After a fast opening stage, 31 riders formed a leading group who would ultimately be able to ride for the stage win. The peloton seemed to remain calm, until Roglic attacked on the only categorised climb of the day. The leader of Team Jumbo-Visma quickly gained 30 seconds on his main rivals, while Kuss also held on well. Roglic seemed to stay ahead, but due to a crash in the technical descent he eventually finished in the presence of his rivals.

Roglic said he had not suffered any major damage. “I would have felt better if I hadn’t fallen, but I’m okay. It’s a competition; without taking risks you don’t win. I crashed because I went too fast in the descent. The road was slippery.”

Sports director Grischa Niermann was satisfied, despite the crash. “It is about the group that gets away, but we were happy to give up the jersey. That way we could save our strength and control the race. We knew that the last part of the climb was very difficult and Primoz wanted to try something there. Initially, it worked out well, but the slip in the descent was of course unfortunate. He seems to be okay, but he has lost the lead. It’s not a disaster, but it’s a small blemish on a very good day for us.”