big goal to win with the yellow jersey here in Roubaix.

“It would have made a nice photo. With the new situation we’re in, I have more freedom and I can maybe try to break away with the yellow jersey on Tuesday. And I still want to win a stage by the end of the Tour de France.”

Defending champion Chris Froome, now eighth overall despite crashing today

“It was tough because there were times where we were in front and we did push on a little bit. But we also knew there was a long way to go. Those splits happened very early after three or four sections. So it was very early to really push and put everything on the line with so many cobbled sections to come. The guys rode a fantastic race keeping myself and Geraint up front so chapeau to them.

“We’ve had cobbles sections in the Tour so this isn’t a first for us. Thankfully we’ve got a recovery day tomorrow, so we’ll definitely soak that up and make the best of that. I’m relieved to get through today and looking forward to getting into the mountains now where the real race GC will start.”

His Team Sky colleague Geraint Thomas, who remains second overall

“It was strange because there are GC guys and guys going for the stage. It would stop and come back together then split again. It was frustrating because you want to keep going, but you don’t necessarily want to be the one riding with 50km to go. 

“It was just hard all day from kilometre zero. You’ve got to be in the right position but you also need the luck because it’s easy to puncture or get caught up in something. 

“I think all the GC guys were up there. It was just sad to see Richie crash out. Obviously he’s a good mate of mine even though he’s a rival. It’s not nice to hear that on the radio.”

One of the day’s best performances came from AG2R-La Mondiale’s Romain Bardet, who overcame a succession of mechanical problems and punctures to minimise time losses … then had something to celebrate this evening, together with the rest of the French nation ….