One day before the peloton returns to the high mountains, the stage presented a final opportunity for the sprinters. The riders set off for a 170-kilometre ride between Bollène and Valence. Along the way, they had to tackle two categorised climbs, followed by a flat finish.  

Shortly after the start, four riders broke away. They built what looked like a reassuring lead, but on the Col du Pertuis the peloton closed in unexpectedly quickly. Despite several accelerations in the bunch, the breakaway quartet stayed ahead. With around 45 kilometres to go, Wout van Aert launched an attack on the Col de Tartaiguille. The Belgian from Team Visma | Lease a Bike tried to bridge to the leaders solo but did not succeed.  

In the final kilometres, the breakaway was eventually caught by the peloton. Meanwhile, the rain began to pour. The slippery roads added to the nervous atmosphere. The bunch sprint, won by Jonathan Milan, was marred by a major crash. The Team Visma | Lease a Bike riders managed to stay out of trouble. Tomorrow, the Tour peloton heads into the Alps.  

“The finale was chaotic due to the rain, but the guys made sure I was always in a good and safe position,” Vingegaard said afterwards. “We can look back on a good day for us. Tomorrow might be the hardest stage of this Tour. We’ve got three hors catégorie climbs ahead of us, so it’s going to be extremely tough.”  

“Today wasn’t an easy stage,” added Head of Racing Grischa Niermann. “We wanted to race aggressively again, but of course we were also mindful of the tough stages coming up. The guys already gave a lot yesterday in the Ventoux stage, and they’ll do so again in the days to come. There’s no guarantee of success, but we’ll do everything we can to get the most out of it.”