Sanchez wins Tour’s 9th stage; Voeckler takes lead

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SAINT-FLOUR: Spain's Luis Leon Sanchez won the ninth stage of the Tour de France on a wild day of crashes, while France's Thomas Voeckler finished second to take the leader's yellow jersey from Thor Hushovd.

Among those caught in the mayhem was defending champion Alberto Contador, who overcame another crash, banging his troublesome right knee after an early spill.

Sanchez moved into second place overall, followed by Australia's Cadel Evans.Veteran Kazakh rider Alexandre Vinokourov fractured his right thigh bone and withdrew after crashing near the halfway point of the 129-mile route from Issoire to Saint-Flour in the Massif Central. He was to be taken by helicopter to La Pitie Salpetriere hospital in Paris and will undergo immediate surgery, his team said.

Spain's Juan Antonio Flecha was hit by a car late on, and took down Dutchman Johnny Hoogerland with him as he flew sideways off his saddle. Both got up and kept riding.

Defending champion Alberto Contador fell early on, but the Spaniard was unharmed and rode on. (AP)