Without Wout van Aert, the peloton headed north from Moûtiers to the finish in Bourg-en-Bresse. Teams with sprint ambitions tried to catch a four-man break in the final kilometres, but misjudged the four's tenacity. Laporte went to the front to test his sprinter's legs, which resulted in ninth place. Vingegaard and his other teammates crossed the line in the belly of the peloton.

Moments later, the Dane was able to step onto the podium to claim cycling's coveted yellow jersey for the 24th time in his career. "It was a nice day today. There wasn't too much stress in the peloton. That is usually the case in stages like this. But the situation today changed that. For us, it is important to stay out of trouble on stages like today. My teammates have kept me in the safe zone throughout the Tour. That gives me a lot of confidence. Today they did it again with flying colours. We were constantly in the front in the final stages", said Vingegaard, who congratulated his compatriot Asgreen on his fine victory.

"Normally, I feel a bit less fit the day after a tough mountain stage", Vingegaard said. "But that was not the case today. I got through the day relatively quickly. It's often a mental thing. Of course, I am counting the days until Paris. We should be happy with every day I ride in the yellow jersey. I enjoy riding in this beautiful jersey. It sounds cliché, but we have to take it day by day until Paris. We have to stay focused and stay alert. Today, at least, we did that very well."