The long 230 km stage was raced at a high pace and ended in a mass sprint won by Italian rider Davide Stella. Norwegian Kasper Haugland retains the yellow jersey.
The unusually long 230-kilometer distance did not dampen the enthusiasm of the under-23 peloton—far from it.
Proof of this lies in the fact that 51 km were covered in the first hour, and the race finished with an average speed of 46.5 km/h; while the route through the Cher and Allier departments lacked major climbs, the finale in Saône-et-Loire was nonetheless grueling and sapped the riders’ strength.
Crashes remained frequent, affecting a good quarter of the peloton since the Grand Départ in Ouistreham. Yet, attacks came thick and fast, with several French riders involved in various attempts—including U23 French champion Thimothée Coudière Cantin (French national team), Aubin Sparfel (Decathlon CMA CGM Développement)—who pressed on despite the lingering effects of a serious crash on day one—and Victor Loulergue (Groupama-FDJ Continental), who was well-placed in the general classification (7th). Approaching the finale, French national team rider Tom Lambert Wetzel crested the final categorized climb in the lead just outside Gueugnon, but the move ultimately came to nothing.
In the end, two riders kept the suspense alive. With 27 km remaining—after the Côte de Chaume—Mexican rider Jose Cisneros Diaz de Leon (Soudal Quick-Step Devo) and Dane Magnus Carstensen (EF Aevolo) managed to break away; although a concerted chase never really materialized, the gap hovered around 30 seconds as the peloton maintained control. The two attackers were eventually reeled in, and a mass sprint involving around a hundred riders concluded the race, which lasted nearly five hours. It was an opportunity for Italian rider Davide Stella to show that he not only has the right build for the job but also the potential, and to prove that the UAE team’s development squad was also focusing on this aspect of racing.
The general classification remained unchanged, with Decathlon CMA CGM’s Norwegian rider Kasper Haugland holding onto the yellow jersey. The mountains are looming, but first comes a relatively hilly stage through Burgundy—starting in Saint-Vallier (Saône-et-Loire) and finishing in the medieval town of Semur-en-Auxois (Côte-d’Or)—featuring a 700-meter cobbled section on the final climb!
