Sanchez wins, Voeckler in yellow as TV crew throws cyclists off the road

Rabobank's Sanchez broke clear on the closing straight in Saint-Flour to beat fellow escapees Voeckler (Europcar) and Sandy Casar (FDJ) by five and 15 seconds respectively.

With the peloton being led over the line by green jersey Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) 3:59 in arrears - and overnight leader Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo) finishing the hilly stage 6:47 off the pace - Frenchman Voeckler moved into the yellow jersey on the eve of a much-needed rest day.

Seven riders were forced to abandon the race during a 208km stage from Issoire to Saint-Flour - most notably Kazakhstan's Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) and Belgian GC hope Jurgen van den Broeck (Omega Pharma-Lotto).

An incident-filled stage also produced a truly shocking moment when two riders were knocked off the road by a car driven by a French TV crew.

A vehicle for French TV appeared to swerve to avoid a tree, sending Flecha crashing from his bike, while Hoogerland was sent flying into a barbed wire fence. Remarkably, both returned to their bikes, but they were swallowed up by the chasing group.

Both riders completed the stage more than 16 minutes down on the winner Sanchez - although a bloodied Hoogerland could at least celebrate regaining the polka dot jersey after amassing enough points over the first six of eight lower-category climbs on the agenda.

The crash occurred 38km from the finish and saw the leading group - which had formed on the first climb of the day - whittled down to just three men.

Sanchez proved the strongest in the final sprint and added a second Tour stage win to his name following his previous victory in stage 8 in 2009.

The Rabobank all-rounder is now second in the GC, 1:49 behind Voeckler, who previously wore the fabled maillot jaune for 10 memorable days in the 2004 edition of the race before handing it over to eventual race winner Lance Armstrong.

Australia's Cadel Evans (BMC) is third in the standings - 2:26 behind Voeckler - after finishing in the main peloton alongside Gilbert, who increased his lead in the green jersey competition to 45 points over Spain's Jose Rojas (Movistar).

Reigning champion Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank) finished in the same group but is now 4:07 off the summit in 16th place. The Spaniard was involved in a controversial incident early into the stage when he appeared to have been pushed off his bike by a Katusha rider, thought to be the Russian Vladimir Karpets.

But Contador's small spill was nothing compared to what happened on the front of the peloton around 100km from the finish when a dozen riders crashed at top speed on a wet downhill bend.

Kazakh veteran Vinokourov went over a barrier and plummeted a few metres down a slope and into a tree, breaking his femur and cracking his pelvis. The 37-year-old, who is due to retire at the end of the season, was taken to hospital along with Van den Broeck (cracked shoulder blade), Omega Pharma-Lotto's Frederick Willems (fractured collarbone) and Garmin's Dave Zabriskie (broken wrist).

An earlier incident resulted in the withdrawal of Spaniard Amets Txurruka (Euskaltel) and Russian Pavel Brutt (Katusha). Dutchman Wouter Poels (Vacansoleil) also abandoned the race through illness.

The race resumes on Tuesday with the 158km hilly stage 10 from Aurillac to Carmaux, which includes four lower category climbs. Those riders who make it through Monday's rest day unscathed will be hoping for better weather and some safer racing.

Tour de France Stage Nine, Issoir - Saint-Flour:
1. Luis Leon Sanchez (Spa) Rabobank 5:27:09
2. Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar 0:00:05
3. Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJ 0:00:13
4. Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto - 0:03:59
5. Peter Velits (Svk) HTC-Highroad - same time
6. Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team - same time
7. Andy Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek - same time
8. Tony Martin (Ger) HTC-Highroad - same time
9. Frank Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek - same time
10. Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - ISD - same time

General classification after Stage Nine:
1. Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar 38:35:11
2. Luis Leon Sanchez (Spa) Rabobank - at one minute 49 seconds
3. Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team - at two minutes 26 seconds
4. Fränk Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek - at two minutes 29 seconds
5. Andy Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek - at two minutes 37 seconds
6. Tony Martin (Ger) HTC-Highroad - at two minutes 38 seconds
7. Peter Velits (Svk) HTC-Highroad - at two minutes 38 seconds
8. Andreas Klöden (Ger) Team RadioShack - at two minutes 43 seconds
9. Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto - at two minutes 55 seconds
10. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Leopard Trek - at three minutes eight seconds