"He gave a lot to get the breakaway going" - Alpecin DS explains why Mathieu van der Poel was unable to fight for stage win

After a flying start to stage six, a strong group eventually steered clear from the peloton. Including sixth overall Mathieu van der Poel. The Dutchman's goal was clear: to regain the yellow jersey he lost a day earlier. And while that goal was eventually completed, stage win was three minutes further up the road in the hands of phenomenal Ben Healy.

"It would have been a shame if it hadn't worked out, but you can't control what the peloton does," Alpecin-Deceuninck sports director Christopher Roodhooft told WielerFlits after the race.

Although the gap to peloton seemed sufficient enough at first, the advantage started to melt very rapidly on the final climbs. "It's not that we weren't aware of it," said Roodhooft, "but the final kilometer was still very tough. It was also a very challenging course for him. It makes a huge difference whether you weigh 60 or 80 kilograms."

Van der Poel was not fully of energy anymore on the walls in the stage finale: "He also gave a lot to create and get the breakaway going. We also thought it (referring to the yellow jersey, ed.) was secured, but the peloton really got going. We have no influence on that."

Can the Dutchman hold onto his one second of advantage in Bretagne and the upcoming stages? "Everything will depend on his recovery, even more so than the route of the coming days. That's certainly achievable, but first we'll see if he can recover sufficiently," Roodhooft concluded.