Duchesne accelerated to get away from the group as they were entering Santa Rosa, but McCartney closed the gap as De Gendt fold back. The pair was soon reeled in however, and the lead-out trains of and went to work at the front of the peloton. Sagan was led off very well by his team according to his own words, started the sprint first with to go and won the race by more than a bike length over Daniel Schorn () and his Points classification opponent Tyler Farrar. As he crossed the line, he made a victory salute, one arm in the air, the other arm making the gesture reminiscent of a person trying to start a lawn mower. With that win, Sagan secured the Points classification jersey, as there were no other changes in the classifications. Sagan dedicated his victory to 11-year-old Alex Shepherd, cancer sufferer and cycling enthusiast. Tejay van Garderen won the first stage race in his career, and declared after the feat, "I've known for years that I'm capable of a ride like that", he said. "Finally for it all to fall in place, it's really special."
