In the stage from Lyon, with the Montée de la Selle, the Col de la Biche and the final climb to the Grand Colombier along the way, the pace was very high from the start. Team Jumbo-Visma controlled the stage. Robert Gesink and Wout van Aert were able to catch up with the early breakaway at the beginning of the final climb. Due to the fast pace of George Bennett, Tom Dumoulin and Sepp Kuss, the group systematically got smaller and smaller. Roglic started the sprint early and got outsprinted by Pogacar on the finish line.

“I came just a little short to win”, Roglic said. “Pogacar was a bit faster. I would have liked to win to reward the guys for their work, but that didn't work out, unfortunately. I compliment my teammates. They were very, very strong. Impressive even. The pace was really high. It was a tough, but all in all good day for us. So far everything is going according to plan, but we are not there yet. ”

Birthday boy Sepp Kuss concurred with his leader’s story. “It was a great day for the team. We rode an almost perfect stage. It seemed like everyone was outperforming themselves. In the final we might have approached it slightly differently. Maybe I should have been in Tom’s wheel to start the sprint for Primoz earlier. But all in all, it was a great stage for us. We stuck to our plan by increasing the pace. As a result, some rivals lost time and the rest were riding at their limits. I am also happy that I am doing better every day. Much better than in the first week. It's nice that the feeling I had in the Dauphiné is back.”

Dumoulin also rode a strong stage in support of Roglic. “Primoz felt good and indicated that he wanted to go for the stage win. As a team we were collectively very strong. That is good to see. Too bad we didn’t win the stage. Primoz started the sprint at five hundred metres or so. Perhaps he should not have done that, but that is easy to say in hindsight. In any case, I am happy that my form is going in the right direction. I felt really good today. That gives me a lot of confidence for the upcoming stages. It still looks good for Primoz and the team, but we have to be focused and stay on our guard. Especially for Pogacar.”