Greig Leach

Tim Declercq (Deceuninck-Quick Step) looks back over his shoulder at his teammate who was just on the radio to their director sportif. He seemed to be asking if they were going to surrender to the efforts on the front of the peloton by the team of Peter Sagan, Bora-Hansgrohe. The Slovakian's team had been joined by another team, CCC, who had the last sprinter in the peloton. Deceuninck-Quick Step's sprinter, Sam Bennett, who has the Green Jersey, was dropped by the pace dictated by Sagan. As they raced hard to close the gap, they just weren't gaining any ground so it appears that the decision was made to sit up. There are some big mountains coming tomorrow, so it was thought it was best to save their energy rather than blow up on a fruitless chase. It is impossible for Bennett to lose the jersey today, but should Sagan win the stage it will be tougher to keep it all of the way to Paris.