Roglic still managed to finish the stage in the group of favourites, in tenth place. However, tomorrow it will become clear if he can take the start in the final stage.

A large leading group got away from the start. These riders could eventually compete for the stage victory. Behind the breakaway, the race was controlled by Team Jumbo-Visma. After Kruijswijk had to abandon the race and after Roglic’s crash, the team had to reorganise. The Slovenian was awaited by Wout van Aert and eventually returned to the front. On the final climb, Team Jumbo-Visma was still represented with five riders in the first peloton. Tom Dumoulin and Sepp Kuss then assisted Roglic safely to the finish line.

Afterwards, Dumoulin looked back on the stage with mixed feelings. “On the one hand you keep the overall lead, which is fine, but on the other hand we lose Steven. That descent was very dangerous with a lot of gravel and potholes. Such a descent does not belong in cycling. Let’s hope that Stevie will be fine and that he can start the Tour, but this is not ideal. I had a good day myself. I am happy that we are improving every day. We controlled the stage very well as a team. The boys were all very strong. What Tony, Robert and Wout have done can’t be underestimated. All in all, Primoz didn’t lose any time despite his crash, so that’s good. Hopefully the damage will not be too bad for Primoz and we can get the job done tomorrow. It will be another difficult day to control the stage, but we have a lot of confidence.”

Sports director Grischa Niermann has had happier days. “It was a hard crash for Primoz. He was a bit groggy at first. Luckily, he was able to recover quickly and he pushed through the pain. He was able to finish the stage without many problems and still looked strong. We need to assess the injuries tonight and see how things are going in the morning. Despite all the setbacks, we have done a good stage. But that setback is predominant at the moment.”