The hilly stage through the Alsace was completed at a high pace. A breakaway of four riders were given a maximum lead of two minutes and were reeled in just before the last twenty kilometres by a reduced peloton including Kruijswijk, Van Aert, Bennett and Laurens De Plus for Team Jumbo-Visma. In the sprint, Van Aert was unable to match Sagan.

“I started my sprint a little too late, so the gap to Sagan was a bit too big already”, Van Aert said. “He sprinted really strongly and losing from Sagan is no shame. I was in a good position, but perhaps it would have been better to be a few places closer. I probably should be satisfied with this, although I still have to learn a lot and gain more experience. I feel good, my shape is good and there are still opportunities to come.”

The Belgian does not expect that to be the case tomorrow. “I know the area really well. It’s going to be too heavy for me, so I’ll probably lose the white jersey. But we have had a fantastic first few days of this Tour as a team.”