The stage, which had a lot of winds , was driven quickly from the start in order to leave some drivers behind for the overall standings. Nevertheless, a two-man top group was able to form: Leigh Howard (IAM) and Arthur Vichot (FDJ) drove two minutes out on the peloton. There were two falls in which George Bennett (TLJ), Thibaut Pinot (FDJ), Luis León Sánchez (AST) and Jurgen Van Den Broeck (KAT) were involved.
Vichot won the two low endowed mountain classifications after 38 and 57 kilometers, together with Howard he had about four minutes ahead of the peloton. There, under the leadership of the Tinkoff team, a very high pace was set, which also had an immediate effect: the peloton was divided into several groups, the outliers were caught. Marcel Kittel (EQS) won the intermediate sprint ahead of Peter Sagan (TNK) and Mark Cavendish (DDD), his first rival in the points classification.
In the meantime, the field was able to regroup a little, but a few drivers fell behind who were not strong enough to drive permanently against the wind. Peter Sagan, Maciej Bodnar (TNK) and Chris Froome (SKY) used this situation for an attack. Some of them were able to gain a lead of over twenty seconds on the field and were about five seconds ahead at the finish. The sprint with Froome was won by Peter Sagan, the Slovakian won his second Tour stage win in 2016 and significantly expanded his lead in the points classification, as Mark Cavendish previously had a defect that made him fall out of the front group of the peloton.
In the overall standings, Chris Froome was able to further extend his lead. Among others, Joaquim Rodríguez (KAT), Pierre Rolland (CDT) and Eduardo Sepúlveda (VFC) reached the finish line with one of the groups suspended in the wind.
Scoring
Intermediate sprint in Pezenas after 113.5 km at 29 m
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