His 52-second cushion over Louis Barré entering stage 4 meant Magnier's winning kick was a stage result, not a threat to the jersey. Del Toro had built that margin on stage 3, finishing second to Giulio Pellizzari on the 170.8 km queen stage while attacking to reclaim the race lead. The closing metres in Heilbronn were a reminder of how compressed and volatile this race format runs — del Toro nearly gifted the stage to himself, then handed it to Magnier at the death, and still walked away with the only result that counted.