“That was the goal today and it’s great that it worked out,” said Van den Berg, who is making his debut in the Tour and finished thirteenth in the stage ahead of his leader. The sprinter is normally allowed to go for his own chances in the mass sprints, but now had the task of staying with his leader. “That was new for me, a lead-out for a GC rider in the sprint,” he analyzed the final. “Looking back in the sprint may not be the safest thing, but it worked.”