Yorkshire's Tom Pidcock denied Tour de France stage win after dramatic sprint finish

Turgis and Pidcock were in a group of riders who spent virtually all of the 199km stage in a breakaway and it came down to a reduced sprint, with Pidcock slamming his handlebars in frustration after coming within metres of a second career Tour stage.

Behind, race leader Tadej Pogacar tested the mettle of his general classification rivals several times on the 14 gravel sections which characterised the day, with Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic all having issues at different times.

But by the end there were no time gaps between the main contenders as they crossed the line a little under two minutes after Turgis.

Pidcock has prospered on the gravel roads of Strade Bianche before but admitted this stage had been a real test.

“This morning I was less than 57 kilos so when you’re average 280 watts for four-and-a-half hours, it’s quite a lot,” the Yorkshireman said.

“It was kind of an ideal scenario for me. I knew Stuyven would be the strongest one if he went.

“I was hoping that the guys would respond from behind and it’s always difficult to let that play out, but you’ve always got to understand that everyone in that group is also there to win.”

The inclusion of a stage featuring some 32 kilometres of gravel sectors – full of jeopardy for those targeting yellow – caused great controversy in the build-up to the Tour but there was no doubting the entertainment value.

An almighty battle to get into the breakaway led to a rapid pace from the off and things rarely settled down for the next four-and-a-half hours.

Pidcock missed the initial split but hooked up with Irishman Ben Healy to make the bridge after the first gravel sector, making it a 12-strong group out in front.

Their advantage grew to two-and-a-half minutes early on but then soon tumbled as Roglic lost ground behind splits at the back of the main peloton in the early gravel sectors, prompting Pogacar to attack.