Nearly three minutes down on Chris Froome after three days of racing and a very bad day on the Mur de Huy, France's Thibaut Pinot (FDJ), third last year, was not very optimistic about the immediate future.

"This is a day to forget. After the crash of William [Bonnet] who was working to position, things went wrong. I was not well. Already at the summit of the first climb, I did not have any legs, nothing. It's a day to forget. I had no strength left and it is very worrying to find yourself three minutes down after three days of racing after all the hard work completed to prepare for this. 

“For tomorrow, I'm pessimistic. If my condition is the same as today, I can't see how I can recover on the cobbles as you need strength on them. On Sunday after the team time trial we will evaluate my goals for the rest of the Tour."