A large breakaway escaped in the early part of the stage. This included 31 riders, representing a variety of teams but not or . Tim Wellens () was the best placed rider on general classification, 1' 25" behind Michał Kwiatkowski; he was the virtual leader of the race through much of the day. Wellens' teammate Thomas De Gendt was also in the breakaway: he won the first two climbs of the day to increase his lead in the mountains classification.
