Veteran star Mark Cavendish played no role after his record victory the day before, finishing 19th. German sprinter Phil Bauhaus took fourth place, Pascal Ackermann came ninth.
The yellow jersey for overall winner is still worn by two-time champion Tadej Pogacar, who is still 45 seconds ahead of Belgian time trial world champion Remco Evenepoel. Defending champion Jonas Vingegaard is still 50 seconds behind in third place.
On Friday, the stars will face off again in the first individual time trial. 25.3 kilometers have to be covered between Nuits-Saint-Georges, where Marcel Kittel triumphed in the sprint in 2017, and Gevrey-Chambertin. Apart from a small climb halfway along the route, the course is completely flat. (dpa)
