Greig Leach

For thirty five kilometers the peloton hadn't closed on the break away up the road, so Jumbo-Visma decided it was time to chase. It might be a bad omen for the break that Nathan Van Hooydonck and Wout Van Aert decided to up the pace as they rode on Sector 13 outside of Orchies. By the time the Jumbo-Visma duo got to the end of the sector, they had pulled back 30 seconds on the three guys up the road. They also wittled down the large peloton, or perhaps it was the constant jarring from the jagged cobblestone roads.