Third in the Tour de France a year ago, Thibaut Pinot was dropped in the first two kilometres of the final climb and admitted feeling unwell.

“I'm not well, that's all. At the bottom of the hill, I felt good but my heart rate didn't follow. We tackled the stage right, I was feeling OK at the beginning, I was keen to do well. We had done our homework. But after two kilometres at 200 pulsations, I knew I was going to crack.

"I was in the red. After, I went up easily. Whether I lost five or ten minutes does not change much. I know that the GC is over I do not have legs. I hope to recover for the last week but, for sure, I will not have my legs from last year.

"This year I am not at all in the same league as the others. We, the French riders, have had a great season so far, but in the Tour we are not at our level. In early part of the stage I was happy as I had good legs. The team motivated me by chasing."

" We waited for Thibaut to gives us a signal," said sports director Yvon Madiot. "We used the first 60 kilometers to find out where he stood. He told us that his sensations were good. We decided to ride behind the two escapees (Van Bilsen and Fedrigo) that had nearly fifteen minutes."