Thibaut Pinot, second in the stage, admitted he had slowed down too much to battle it out with Romain Bardet, leaving Stephen Cummings the chance to return for victory.

"We watched each other, it's true. Cummings took the turns faster than us. He was at full speed and he just outwitted us. It's a shame. Afterwards, Romain refused to work. Everyone has his own tactics.

"There is not positive point today. Second after the work done by Mathieu (Ladagnous) and Jeremy (Roy), it's a waste. You don't have many opportunities on the Tour. I was feeling really good today so it’s hugely disappointing. 

"We slowed down too much, we should have reacted an cooperated straightaway. He got us. It's a waste as second on a Tour stage is useless. I saw Cummings shoot past with 500 metres to go. I didn't even know he was in the break. He played it well. The last rider I had seen before I caught Romani was Uran. There was a lot of noise, we never knew that Cummings was on his way back.

"Romain and I are both fighters, we both wanted to win. And finally, we're second and third…"