It rained attacks from the start in Roanne. The Dutch squad was alert, and Wout van Aert and Wilco Kelderman tried to join the early breakaway. After eighty kilometres, Benoot escaped with thirteen riders. After a strong race, the Belgian had to acknowledge Izagirre’s superiority.

"I felt I was one of the strongest riders in the lead group, but it was difficult to make the difference. When our lead was more than four minutes, I knew someone from the breakaway would win. In the end, Cofidis did a good job with Izagirre”, said Benoot, who crossed the line a minute later in fourth place. "Today, finishing higher than fourth place was feasible, but of course, you need a bit of luck.”

"The goal before the race was to have someone in the breakaway, also for the bonus seconds in the final. We achieved that today”, the 29-year-old rider said.

Grischa Niermann was pleased with the performance of his riders on the hilly stage. "We had everything under control. Sepp and Dylan were a bit behind initially, due to a crash. The rest of the guys around Jonas rode an excellent stage.”

"With the peloton remaining calm, Tiesj was able to take his chance today”, the sports director continued. "He looked strong, but unfortunately, he couldn't win the stage. It's a shame because we always race for the win, but we also know that our main goal is to defend the yellow jersey with Jonas. We did that well today.”

Vingegaard is already looking forward to tomorrow's finish on the Grand Colombier. "I've done this climb before. Like today, it's going to be a tough race, and I'm looking forward to it".