BAGNERES-DE-BIGORRE, France (AP) ― Left alone and with his teammates far behind, Chris Froome held off repeated attacks to retain the Tour de France lead Sunday as the three-week race left the Pyrenees mountains.

Dan Martin of Ireland, a 26-year-old Garmin-Sharp rider, won Stage 9 following a two-man sprint against Denmark’s Jakob Fuglsang after they escaped Froome and the other pre-race favorites on the last of five tough climbs along the 105-mile trek from Saint-Girons to Bagneres-de-Bigorre in southwest France.

As the race neared its first rest day Monday, Froome was relieved he was able to quash four attacks by Movistar’s Nairo Quintana on the last climb ― la Hourquette d’Ancizan ― despite his Sky teammates lagging behind. They were worn out after a strong team effort to help him win the yellow jersey a day earlier.

“That was one of the hardest days I’ve ever had on a bike,” Froome said.

“I’m really happy with how I came through today ... It’s not easy to follow Quintana in the climbs. He’s a light little Colombian who can fly up hills ― so to cover his attacks definitely wasn’t easy.”

“But yeah, I was quite ready for more attacks, and I’m quite glad there weren’t,” he said.