The opening prologue stage in Liège was won by 's Fabian Cancellara. Bradley Wiggins and Sylvain Chavanel () placed second and third respectively, both seven seconds in arrears, with Wiggins fractionally faster. Cancellara claimed the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification and the green jersey as leader of the points classification. In stage one, a large group of riders reached the final climb, the Côte de Seraing. Cancellara attacked from the finish, followed by Peter Sagan and Edvald Boasson Hagen (), before Sagan won the three-man sprint finish at the summit. Michael Mørkøv of took the first polka dot jersey as leader of the mountains classification. The next stage was won by Mark Cavendish from a bunch sprint finish in Tournai, Belgium, with Sagan taking the green jersey. Stage three, the first in France, saw Sagan win again, crossing the finish line with a comfortable margin on the short steep climb in Boulogne-sur-Mer. The fourth stage ended with a bunch sprint which was won by André Greipel. A crash with remaining took Cavendish out of contention for the stage win. Another bunch finish occurred on the next stage, with Greipel victorious again. The sixth stage was won by Sagan in another bunch sprint.
