Greig Leach

Behind the actions playing out from the early break away and further down the Col de Marie Blanque, the two favorites for victory in Paris had rid themselves of most of the other contenders. Along with shucking the contenders, Sepp Kuss's (Jumbo-Visma) efforts on the climb on behalf of his team leader (and defending Tour champion) Jonas Vingegaard also dropped all of Tadej Pogacar's (UAE Team Emirates) teammates. Once the Maillot Blanc was isolated, it was time for the two Jumbo-Visma men to ratchet up the pace in hopes of gainning time on Vingegaard's main rival. They all had another problem up the road in the form of Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe).