The first crashes had already happened before the first cobbled sections. Van Aert crashed together with teammate Steven Kruijswijk. Fortunately, the duo managed to return to the peloton.

The stage’s second part began with eleven cobbled sections, including almost twenty cobbled kilometres. Despite most Team Jumbo-Visma riders riding in the front of the peloton, the team could not avoid mechanical and physical problems. Vingegaard had a mechanical issue, after which his teammates helped him back on the road. The Dane was forced to swap bikes and, surrounded by teammates, chase the competition.

Shortly after, Roglic - who appeared to be in good shape - crashed. The Slovenian could not avoid a crash due to a stray hay bale. The team leader put his dislocated shoulder back in place with his own hands. Then he, too, was forced to start the pursuit with the support of some of his teammates.

With Vingegaard in his wheel, Van Aert passed a large part of the peloton. By doing so, the Belgian personally saved his yellow jersey. He also saw Vingegaard limit the damage. Despite his physical discomfort, Roglic showed he is a real fighter by riding in the lead on the remaining cobbled sections. The Slovenian eventually finished just under three minutes behind day winner Simon Clarke, one of the riders in the early breakaway.

“Hectic days like today’s are also part of the Tour”, Van Aert said. “After my crash, I was terrified. Unfortunately, it was not the only bad luck for our team. It was chaos today. Yesterday we were fighting in front; today, we were forced to fight at the back. I am proud of the team’s fighting spirit. I did not expect to retain the yellow jersey. I wasn’t thinking about that at all on the road. Christophe Laporte and I stayed with Jonas. I think we fought back reasonably well. It was a real thriller, but not what we were hoping for.”

Van Aert’s efforts ensured that Vingegaard limited the damage to just a few seconds. “This is an incredibly disappointing day for us”, the Dane acknowledged. “Primoz and I both had quite some bad luck today. I got away with it thanks to the team’s great work. Primoz was a lot more unfortunate. The most important thing is that he is physically okay. We are still in the race. We will see what we can achieve in the mountains with this strong team.”

“I am happy that I was able to continue. I had to sit down to put my shoulder back. It was excruciating, but I know how to act in such a situation. I gave everything in the pursuit. I can’t blame myself and the team for that. Hopefully I will recover quickly from this. We continue to focus on our goals”, said Roglic.

Sports director Grischa Niermann also reviewed the situation. “It was not the best day for us. It started with Wout’s crash. It meant the run-up to the cobbles was not optimal. Jonas was then hit from behind and had some mechanical problems. The bike change didn’t go as planned, but unfortunately, we can’t change that. After we had recovered a little from the initial setbacks, Primoz, to make matters worse, fell over a bag of hay, swirling on the road. Due to his physical discomfort, it took some time before he could continue on his way. You can’t win 'em all, but it’s clear that this is not an outcome we can be satisfied with”, Niermann concluded.