No stage victory, but French national holiday colored by Martinez, who follows in his grandfather's footsteps

The 22-year-old Martinez, who celebrated his birthday this Friday during the Tour de France, made the polka dot jersey a major goal in the stage to Mont Dore. With 27 points, he has an 11-point lead over Ben Healy but, more importantly, a 20-point lead over Tadej Pogacar. “I suffered a lot,” the Frenchman from Bahrain Victorious told Sporza after finishing eighth. “I wasn't sure of myself, but I didn't want to end up empty-handed.”

The polka dot jersey holds a special significance for Martinez. His grandfather, Mariano Martinez, was a great cyclist in his day, winning two stages in the Tour, among other achievements. In 1978, he won the mountain jersey, and the fact that his grandson can now wear the same jersey makes it even more special. “Now, I want to keep this jersey for as long as possible, but with Tadej Pogacar, that won't be easy.” Lenny's father, Miguel Martinez, also rode the Tour in 2002.

O'Connor was in contention for the stage win for a long time but wasn't strong enough in the final phase. Nevertheless, he can also see the positive side. “It's nice to be back in the mountains,” he said to Eurosport. “I can't say I enjoyed the first nine days, but now I'm back in my element. I just didn't win, so I'm pretty disappointed, to be honest.”

On the final climb, the Australian from Jayco AlUla rode up to Simon Yates, but he hit a wall when he tried to accelerate a second time. “I felt good today. I don't think I could have done much more. It was a fair finish, and I had no legs left. Maybe I could have done better at the start, but I think Simon would have won anyway with the gap he had.”