Amaël Moinard's stint in the breakaway Sunday for the BMC Racing Team led to him briefly holding the "virtual maglia rosa" as the race leader on the road leading up to an eventual season-best fourth-place finish.

Moinard, who finished seventh out of a breakaway on Stage 4 last Tuesday, was best-placed of the 11 riders in the escape that went away about 50 kilometers into the 224-km race. When the group's lead topped five minutes with about 124 km to go, Moinard was the race leader on the road.

"When I saw I was in a good breakaway, I was thinking that hopefully I could get the (leader's) jersey," Moinard said. "Only Ryder Hejsedal (Cannondale-Garmin) has done well and he was 10 minutes behind on GC (general classifiction), so I thought it was my chance if the leaders wanted to let it go.

"Ultimately, behind there was a fight behind by the GC contenders, so I had no chance. I wanted to believe in it and to fight for it. So that is why I missed a bit of energy on the last climb. I am pretty happy with my fourth place, even if it is not a stage win. I have no regrets."

Tom-Jelte Slagter, who was also in the breakaway for Cannondale-Garmin, attacked with more than 50 km to go. But he would eventually be caught and passed by Paolo Tiralongo (Astana Pro Team), who had shaken free from Moinard's group and soloed to win the stage. Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNL-Jumbo) was runner-up, 21 seconds later, and Simon Geschke (Team Giant-Alpecin) edged Moinard for third.

In the overall standings, BMC Racing Team's Damiano Caruso (9th, 2:20 behind) and Darwin Atapuma (12th, 2:55 behind) retained their positions while Alberto Contador kept the maglia rosa. The three-week race enjoys its first rest day Monday.