A sprint that went to script
Some Tour stages are chess. Stage 7 was arithmetic: 175 flat kilometres through the Landes forests to Bordeaux, a two-man break — Baptiste Veistroffer again, with Jakub Otruba — that never got more than two minutes, and a full peloton regrouped with 18 km to run.
On the banks of the Garonne, Tim Merlier did what Tim Merlier does: found the fastest line and finished it. Søren Wærenskjold took second with Biniam Girmay third — two names that would keep coming back all week.
Status quo in yellow
Tadej Pogačar rolled in safely in the bunch, holding his 2:42 over Jonas Vingegaard. For the GC men it was a day of sunscreen and wheel-following; for the sprinters' teams, the first of two straight paydays.
Stage details on the stage 7 page — the full race is on the Tour tracker.
