After doing a huge turn of work for his teammates through the opening six stages, Ben took his first chance to go for it himself and let fly. He felt good, so he started fast and just tried to hold on, pushing right to the finish to average over 50 kilometers per hour, good for 9th on the stage.

The TT was a very good test of Ben’s form, with a number of stages coming up that our Irish breakaway artist has marked as chances in his roadbook.

The first time trial of the 2024 Tour de France rolled through Burgundy’s greatest vineyards, starting in Nuits-Saint-Georges and finishing 25.3 kilometers north up the Côte d’Or in Gevery-Chambertin. The course began with a climb up the limestone escarpment, rising into the woods on its crest, before back tearing down slopes decked with Grand Cru pinot noir.

Ben set the fifth-fastest time on the uphill section, just behind the GC favorites. By the final sector, he was struggling to hold the pace he’d set, but gritted his teeth and kept turning over his 60-tooth chainring all the way to the line.

Stefan Bissegger also did a strong ride, cutting through the wind to finish 12th, after spending much of the afternoon in the hot seat. He’s satisfied with his form and looking forward to attacking the coming stages.

The rest of our riders cruised through the TT, avoiding the red-zone to save their strength. The racing gets going again tomorrow with a hilly eighth stage, as the Tour de France heads from Semur-en-Auxois in Burgundy to Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises in Champagne.

I had good legs today. I set an ambitious pace and went for it from the start. And then I just tried to hold on after the descent. I did pay for it, but like I said, I wanted to try. I went out with an ambitious pace, knowing that I had pretty decent legs. I couldn't quite hold it to the finish, unfortunately, but that is what it is. At the moment, I enjoy doing what I do. I think being a GC contender is a pretty stressful job!

It was a decent ride. We saw where I stacked up at the end, but I definitely did my best. Maybe, I over-paced it a bit in the beginning. Maybe, I went a bit too hard on the climb. On the downhill, you can't really pedal, so everybody had the same strategy. I had a few close calls. Obviously when you get tired, you’re not as sharp anymore, but I think it was a decent ride.