Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-QuickStep) swashbuckled his way to stage victory and the maillot jaune as Mike Teunissen (Jumbo-Visma) struggled on the frantic, attackity Ardennes style finale into Epernay. Hot favourite for the stage, the Frenchman unleashed a devastating attack on the final climb, caught and passed lone leader Tim Wellens (Lotto-Soudal) and scampered solo to the finish. Michael Matthews (Team Sunweb) got the better of Trek-Segafredo’s Jasper Stuyven to complete the podium. A slight split in the field at the finish saw Egan Bernal (Ineos) and Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) gain five seconds on their GC rivals
