In the stage from Pont du Gard, a large leading group got established and battled for the stage win after a fast opening hour of the stage. The peloton didn’t react and crossed the finish line just over twenty minutes from stage winner Matteo Trentin. Kruijswijk was well-protected all day and crossed the finish line in the presence of Laurens De Plus and George Bennett.

“Today it was a matter of getting through the day in a good way”, Kruijswijk said. “The main objective was to ride attentively, to take good care of yourself in this extreme weather and, above all, not to lose time. We took the initiative towards the final climb, to start the climb in a good position. That went well. The next three days will be really tough. At least I am still feeling good.”

“Today it was even warmer than yesterday. So it was a a really tough day”, Mike Teunissen said. “The goal today was to keep Steven in front of the peloton as good as possible and to position him well for the final climb. That was the only objective today. That worked out well. You have to be racing attentively every day, because something can always happen. In the coming days I will try to help Steven where I can and for the rest I will be mainly supporting Dylan to guide him through the Alps.”