Delray Beach Men's Singles -

It’s a well-earned win for Richard Carapaz and EF Education-EasyPost, who have animated a lot of the Tour in search of the win they now have.

It will take an almighty collapse to stop Carapaz from winning now. He has the bull by the horns as he passes under the flamme rouge with a grimace, which will soon be an euphotic smile as he wins in Orcieres-Merlette.

France’s long wait for a stage win will continue – and it’s a double whammy for Paret-Peintre who, at this rate, won’t even move into the lead in the KOM standings. He needs to be in the top three to take the jersey off Pogacar outright – but he’ll be one point short if he comes fourth.

It’s looking that way at the moment because Schmid and Jorgenson have dropped the Frenchman. Carapaz, meanwhile, is 33 seconds clear and on his way to a ninth Grand Tour stage win.

And this time, no one has an answer. Johannessen has already thrown in the towel but Schmid, Jorgenson and Paret-Peintre are with the Ecuadorian when he throws down the hammer. Away he goes, while Paret-Peintre shakes his head, unable to respond.

The polka dot jersey jumps on his wheel but Garcia Pierna has popped. Schmid rides back on, with Jorgenson behind and Johannessen digging deep himself to return.