Image source, Reuters

Thanks for following today's stage, which resulted in victory for Tadej Pogacar on the iconic Mur-de-Bretagne climb, with general classification rival Jonas Vingegaard right behind and British rider Oscar Onley completing the podium.

Mathieu van der Poel didn't have enough in his legs to challenge for the stage win so he and Pogacar again exchanged the yellow jersey, with Tour debutant Onley moving up to seventh in the GC standings.

Do join us tomorrow for live text coverage of the flat 171.4km stage from Saint-Meen-le-Grand to Laval Espace Mayenne, from about 12:00 BST.

Tadej Pogacar added: "It was a hot day, we spent a lot of energy cooling down the bodies. It was also super fast and a hard day, but we had a plan and we stuck to it.

"The team led me out to the bottom of the climb. Normally Joao [Almeida] would be there but he crashed, then Jonny [Narvaez] came through in the last kilometre and did a super job to keep it under control until the last sprint. It was perfect for me."

Image source, EPA

Stage winner and race leader Tadej Pogacar said: "I'm super happy with the win today. We did almost perfect but unfortunately Joao [Almeida] crashed so I hope he's OK. If he's not OK then this victory is for him.

"Me and Mathieu [van der Poel] both know this finish very well. We both wanted to win on this iconic climb but I think maybe yesterday he left too much on the road so we couldn't have this rematch.

"For me, the day went super, like we planned, and the win was amazing."

1. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Emirates-XRG) 4hrs 5mins 39secs
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Visma-Lease a Bike) Same time
3. Oscar Onley (GB/Picnic PostNL) +2secs
4. Felix Gall (Aut/Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) Same time
5. Matteo Jorgenson (US/Visma-Lease a Bike)
6. Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Soudal Quick-Step)
7. Kevin Vauquelin (Arkea-B&B Hotels)
8. Jhonatan Narvaez (Ecu/UAE Emirates-XRG) +7secs
9. Axel Laurance (Fra/Ineos Grenadiers) +15secs
10. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Nor/Uno-X Mobility) +21secs

1. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Emirates-XRG) 25hrs 58mins 4secs
2. Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Soudal Quick-Step) +54secs
3. Kevin Vauquelin (Arkea-B&B Hotels) +1min 11secs
4. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Visma-Lease a Bike) +1min 17secs
5. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned/Alpecin-Deceuninck) +1min 29secs
6. Matteo Jorgenson (US/Visma-Lease a Bike) 1:34
7. Oscar Onley (GB/Picnic PostNL) +2mins 49secs
8. Florian Lipowitz (Ger/Red Bull-Bora hansgrohe) +3mins 2secs
9. Primoz Roglic (Slo/Red Bull-Bora hansgrohe) +3mins 6secs
10. Mattias Skjelmose (Den) 3mins 43secs

Image source, Reuters

Mathieu van der Poel said: "I was quite sure I would lose the jersey today so I tried to enjoy it as much as possible and I did.

"Coming back here to Mur-de-Bretagne is quite special, wearing the yellow jersey after four years, so I'm happy.

"Time changes but I think I can be very proud of this first week."

On now going for the green jersey: "I try to be there [for points] if it's not too hard but today was an all-out effort. We'll see but, first I will try to recover from the last few days."

There would be no repeat of Mathieu van der Poel's famous victory here in 2021.

The Dutch rider crossed the line 80 seconds after Tadej Pogacar so slips to fifth in the general classification standings.

British rider Oscar Onley crosses two seconds later to claim the final spot on the podium.

Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) round out the top five.

Jonas Vingegaard went with Tadej Pogacar but the reigning champion was just too strong.

Image source, EPA

Eight riders are poised to go for the line.

And Tadej Pogacar attacks...

Tadej Pogacar's UAE team-mate Jhonatan Narvaez hits the front.

Mathieu van der Poel is 40 seconds back.

Remco Evenepoel is now at the front, with Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard on his wheel.

Remco Evenepoel and Jonas Vingegaard are right behind Tadej Pogacar.

Tim Wellens is at the front heading into the final climb, with UAE team-mate Tadej Pogacar on his wheel.

Ouch!published at 5km to go

5km to go

Out of nowhere there's a crash towards the back of the peloton, with maybe a dozen riders caught up in it.

UAE's Joao Almeida, seventh in the GC standings, and Jack Haig of Bahrain Victorious seem to have come off worse.

Geraint Thomas on the Mur-de-Bretagne climb: "It's just tough, it's only 2km but it's steep and dead straight. It's always a good atmosphere on there, always rammed with people.

"It's easy to underestimate. You kind of think 'it's only 2km' but it's a tough little climb, and it keeps going as well. There's a steep bit and then it keeps dragging all the way to the line. It's going to be a tough one."

Image source, EPA

Ewen Costiou won't be the first man crossing the finish line at the second time of asking though.

The French youngster has now been caught by the peloton.

Ewen Costiou crosses the finish line for the first time to take the two points for the second climb.

UAE's Tim Wellens, who is currently wearing the polka dot jersey, follows to take the other mountain point up for grabs.

Ivan Garcia Cortina, Geraint Thomas and then Alex Baudin are caught by the peloton, with Simon Yates leading the charge for Visma.

Race leader Mathieu van der Poel is struggling to keep up and has dropped back.

French debutant Ewen Costiou goes clear to hit the summit first.