Thomas de Gendt has done a great job this year of rebuilding his reputation after dropping off the radar somewhat with Omega Pharma-QuickStep.

He and Belgian compatriot Jan Bakelants, who was third on the stage, both found opportunities limited with the Belgian super team so it is good to see the 2012 Giro d’Italia podium finisher’s decision to move pay off.

Whenever he is in the break there is always danger for the peloton, as he proved in 2012 and has continued to do so since.

King of the Mountains at Paris-Nice, and second in the same classification at the Tour de Suisse, De Gendt loves attacking and it nearly paid off big time on stage 13 too.

In De Gendt, Tony Gallopin and Tim Wellens, Lotto-Soudal boast three of the most combative riders in the WorldTour peloton and so have targeted stage wins – other than those provided by sprinter Andre Greipel.

And De Gendt was less than 500m away from delivering a famous victory too.

It wasn’t quite as painful to watch as Jack Bauer being caught in sight of the finish line at last year’s Tour, or Tony Martin at the Vuelta the year before, but it will have stung the Belgian and his two remaining companions, Cyril Gautier (Europcar) and Wilco Kelderman (LottoNL-Jumbo).

Nevertheless, it was another reminder of just what De Gendt can do when given the freedom, and it will definitely not be the last time we see him threaten the peloton – perhaps not the last time at this Tour either.