The duo had come loose and Kvne pulled towards the goal.
In the last corner, Lopez made an attempt to pass on the inside but came too close and got a throw and lost contact.
When Lopez reached the finish line, he hit the handlebars disappointed while Kvne made the victory sign with outstretched arms.
- I hardly think it's true and can enjoy as long as possible.
I take it day by day, says a teary-eyed Lopez in Eurosport's broadcast and has released the disappointment of not winning the stage over 172 km starting in Avola.
Silent agreement
Even though it did not look like that in the TV pictures, Kvne stated that they had a settlement before they reached the finish line.
- I am super happy to have won a stage and that means a lot to the team as well.
We had a tacit agreement that I would win the stage and that Lopez would take the leader jersey, says Kmanna.
Mathieu van der Poel, who drove in the pink leader jersey, rolled calmly into goal almost 23 minutes after the lead.
The only Swede, Tobias Ludvigsson, was also in that group.