"He's lost skin on his elbow and has torn his shorts and jersey but when he came past the team car, he didn't have anything to say.

"He appeared calm and we'll just get to the end of the stage and have a consultation with the team's medical staff."

Although he is still not a favorite to win in Paris, Ricco showed that in a race without an overwhelming figure, he could shake the hierarchy and be a permanent threat.

Three men took their chance after just 22 kilometers of 224-km stage from Toulouse to Bagneres-de-Bigorre.

Aleksandr Kuschynski of Belarus, German Sebastian Lang and France's Nicolas Jalabert built a 14-minute gap but it was down to 10 minutes at the foot of the category-one Col de Peyresourde.

Jalabert was the first to be dropped, soon followed by Kuschynski and it was Lang who reached the summit first with an advantage of 5:25.

In the peloton, struggling sprinters such as Robbie McEwen, Mark Cavendish and Oscar Freire were discarded and regrouped to climb at their own pace.

Dubbed "The Cobra", Ricco was the first big name to shake up the peloton on the Col d'Aspin but Evans's Silence-Lotto team also stepped up a gear to catch the climber.

Ricco, however, was at it again four km from the summit, firing clear of the bunch in a style reminiscent of the late Marco Pantani, his idol.

The 24-year-old quickly had Lang in his sight and went in front at the top with a 75-second advantage over the peloton.

It was the Caisse d'Epargne team which then worked to reduce the arrears with Evans content to follow the pace.

Kirchen was spotted struggling at the heart of the favorites' bunch but held on.

The Team Columbia rider is expected to suffer today during the 10th stage over 158 km from Pau to Hautacam with two out-of-category climbs on the menu.

The ninth stage took the 170 riders along seven climbs.

The Tour ends on July 27.

(Agencies via Shanghai Daily July 14, 2008)