Greig Leach

Right before Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates) went off the front of the peloton, he could be seen talking with those around him on the front line of the group. It almost looked like he was asking permission to go off on this solo raid for the lone KOM point on the top of the only climb of the day. Whether he was allowed to go, or simple had the power to ride off on his own, he came alone to the top of Mont Cassel. He claimed the one point towards the King of the Mountains competition taking the jersey off of his team leader, Tadej Pogacar. There was some speculation that this would allow Pogacar more time to recover by not be obliged to go to the podium presentations nor sit for post-race interviews. The other possibility is that he would rather be in his rainbow jersey for now and then trade in for the coveted Maillot Jaune. Whatever the plan was, Wellens is now the leader in the King of the Mountains competition.