Van Aert was eager from the start to join the day’s breakaway, but getting into the right move proved difficult. Eventually, it was Jorgenson who managed to slip away with the decisive attack.

On the steepest climb of the day, Van Aert tried to bridge across from the peloton to the front of the race. The Belgian quickly closed a significant gap but fell short of making the junction.

Up front, Jorgenson faced a group of strong rivals. In the end, it was Kaden Groves who powered to the stage win. Jorgenson rolled across the line in ninth place from the chasing group.

“I didn’t have the legs I had hoped for at the start”, said Van Aert. “Still, I tried to make the break, but it didn’t work out right away. I gave it another shot to bridge across, but we ended up riding in no-man’s land. Now, all the focus is on tomorrow—we’ve got one more big chance.”

Jorgenson admitted he had spent a lot of energy early on. “It already took a lot of effort just to get into the break. I could feel I had burned quite a bit of energy there. I tried one more time to get clear from the group, but it just wasn’t happening today. Of course, that’s disappointing, but I think the race told an honest story”, the American reflected.