Mikhail Morkov does not usually make mistakes. In fact, he is highly regarded as a lead-out man, and the riders who defend his slipstream often win. However, after stage 3 of the Tour de France, the Dane blamed himself.

Quick Step dominated the last few kilometers to Sonderborg, but their lead group fell apart on the home straight.

The decisive moment came on the left-hand bend with 750 meters to go. Quick Step's Florian Seneschal was first around the curve, with Morkov taking the wheel and Fabio Jacobsen in third. The first two accelerated out of the curve, but Jacobsen went wide and lost position.

From there, it looked like a normal lead-out, just without the sprinter, which was an important factor. Seneschal fell behind and Morkov reeled him in, but behind him were the Jumbo Visma duo of Wout Van Aert and Christophe Laporte.

"I ended up leading the Jumbo group instead of Fabio. I was sure Fabio was on my wheel, but he wasn't."

"The team did a great job to keep us in line in the last 5km. Of course we expected a lot of pressure on the last corner. Fabio pulled away a bit, but unfortunately I was convinced he was in my wheelhouse, so I started sprinting.

Morkov explained that the mistake was not looking back to make sure.

The fact that Quick-Step had already won the first two stages, including Saturday's Jacobsen stage, did not seem to soften the blow. The same was true of his nearly flawless track record. He was left with the feeling that he had not performed to the best of his ability this time.

"I'm disappointed in myself for not making sure he was there," Morkoff said.

"I was sure he was on my wheel, but I should have checked again. Then I should have stayed away and waited for Fabio's chance to come back."

Morkov was one of the "home" riders who received an enthusiastic welcome to Grande Pearl, the first time since Yorkshire in 2014, throughout the three Danish stages. However, Morkov headed to the airport for his flight to France with bitter memories in his mouth.

"I am very proud of my first two stage wins. Of course, it would have been a fairy tale if I could have won here and left Denmark with three wins. But it's a shame we didn't win today."