Arthur Vichot got closer to his objective of a top 10 result in Saturday's epic stage in Paris-Nice which was made very difficult by the terrible weather. Vichot finished ninth where he was in the mix all day and he is now twelfth overall, 17 seconds from the top 10.

Right out of Vence, the peloton was splitting, with 31 riders eventually forming a big break without any riders from the FDJ team. Arnold Jeannesson who has been under the weather since the beginning of the week, was not able to continue and eventually gave up. Arnaud Démare didn't start the stage as a matter of precaution. And even though Laurent Pichon had the strength to join in the break, his team preferred him to be close to the leader.

The battle between the favorites actually began on the descent from the climb of Coaraze 65 kilometers from the finish when Tony Martin (Etixx-Quick Step) has attacked with his team-mate Michal Kwiatkowski. Team Sky restored the order on the St. Roch climb but Martin and his leader again attacked on the next descent with Tony Gallopin (Lotto-Soudal).

This was fatal to the leading group which had already been whittled considerably down. As the peloton was further reduced, a strong fifteen rider group remained in which Arthur Vichot was present. The FDJ leader was on the limit on the final climb, Cote de Peille, but he never cracked, managing his effort well before returning to Kwiatkowski on the descent.

When he the group caught up with Richie Porte and Geraint Thomas on the descent, Tony Gallopin had already gone on the attack and had extended his lead to 40 seconds while a group of four riders (Valls Rui Costa, Fuglsang, Spilak) was in between.

Vichot contributed to the work on the final descent but Gallopin distanced his rivals. The Frenchman won the stage and will wear the yellow jersey in the time trial on the Col d'Eze.