Tour de France

A stage through the rugged terrain of the Massif Central brought down the curtain over the fist half of the Tour de France, and Soudal Quick-Step was again prominent as the race unfolded at a fast pace over the many classified climbs of the day, which made for an elevation of more than 4400 meters.

The lively start meant the breakaway took some time to form, only in the valley between the first two ascents a group putting some daylight into the peloton. A total of 28 riders made it there, including Valentin Paret-Peintre and Ilan Van Wilder, who helped the move take advantage to a solid six minutes – the biggest gap seen since the start of the Tour. Midway through the stage, the Belgian lost contact with the group, leaving his teammate to show the colors of Soudal Quick-Step at the front of the race.

Paret-Peintre, a stage winner and runner-up at the Tour of Oman in the beginning of the season, remained up the road until the final 20 kilometers, when the combination of hard gradients, heat and energy he spent up the road led to the depleted bunch reeling him in.

“It was nice to be in the breakaway, especially as in the first part my brother was also there. I did my best, but lacked a bit to fight for victory. It was a special feeling to be at the front on Quatorze Juillet and made this first part of my maiden Tour more beautiful”, Valentin said at the finish.

Behind the breakaway, from where Simon Yates (Visma-Lease a Bike) attacked to take the win, Remco Evenepoel put in a probing acceleration on the steep Col Le-Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy just ahead of the closing kilometers before coming home with a small group and cementing his place on the general classification podium ahead of the first rest day thanks to this strong ride.

Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images