[Matteo Jorgenson (Visma Lease-a-Bike) finished seventh in the Tour de France stage 7 time trial, just days after crashing. He also moved into the top 10 overall, four minutes behind race leader Tadej Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates).

Jorgenson had a high-speed crash with teammate Wout van Aert (Vimalies a Bike) on stage 2. Back on the bike, the 25-year-old tackled the final climb of the day under team leader Jonas Vingegaard and finished with the main group of contenders for the win by 21 seconds.

Jorgenson told WielerFlits that the crash affected him more than expected.

"During the last three days my body reacted really badly to the crashes. Especially the first crash in San Luca, I didn't think it was a big deal. I think I was still pumping a lot of adrenaline when I got up."

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But reality set in on the fourth stage with 3,600 meters of elevation gain, and Jorgenson was unable to assist Vingegaard on the dreaded Col du Galibier slope. The next day was another hard day, and Jorgenson rested on the relatively flat stage 6.

"But my body reacted a little bit late, especially on Galibier and the day after that I felt terrible. So I'm happy now that I got through it," he admitted.

"I'm happy, seventh is a respectable result for me. To be in the top 10 in the Tour de France TT is not bad."

In his first Tour de France appearance, Jorgenson was not only satisfied with his time trial result, but also with the opportunity to assess his form after a week of racing.

"It was a good test, and I was able to see what I would be like if I rode the full Tour de France TT," Jorgenson said.

The 25-year-old, who celebrates his birthday on July 2, is looking forward to Sunday's stage 9, a 14-sector, 32-km gravel ride in Troyes.

"The gravel stages will be chaos," he said. The gravel stages will be chaos."

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