Tejay van Garderen continued his steady rise through the ranks in the Tour de France when he moved into seventh in the overall standings by climbing with the best in today's mountain stage. The American had chosen to stay with steady riders like Richie Porte instead of risking blowing himself up by following Vincenzo Nibali's attack.

Tejay van Garderen of the BMC Racing Team climbed his way into the top 10 at the Tour de France with sixth place on Monday's summit finish as another top contender exited the race. Van Garderen finished 22 seconds after solo stage winner Vincenzo Nibali, who reclaimed the race leader's yellow jersey a day after surrendering it.

"I was just trying to hang on," van Garderen said. "When he (Nibali) went, I knew that if I tried to go, I would probably blow up. So I had to stick with some more steady riders like Richie Porte. Toward the end, I tried to give it a go. But then I think I went a little too early."

The result moved van Garderen into seventh, 3:56 behind Nibali, as past Tour de France winner Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) withdrew after crashing 62 kilometers into the 161.5-km race. 

"I was right behind him," van Garderen said. "It was a tricky descent with rough roads. I didn't get a good look at it, but I saw his bike and I saw him on the side of the road. I was hoping he was able to get back up. That is a real shame."

Last week, defending champion Chris Froome (Team Sky) withdrew, also after a crash.

BMC Racing Team's Amaël Moinard was part of the day's breakaway for the second straight stage. Originally an escape of seven riders, Moinard's group swelled to 13 at one point before the peloton started reeling them in on the forested climb of the Col des Chevrères.

"The team did a good job today for Tejay, especially Amaël in the breakaway," BMC Racing Team Sport Director Yvon Ledanois said. "I need Amaël there with Tejay. It is good safety in case there is a mechanical problem and it is always important for Tejay to have a rider with him."

Van Garderen said he is looking forward to the Tour's first rest day Tuesday after enduring seven categorized climbs and on-and-off rain.

"It was a brutal stage, just hard all day," he said. "We are not really getting a break with this weather. In the end, I think I can be happy with how I rode today."