Our squad kept cool and out of the wind, as the peloton sped towards a bunch sprint in Bergerac.

Over the top of the Côte du Buisson-de-Cadouin, a fourth-category climb with 40 kilometers to go, Kasper Asgreen hit out to test the sprinters' teams' legs but couldn't open up enough of a gap to shake them. The race course from Périgueux to Bergerac was almost sure to end in a bunch sprint and that's how it ended.

Our guys stayed on the wheels and got across the line safe without wasting strength. Tomorrow's stage, from Malemort to Ussel in the Massif Central, is a great chance for breaks and we're going to go all in.

"Today was pretty chill. It was pretty hot, but honestly, we're not going to get another day that easy for the rest of these three weeks. I just stayed near the back with the rest of our guys, and it's actually pretty safe back there. The only sketchy part is when the lead-out guys are completely blown and start coming backwards like they've dropped anchor. If they don't get out of the way, it can get a bit dangerous. But otherwise, if you're not fighting right at the front, it's pretty manageable. I think all the boys should be excited. It should be a good day for us, and hopefully we'll get up the road and give it a rip." – Sean Quinn

"With UAE and the Quick-Step guys there, there wasn't really an opportunity to get away over the top of the last climb, but I wanted to try. It was more or less the same story as everyone expected. Most of the bunch was just looking forward to tomorrow. That's definitely going to be a hard day. The start will be really difficult because every team has its own interests, and it always takes a while before the right breakaway goes. I expect a very hard opening to the stage. I'm very excited." – Kasper Asgreen

"We wanted to have Kasper in the break if it was a group of around five riders because we were pretty sure they would ride for the stage win in that scenario. In the end, only three riders got away, and the sprint teams almost miscalculated it. Fortunately for them, it worked out.

"Personally, I feel a bit sorry for the young rider from Lotto. He rode a fantastic race. But I think today showed that's how you can win stages at the Tour – you have to try. You can never give up.

"The key is picking the right stages and committing to them. We'll see which opportunities suit us over the next few days, and when the right one comes, we'll go all in. If they catch us, they catch us. If they don't, then happy days." – Andreas Klier, sports director

We did the math – for every hour raced in this year's Tour de France, our team staff will collectively put in over 150 hours of work. That's just at the race, leaving aside the months and months of preparation by our logistics squad, sports directors, performance team, and equipment partners. At the Tour, we have 39 people on the ground working the race to support our athletes. Mechanics work from dawn till dusk to make sure that their bikes are always in perfect shape. Soigneurs transport luggage from hotel to hotel, clean cars and clothes, and dart around the race course to hand out bottles before giving the riders massages after each stage. Our chefs prepare healthy, nutritious meals. Chiropractors travel with the team to help our riders remain injury-free. Our team doctors take care of our riders' health during the race and are always on call to deal with emergencies. Sports directors study terrain and tactics late into the night and follow the peloton in our race Cadillacs to support the team on the road and make race decisions on the fly. And our communications team is here, telling the stories of our Tour de France. We're one big team – all working hard.

Today's Tour stage passed some of the most spectacular sites of prehistoric art in existence. The Lascaux cave paintings are estimated to be between 17,000 and 19,000 years old and feature almost 6,000 images of Paleolithic humans, animals, and abstract signs painted onto the stone with mineral pigments. A treasure of human civilization, the caves became world-renowned when they were discovered in 1940. The Font-de-Gaume cave in Les Eyzies is less famous, but also houses some amazing examples of prehistoric paintings and engravings. One of our feed zones today was nearby. We weren't able to go in, as the caves are closed to the public to protect the art from humidity, but a friendly local we met there gave us an amazing lesson about the site's history.

This evening, Owen and Chris put their baking caps on and whipped up a favorite dessert for the riders. Crostata is a sweet treat to enjoy after dinner and top up your stores of carbs. Italian in origin, it is a simple tart filled with fruit jam. Owen and Chris's recipe is the best.

Ingredients:

500 g plain flour

200 g unsalted butter, cold and diced

180 g caster sugar

2 whole eggs

1 egg yolk

5 g baking powder (optional)

2 g fine sea salt

Zest of 1 lime

1 tsp vanilla extract

Jam of your choice

Method:

Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs (or mix briefly in a food processor).

Add the sugar, salt, baking powder (if using), and lime zest.

Mix in the eggs, yolk, and vanilla just until a dough forms. Don't overwork it.

Flatten into a disc, wrap, and chill for at least one hour (overnight is even better).

Heat the oven to 190 C.

Roll out about two-thirds of the pastry to 3 to 4 mm thick and line a 30-centimeter tart tin. Trim the edges.

Spread the jam evenly over the base, leaving a 1-centimeter border.

Roll the remaining pastry and cut 1.5 to 2-centimeter strips for a lattice. Lay them over the jam and press them into the edge.

Brush the lattice and rim with egg.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the pastry is evenly golden and the jam is bubbling.

Chef's tips:

Apricot jam: Add a little lemon zest for freshness.

Raspberry jam: Sprinkle 30 to 40 g toasted flaked almonds over the jam before adding the lattice.

Chill the assembled tart for 15 to 20 minutes before baking for cleaner edges.

The crostata is actually better the next day and keeps well in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days at room temperature. If your kitchen is very warm, store it in the fridge and bring it back to room temperature before serving.

The word for a day that ends in Bergerac must be panache. The town's most famous literary figure is Cyrano de Bergerac, whose eponymous play, written by Edmond Rostand, introduced the word to the English language. Its root is the Latin pinna, which referred to a feather or a quill. In Italian, a pennacchio is a plume or tuft of feathers, like the ones that Renaissance-era soldiers wore on their helmets. Old French adapted the Italian word to create the word panache. A soldier's panache was pure style; fighting with panache meant keeping the plume upright and remaining confident and suave in the heat of battle. Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac retains his panache until the bitter end. He bows out of the play in beautiful, defiant style. In English, the word panache is one of Rostand's greatest legacies. In cycling, we attribute it to singular riders who are willing to take great risks for magnificent victories – individualists such as Ben Healy. Whether they win or lose, they race with flair – and results are just feathers in their caps.