The plan decided in the morning on the bus was followed to the letter. Although upset in the finale by the crash Arthur Vichot who got back to the peloton with the help from his teammates, the FDJ team rallied around Arnaud Démare in the uphill sprint in Rasteau. However, the French champion could not finish off the excellent teamwork.

Yet the effort in the final kilometers was perfect. Michael Delage and William Bonnet put their sprinter in the perfect position for the last curve. Demare battled and did eveything that was necessary to do the sprint from a good position but ultimately lacked strength.

"William (Bonnet) and Michael (Delage) did a great job to position me but I didn't have the punch. There are days like this ... As soon as I had to accelarate, I felt that it cost me energy. 

"Obviously, I'm disappointed. With 150m to go, I had had the perfect teamwork so it's obviously frustrating. I was really good the first days but last night I felt bad on the massage table."

During this stage, the FDJ team saw its leader Arthur Vichot crash 31 kilometers from the finish. Without panic and with the help of his teammates, he got back to the peloton and he finished without problems. At the finish, he was diagnosed with a contusion to his thigh but it will not stop him from doing tomorrow's stage in the back country of Nice.