In the stage through the central massif, a breakaway of eight riders got away early on in the stage and eventually competed for the win. Behind the breakaway, Team Jumbo-Visma remained grouped around their two leaders. Roglic and Dumoulin crossed the line in the presence of Sepp Kuss, George Bennett and Robert Gesink.

“The race went exactly as we had expected beforehand”, Dumoulin said. “The top of the steep Col de la Lusette was too far from the line to try anything. This was an ideal scenario for us. We don’t have to show ourselves every day. We were still there with five guys at the end. The team is strong and I felt pretty good today. All in all it was a good day.”

Roglic concurred with his teammate. “It was a hard race from the start, so it was not possible to relax. We had to stay sharp and focused all day long. The boys did well again today. So far everything is going according to plan.”

Fellow stage winner Wout van Aert switched back to his domestique role. “Nothing happened GC-wise. The plan was to be in the front all day with Primoz and Tom and bring them to the finish without any problems. We succeeded at that. We chose to save a bit of energy today. The Tour is still long and there are still plenty of tough days to come. It was a fast stage, so we couldn’t rest on our laurels either. The team is in a good place and our leaders are in good shape.”