Alejandro Valverde, leader at Movistar, was the rider who orchestrated today's magnificent offensive by the Spanish team. Even though Chris Froome rose to the occasion in the face of adverse competition, Valverde was pleased to have eliminated Froome's teammate Richie Porte from contention.

"It was a really, really hard day,” Valverde admitted. “Already into the second climb I tried to move and brought Froome behind me. We attempted to liven things up and we didn't see the best version of Sky. We took Porte out of the fight, a big rival, so even though the best possible finish would have been winning the stage and we couldn't do so, we should not keep thinking about it: we must be happy about the rest. The team performed tremendously well and I'm leaving the Pyrenees in 2nd place overall, so the overview after this stage must be positive. I want to thank all the crowds cheering for us on the road and everyone supporting us from TV at home; this effort was for them."

Valverde trails Chris Froome by 1’25” going into Monday’s rest day.