Jasper Philipsen was knocked over by Frenchman Bryan Coquard and landed heavily on his right side. The Stage 1 winner abandoned and was taken to hospital.

Deceuninck, crashed out of the Tour de France Monday just two days after taking the yellow jersey for the first time in his career.

The Visma-Lease a Bike team of Jonas Vingegaard were the protagonists, with several contenders for the overall classification — including Remco Evenepoel — distanced as the echelons formed. That main part of the peloton, which also contained Primoz Roglic and Geraint Thomas, ended up losing 49 seconds to the stage winner.