Ireland’s Ben Healy lost his yellow jersey of overall leader at the Tour de France today after a torturous day in the blistering heat of the French Pyrenees.

The question before the start was to what extent Ben Healy would be able to defend his yellow jersey on Thursday, but in the end, the Irishman from EF Education-EasyPost lost a lot of time to stage winner and new yellow jersey wearer Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates-XRG).

Ben Healy and his EF Education-EasyPost team spent the rest day in Toulouse basking in the bright light and happiness that the Tour de France leader's jersey brings, thinking about how they can keep it as long as possible as the race heads into the Pyrenees.

Healy was in the same main chase group as Pogačar after a fraught, hilly stage around the southern city of Toulouse when the UAE Team Emirates-XRG leader was thrown off balance by another rider's manoeuvre, falling some four kilometres from the line.

On Thursday, he won the sixth stage, and Ben Healy was perhaps the top favorite for the Tour de France's tenth stage. But the Irishman from EF Education - EasyPost put his ambitions for the day aside and secured the yellow jersey.