Stangelj said he was not aware of any complaint from Dennis regarding his time trial equipment and dismissed suppositions that Dennis might have been frustrated with his role in the team. Bahrain Merida’s main goal at the Tour this year was to fulfill the former Tour champion Vincenzo Nibali’s ambition to fight for a podium finish.

When asked if Dennis had been difficult to work with before, Stangelj said, “It’s difficult to answer this question.”

He added: “But I never have hard discussions with him. We always found a solution when it was needed.”

Stangelj said that after Dennis had stopped at the feed zone, he had not been able to reach out to him right away because Stangelj had already driven that point on the route and could not turn back. He eventually spoke to Dennis by phone after another team car arrived next to him.

Dennis’s extraordinary withdrawal was the talk of the day but did not eclipse Yates’s maiden win at the Tour.

Yates started a counterattack behind a group of fugitives in a technical downhill and was joined at the front by Gregor Mühlberger and Pello Bilbao. The trio worked well together until the final sprint shaped up 200 meters from the finish line in Bagnères-de-Bigorre. Yates started the sprint and was first into the last turn, and he held off Bilbao for the victory.

“I wasn’t very confident in beating them,” Yates said. “I didn’t know how fast these two riders were, but my sport director told me to take the last corner in first position, and I’m glad it worked out well. To have a stage at all three Grand Tours makes me very proud.”