I agree that the others should put up a fight, but I guess they’re cooked?

In my mind, it is impossible that they are cooked. If we take today:

• yesterday was a completely flat stage, with no fight; the day before was rest (oh, BTW, in this edition the max series of racing days is 6, not 10 days, as, because of the start abroad, there is an extra resting day);
• peloton stopped riding at km 1, not a single counter-attack in the beginning of the race;
• there were only 3 ‘small’ riders in the breakaway, which no one (including themselves) trusted to reach the finish, so no active pursuit;
• wind was in riders back, if I heard correctly;
• the stage is short, only 150 km;
• the stage average speed is 43.6 km/h; to give a comparison point, Amstel Gold Race was ran at a slightly higher average speed, despite being 100 km longer and having twice the elevation gain!
• the peloton is complete (or almost) when it reaches the first real climb, no one has made any effort since the start, and you probably still have 80 or more riders after it; so only sprinters and small or weakened riders have been dropped in the steep climb;
• when there is a small acceleration, then it stops and everyone can regroup because they weren’t really dropped; in the end, there are still 60 riders in the same time; as they cannot have the same level of power/form it means that many of them could have done more;
• it wasn’t at all like on the first day, when Lidl-Trek applied a strong and increasing pace all along the last climb (and kept on pushing on the downhill and then the flat) that put everyone behind in a single line, and thus ended up causing splits; it was rather compact most of the time today, except a little while when UAE pulled.