Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Julien Alaphilippe (Dečuninck-Quick Step) suffered an unfortunate mechanical problem in the final sprint of stage 7 of the Tour de France. While disappointed that they did not finish higher on the day, they were relieved that no crashes occurred in the dash, which was won by Wout Van Aert (Jumbo Visma).

"It was definitely a mechanical problem, but that's not all," said Sagan, who finished 13th, earning points midway through the stage and regaining the green jersey.

"I was behind Van Aert, but I lost position and everyone went left. I tried not to fall, but I hit someone and my chain came off. I was lucky I didn't fall over. After that it was impossible to get to the front."

Alaphilippe started his sprint early on and looked like he might be able to get to the front, but midway through the sprint his foot came off the pedal. Alaphilippe lost his balance and sat up in the saddle to avoid a fall, waving his arms in the air in frustration. At the same time, Van Aert, Edvald Boasson Hagen (NTT Pro Cycling), and Brian Coquard (B&B Hotels Vital Concepts) secured their respective podiums.

"My sprint position was very good, but I missed the clip and didn't sprint well. 'I lost most of my team in the split because I lost most of them. Right after the start, from the 0km mark, I was on full gas and didn't have time to think."

Beulah-Hansgrohe went into the stage with a fast tempo plan for the day's opening climb, the Côte de Luzerne-Con, a third class. The plan worked, and Sam Bennett (Desseuninck-Quick Step), who took the green jersey overnight, dropped out of the main group along with sprinters such as Caleb Yuan (Lotto-Soudal).

The German team continued to maintain their high speed, and the gap between Bennett's group and the front of the main group grew to several minutes. Sagan took second place behind Matteo Trentin (CCC Team) in the intermediate sprint with 55km to go.

A crosswind with 35km to go split the main group with overall leader Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott), defending champion Egan Bernal ( Ineos Grenadier), Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ), GC favorites such as Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) and Nairo Quintana (Arkea-Samsic), and Sagan and Alaphilippe in the lead group. Jumbo Visma with Van Aert, overall leader Primoš Roglic and Tom Dumoulin were also in the lead group.

Several GC contenders were caught in crosswinds, including Tadej Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates), Mikel Landa (Bahrain McLaren), and Trek-Segafredo's Richie Porte and Bauke Morema. In the end, only a few sprinters were able to contend for the stage win, leaving the remaining GC teams to defend their overall positions.

Gulpama-FDJ led, with NTT Pro Cycling replacing Edvald Boasson Hagen in the last kilometer. Alaphilippe was off the pedals and Sagan was off the chain a few wheels back. Brian Coquard (B&B Hotels - Vital Concept) then caught up with him from the left, but was unable to close the gap and finished third.

"Today I had all the races under control and everything seemed to be going really well, but in the end I had some bad luck and the chain came off. I missed a lot of points today, but that's cycling." He pulled hard from the start to the crosswind. In the end, I was able to run at the front with Emmanuel Buchmann and everything was great.

Despite an unfortunate mechanical problem that prevented him from winning the stage, Sagan praised his teammates for executing their plan to make the race hard, pull away from rival sprinters, and take back the green jersey.

"There was a similar stage in 2013, which I won," Sagan said. 'I pulled the race all day to eliminate the sprinters. This time it was the same, but I didn't win. My teammates did a great job. It was a decision we all made together. At first the director didn't agree with me, but the race went very well. In the sprint I was unlucky to get blocked by a chain."

Sagan said that Bora-Hansgrohe will continue to fight for points in order to take the green jersey, especially when the opportunity presents itself in somewhat unexpected and difficult stages, such as stage 7.

"This is the way to win the green jersey," Hansgrohe said. My teammates were great again today."