Only 122kph? Some riders went even faster on the Tour de France stage nine

Leigh Howard showed that he sped along at 122kph at one point on stage nine of the Tour de France, but he wasn't the fastest rider on the road on Sunday.

Jeremy Roy (FDJ) recorded 127kph (79mph) on the descent of the Côte de la Comella while Marcus Burghardt (BMC) topped out at 130.7 (81.2mph) on the long downhill section from the first climb, according to his Strava upload.

The smooth, long straight roads down from the Bonaigua climb as the riders headed towards Androrra provided the peloton with some much needed time to rest their legs, but travelling at over 130kph must be pretty taxing mentally.

Watch: Tour de France stage 9 highlights

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GePAU9ubgko

Burghardt finished 31 minutes down on stage winner Tom Dumoulin, while Roy finished seven minutes quicker, although both were working for teammates on the challenging mountain stage.

They did technically break the speed limit of the road in the area, but I'm sure the authorities won't be chasing them down to pay a fine.