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It took until the halfway stage for an initial eight-man breakaway, eventually pulling away from the rest of the riders on the grueling 3.8km long Suc AU May climb.
The team never led for more than a minute and a half but only four remained as the race neared the finish, with Frenchman Alex Boudin joining Johannesen and Pidcock.
This is the second stage of this year’s Tour which has been affected by the weather, with fans asked not to take part in the 40km of the third stage near the Spanish-French border due to fires in the region.
On Sunday, more than a third of the country was placed under the highest level of alert by France’s national weather service.
The heat led the CPA, the organization that represents professional cyclists, to say that race start times should be “evolved” to “protect the health of athletes” given the increasing frequency of extreme heatwaves.
Some riders have urged Tour de France organizers to consider bringing start times forward to avoid the hottest parts of the day.
Before the stage started, Australian Luke Durbridge, 35, who is riding for the 12th time this year, said it was “pretty hot”.
“It makes a difference, we appreciate the change,” Durbridge told AFP.
“Going forward, if global warming continues the way it is, we will probably have to change these start times.”
But Tour leader Pogakkar had a more drastic solution, saying that changing the start time would not help riders avoid the extreme heat.
“It’s a big topic for discussion, but if I had the power to change it, I would change the whole calendar, and I wouldn’t race in hot spots in July and August and have a completely different calendar,” he said.
