It was close. Leonard Kemna (Bora-Hansgrohe) came within 200 meters of the lead on Friday in the second stage of the Tour de France at La Planche des Belles Fils.

Part of a seven-man breakaway group with half of the brutally steep final climb left, Chemna was still ahead of the race, but his advantage was rapidly fading. [At one point, he was expected to win his second summit finish in a Grand Tour, following his victory on Mount Etna in the Giro d'Italia.

However, with Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo Visma) and Tadej Pogachar briefly competing on the summit, the 25-year-old German all-rounder was unable to stay ahead and eventually had to settle for fourth place.

Kemna spoke to a small group of reporters after the finish, looking philosophical rather than depressed about his near-fatal injury. The group never gave the break a significant advantage, he noted, and the coordination within the group was never good.

And on the climb, with his energy draining and team cars constantly signaling gaps, he vacillated between thinking he could break away and thinking he would be caught.

"I think I did everything I could, but I lost by 10 seconds. I thought I could have had two minutes [at the base of the climb], but I only had a minute and a half or a minute and twenty seconds.

"I felt really good and was in a fast rhythm after that, but then I had to let it go."

On how he felt about such a close loss, Kemna said only, "Sometimes shit happens."

He has also won the title in the German national time trial, but has had near success, winning several times in the long breakaway.

Nor is personal glory the only goal. At the Vuelta a Andalucía earlier this year, Kemna won alone, but he and his teammates took turns attacking, so it could have been anyone.

And at the Giro d'Italia this past May, he dropped back from the break in the middle of the Marmolada, giving Jai Hindley crucial support.

"I think I can do pretty well because I know how to recover well when I come into the break. I think we'll have a few more chances in the Alps.