The time gap between him and his biggest rival, Pogačar, had widened to 4 minutes and 12 seconds after this stage.
He collapsed onto his wife's shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably.
But the world of professional road cycling is just that cruel.
For the past two years, he had been on top of the world, the most successful Road Cyclist on the planet. But faced with a difficult season this year, compounded by major changes to his team's roster, he could only accept this starkly different outcome.
Over on the Quick Step Team, Evenepoel finished the stage at the same time as Vingegaard. Consequently, they were gapped by Huang Chong and Pogačar, losing 1 minute and 52 seconds and 1 minute and 48 seconds to them, respectively.
He was now far behind the two leaders on the general classification standings.
His hopes of challenging for the Best Young Rider's White Jersey were completely shattered.
