Greig Leach

Normally, I don't paint after the stage winner as crossed the line, but when I saw Louis Meintjes (Intermache-Wanty Gobert-Materiaux) running with his bike towards the finish I just had to paint it. It reminded my of Chris Froome running on Alp d'Huez without his bike several Tours ago. I don't know why he was off his bike, but this whole image sums up just how hard the final kilometer of La Super Planches des Belles Filles was. Ahead of Meintjes the exhaustion of everyone was plain to see. Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) looked spent with his jersey wide open as he finished 13th on the stage. Behind him wearing the Maillot Blanc on loan from the race leader was Tom Pidcock (Ineos-Grenadiers) just barely moving with his head hung low. Equally sagging his body over the handlebars was Nairo Quintana (Arkea-Samsic) looking not as sharp as he had up until the final meters of the stage. The Colombian still sits in 11th on GC but only just over two minutes back. While gaps opened today, the top 15 riders are still within three minutes of each other.