Caleb Ewan hasn’t had too much luck in this Tour de France and the plan also turned upside down towards Saint-Etienne.
Lotto-Soudal took off more than a jacket to keep a strong breakaway group within reach, but at about 70 kilometers from the finish the leader slid away in a bend.
It was not immediately a treacherous corner, but perhaps there was a loss of concentration in the tired sprinter?
Ewan sent his waiting teammates away, then got back on his bike and started his chase between the support vehicles – without Lotto support.
The Australian was able to stay with the colleagues of Alpecin-Deceuninck, but they were scolded by the jury.
Ewan eventually joined a group of pursuers and approached within half a minute, but threw in the towel on a hill. So there is no profit in it today either.