Jasper Philipsen secured his first Tour de France victory on stage 15 as race leader Jonas Vingegaard recovered from a crash but lost another Jumbo-Visma team-mate.
Primoz Roglic withdrew due to injury before the 202.5-kilometre ride – the second-longest of this year's Tour – between Rodez and Carcassonne on Sunday.
Steven Kruijswijk became the second Jumbo-Visma to abandon after crashing with 135km to race before Vingegaard came down, but was able to maintain a lead of two minutes and 22 seconds over defending champion Tadej Pogacar.
After the drama of crashes during the climbing section of the stage, Alpecin-Deceuninck rider Philipsen edged out green jersey holder Wout van Aert and Mads Pedersen to sprint to victory.
"It makes it super unbelievable," said Pedersen, who had previously finished in the top three eight times in Le Tour sprints without victory.
"I know what losing is like in the Tour de France. I was close many, many times. That it worked out today is incredible. I can't believe it.
"I felt Wout was coming close, but I also knew the finish line from last year. We got boxed in a little bit before the final corner and I knew it was not long anymore after the last corner.
"I knew I had to make up some positions. It was good that I could pass Mads. It's been a massive search for this victory.
"We've worked really hard for it. I'm super proud we can finally finish it off after a tough Tour. We had to wait till stage 15 with the team, but everyone still believed it was possible. I'm super happy."
Vingegaard's rapid recovery to protect yellow jersey
All may have looked lost when yellow jersey leader Vingegaard was involved in a crash that also included Jumbo-Visma team-mate Tiesj Benoot.
But the Dane (4:05) smashed the previous King of the Mountains record on Cote du Lac de Saint-Ferreol, held by Daryl Impey since 2016 (4:18), to maintain his lead over Pogacar and Geraint Thomas.
Yet with no Roglic or Kruijswijk, Le Tour may be blown wide open with a week remaining.
STAGE RESULTS
1. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 4:27:27
2. Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) +0:00
3. Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) +0:00
4. Peter Sagan (Team TotalEnergies) +0:00
5. Danny van Poppel (BORA–hansgrohe) +0:00
CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS
General Classification
1. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) 59:58:28
2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE-Team Emirates) +2:22
3. Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers) +2:43
Points Classification
1. Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) 378
2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE-Team Emirates) 182
3. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 176
King of the Mountains
1. Simon Geschke (Cofidis) 46
2. Louis Meintjes (Intermarche–Wanty–Gobert Materiaux) 39
3. Neilson Powless (EF Education–Easypost) 37