Tour de France contenders will battle it out in the Pyrenees on Saturday and Sunday, but Friday’s seventh stage produced a surprise shakeup of its own.
Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, third place in the overall standings going into the day, lost 81 seconds to the other favorites to make the podium in Paris in two weeks. Another contender, Colombian Richard Carapaz, lost the same amount of time.
Pogacar and Carapaz were the biggest names dropped when the peloton split late in the flat, 104-mile stage.
Belgian Wout van Aert led the final sprint for his second win in the last three stages, after most of the sprinters were dropped earlier in the day.