Remco Evenepoel drops back on a really bumpy gravel section at Thieffrain a Magnant. The Soudal Quick-Step rider was positioned poorly and now has ground to make up as the call goes out on the team radio for Mikel Landa to drop back and give him a lift.

Tom Pidcock (Ineos-Grenadiers), Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek), Ben Healy (EF Education Easypost), Derek Gee (Israel-Premier Tech) and Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Qazaqstan) are joined by Javier Romo, Anthony Turgis and Alex Aranburu.

Image source, Reuters

There is a huge cross tailwind out on the road and riders are scattered everywhere.

This is chaos.

Wout van Aert and Matteo Jorgenson apply pressure at the front of the GC Group...

Remco Evenepoel, Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard have sat up.

The Dane did not want to work and Evenepoel looks absolutely disgusted as Tom Pidcock, Derek Gee, Ben Healy, Alexey Lutsenko and Jasper Stuyven are allowed to escape.

The three GC big hitters join the breakaway and Remco Evenepoel flies straight up to the front to push the pace.

Tadej Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Jonas Vingegaard could well be the three on the podium in Nice.

Primoz Roglic is about a quarter of a mile back down the road.

Tadej Pogacar is off...

Jonas Vingegaard follows him and they are already up within five seconds of Remco Evenepoel.

Tadej Pogacar has none of his UAE Team Emirates colleagues available to close the gap...

He's letting this go as Jonas Vingegaard looks over his shoulder.

Image source, Reuters

Remco Evenepoel attacks...

Wout van Aert hits the front and picks up the pace...

Here comes the next climb which is also on gravel slopes - The Cote de Chacenay.

The maximum gradient is around 9% here..

Ineos Grenadiers close up the gap. Jonas Vingegaard will be absolutely delighted by that.

That said Tadej Pogacar looks bang up for this stage.

Tadej Pogacar is joined by Remco Evenepoel as Matteo Jorgenson and Christophe Laporte try to cover that attack...

Jonas Vingegaard is about 60 or 70m back down the road.

Surely Tadej Pogacar isn't trying to win the stage from here?

He is not slowing up and Remco Evenepoel is trying to get across.

This is absolutely relentless...Tadej Pogacar is attacking.

Image source, Getty Images

The peloton hits the dirt track heading up the Cote de Val Frion, a 2.2km run that averages out at 5%.

UAE Team Emirates still push the pace with Primoz Roglic sat in their wheels remaining vigilant.

Jonas Vingegaard really needs to change bikes but there is no hope of doing that here.

Jonas Vingegaard is back on and inside a fairly hefty peloton as the race comes back together again.

The leading bunch are about 40 seconds clear.

Vingegaard is on a bike that is clearly too big for him.

UAE Team Emirates are putting the hammer down.

Jan Tratnik has given Jonas Vingegaard his bike and Christophe Laporte has been sent back to pilot the Dane back.

Jonas Vingegaard is in trouble and unclipping... Visma-Lease a bike are in crisis mode.