A flat stage at the Tour de France saw another fast day in the peloton.
Mathieu van der Poel and Jonas Rickaert (Alpecin - Deceuninck) kicked off proceedings with an early breakaway, tackling most of the 174km stage up the road. With Rickaert delivering van der Poel to the finish, the lone Dutchman was caught in the final kilometre into Châteauroux as it came down to a bunch finish.
Tim Merlier (Soudal - Quick Step) took the win, while the Grenadiers all finished safely on a stage littered with echelons.
The team worked well throughout the day to keep Carlos Rodriguez 15th on the GC, with the Spaniard finishing in the bunch with Sam Watson and Axel Laurance.