Well, the much-anticipated cobblestone stage of this year's Tour de France dished out all of the drama and excitement that was expected – and then some.
With 11 sectors packed into the final half of the race, everyone knew that there would be no place to hide and that slightest dose of misfortune would be lethal.
Literally all of the favourites struggled at some point. Peter Sagan and Wout Van Aert crashed early on. Mathieu van der Poel flatted in the final while GC contenders like Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard had problems of their own. Riders were all over the road in what can only be described as a continual cloud of dust.
Dozens struggled throughout the day, but not Tadej Pogačar. The two-time defending champion simply rode flawlessly. Already near the front on the first section of cobbles, he could be seen with his distinctive white jersey – awarded to the best young rider – at the head of the pack throughout the day.
And then finally, in the closing kilometres, he slipped off the front with Belgian Jasper Stuyven and even managed to grab a 13-second advantage over the main pack of favourites.
Meanwhile, Australian Simon Clarke rode brilliantly throughout the day, jumping in the early break and edging out Dutch breakaway specialist Taco van der Hoorn by only millimetres at the line. Not bad for a rider who was unemployed at the start of the season!
Here is a selection of the best images from an iconic day of racing.
