It was very impressive of Van Heeswijk. He bridged back to the peloton all by himself after his puncture and still had strength left over for the sprint, even though the pace was high towards the end of the stage. Christian Vande Velde crashed during the final descent, but he wasn't seriously hurt and managed to finish in the main peloton, while Linus Gerdemann lost some time because he's suffering from a back ache.
Quotes about peloton (2 Quotes)
Psychologically, it was a difficult moment for me. I don't like riding in the peloton in the chasing peloton. That's not my game, ... But I held on, mainly out of respect for my team. I have not given up doing well in the Tour one day. But on the evidence of things, I have to begin questioning certain things. We will analyze all that this winter.