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Martin, far left, and the rest of the peloton had to battle testing weather on Sunday. Christophe Ena
Chapeau

Ireland's Dan Martin is now in third place overall at the Tour de France

Tom Dumoulin breaks free to win Sunday’s ninth stage in Andorra.

IRELAND’S DAN MARTIN climbed to third in the Tour de France general classification with a battling performance as the race entered Andorra.

After a brilliant second-place finish on Saturday, Martin finished 14th on Sunday, more than six minutes behind stage winner Tom Dumoulin.

But crucially he crossed the line just two seconds behind race leader Chris Froome, who retains the yellow jersey.

Froome, who is seeking his third Tour win, leads the GC by 16 seconds from fellow Briton Adam Yates with Martin a further three seconds back in third.

But the stage belonged to Dumoulin who broke free as the hailstones rained down on the final climb of the 184km stage. Portugal’s Rui Costa was his closest rival, following home 38 seconds later, while Poland’s Rafal Majka was third.

There was drama earlier in the day as Alberto Contador sensationally quit the race mid-stage due to illness and injury.

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Two-time champion Alberto Contador sensationally quits the Tour mid-stage

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