The riders started in Auffargis on what will go down in the books as an ultra-fast stage. A group of three riders quickly escaped from the peloton. Those who expected the race to have the traditional course that fits a flat stage were wrong. Nervousness was noticeable in the peloton early in the stage and Van Aert was one of the victims of a crash. He suffered a few abrasions but the Belgian champion was able to continue.

After more than sixty kilometres, the east wind created echelons in the peloton. Team Jumbo-Visma was alert and was in the first group with almost the entire team. The small groups that had now emerged broke up even further and Van Aert, Laporte and Primoz Roglic were on the front row for the black-and-yellow formation. Because the riders regrouped a little later, Nathan Van Hooydonck returned to the front. The Belgian helped Van Aert and Laporte prepare for the sprint, and Laporte sacrificed himself in the final kilometre for the later runner-up Van Aert.

Although the Frenchman had been riding in the lead for some time, he still managed to finish third. As a result, he will also be riding in the leader's jersey on Tuesday.

"It was an unnecessary crash, as is the case with every crash. Fortunately, I got away without too much damage", Van Aert said. The Belgian indicated that Jakobsen had been too fast. "Together with Christophe we were positioned well in the sprint. He attacked at a good moment and helped me very well. I was riding on my limit. Fabio deserved to win. He is the strongest sprinter of the moment. As a team, we rode a strong race today and we did well in the general classification, with regard to Primoz's ambitions."

Classification leader Laporte spoke of a good day for Team Jumbo-Visma. "The nervousness was noticeable in the peloton throughout the stage. But we constantly rode at the front and did well today."

Besides Van Aert, Rohan Dennis and Steven Kruijswijk also crashed. At first glance, the injuries are not too bad. If all goes well, the trio will be at the start of Tuesday's third stage.