Sam Bennett edged a sprint finish on Tuesday to claim his first stage victory in the Tour de France.
The Deceuninck Quick Step rider finished the 170km 10th stage between the Ile d'Oléron and the Ile de Ré in three hours, 35 minutes and 22 seconds.
Lotto Soudal's Caleb Ewan finished second and Peter Sagan of the Bora Hansgrohe team came third.
The course between two islands along France's Atlantic coastline was the flattest stage of the race. Cross-winds coming off the ocean were expected to play a part during the voyage.
It was played out soon after it was revealed that the race director, Christian Prudhomme had tested positive for coronavirus just days after spending most of the eighth stage in the Pyrenees with the French prime minister Jean Castex.
Just three kilometres in on Tuesday, two Swiss riders, Stefan Kung and Michael Schar sped away from the peloton and opened a gap of 62 seconds as they crossed the three-kilometre long Oleron Bridge.
Advantage
The duo at one point extended their advantage to 105 seconds but 63 km into the race, the lead was down to just under a minute.
They were eventually reeled in and the expected bunch of sprinters were in contention as the race entered the final three kilometres into Saint-Martin-de-Ré.
"I'm happy to have won the stage and proud of the team," said Bennett after his triumph. "It was a fantastic performance from everybody. They did great work for me."
While the 29-year-old Irishman recovers the green jersey from Sagan for the most number of points, Primo Roglic from Slovenia retained the yellow jersey as race leader with an overall time of 42 hours, 15 minutes and 23 seconds.
Defending champion Egan Bernal is 21 seconds behind and two Frenchman, Guillaume Martin and Romain Bardet, are 28 and 30 seconds respectively off the pacesetter with 11 of the 21 stages remaining.
The 107th Tour de France started in Nice on 29 August and is scheduled to finish along the Champs Elysées in Paris on 20 September
Former Kotoko Player George Asare elected SRC President at PUG Law Faculty
2024 elections: Consider ‘dumsor’ when casting your votes; NPP deserves less — P...
You have no grounds to call Mahama incompetent; you’ve failed — Prof. Marfo blas...
2024 elections: NPP creates better policies for people like us; we’ll vote for B...
Don’t exchange your life for wealth; a sparkle of fire can be your end — Gender ...
Ghana’s newly installed Poland train reportedly involved in accident while on a ...
Chieftaincy disputes: Government imposes 4pm to 7am curfew on Sampa township
Franklin Cudjoe fumes at unaccountable wasteful executive living large at the ex...
I'll 'stoop too low' for votes; I'm never moved by your propaganda — Oquaye Jnr ...
Kumasi Thermal Plant commissioning: I pray God opens the eyes of leaders who don...
