Stage 7 also featured a late crash involving multiple riders, most notably Pogačar's teammate with UAE Team Emirates XRG, João Almeida.

It's a largely flat stage with an occasional gentle rise, an intermediate sprint at 85.5km plus a relatively straight final three kilometres in towards the finishing line.

Mathieu van der Poel reclaimed the yellow jersey from Pogacar by one second after a gruelling day for the Dutch rider on Thursday.