The peloton rolled out from the coastal town of Saint-Malo for a stage just shy of 200 kilometres. The toughest section came at the end, with a double ascent of the Mûr-de-Bretagne awaiting the riders.  

As in previous stages, a fierce battle unfolded for a place in the breakaway. Among those trying to get up the road were Wout van Aert and Victor Campenaerts, but the Team Visma | Lease a Bike riders were given little space. Later in the stage, both Belgians would prove invaluable in support of team leader Vingegaard.  

During the first ascent of the Mûr-de-Bretagne, the last remaining escapee, Ewen Costiou, was reeled in by what had become a heavily reduced peloton — the result of the high tempo set by Team Visma | Lease a Bike. A compact group then prepared for the decisive finale on the climb.  

At the foot of the final ascent, Vingegaard, Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel briefly managed to break clear, but the chasers — including Jorgenson — quickly bridged the gap. In a powerful uphill sprint, Pogačar narrowly beated Vingegaard, with Jorgenson finishing just behind in fifth.  

“I felt good today”, Vingegaard said afterward. “Thanks to the great work of my teammates, I stayed out of trouble once again. I can live with second place, although maybe there was a little more in it for me today. It’s been a tough first week of the Tour, with several stages already fought out between the GC contenders. The mountains are coming — I’m really looking forward to them. We have a strong team, and we’re going all in.”