With today's victory, Tadej Pogacar has returned to the top of the general classification. This could have been the perfect day for UAE Emirates, but Joao Almeida's crash led the team to temper their enthusiasm.

"This was the plan we had decided on yesterday, we let the breakaway go to avoid excessive fatigue and thus managed to control the stage well. I knew the finale well because we saw it in 2021, when Mathieu van der Poel won the first stage and wore the yellow jersey. I wanted revenge, but he clearly spent too much energy yesterday and I think today he had to contain his effort."

The climb to Mûr-de-Bretagne is two kilometers long, but in the final meters the gradient slightly decreases. Everyone expected a battle in the steeper section, but instead no one attacked and the Slovenian waited until the end of the stage to win the sprint.

"I know I'm one of the fastest among the climbers. Unfortunately Almeida crashed, but I knew I still had Narvaez nearby. Jhonatan set the pace and everything was perfect in the last 200 meters."

Pogacar is the first rider in this Tour to win two stages and he did so before the mountain stages, where the battle will truly be tough. The Slovenian has again taken the yellow jersey and UAE now has three jerseys. Wellens has the polka dot jersey for the best climber, while Pogacar has both the yellow jersey and the green points classification jersey.

"Of course I'm happy to have retaken the yellow jersey, it's always nice to wear it, but now I just hope to have a couple of quiet days."