Greig Leach

With the big named favorites all looking at each other, it was an opportunity for the opportunists and the un-marked men to take a storm up the road. Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) was the first to use one of the steep cobbled climbs to wage an attack against the whittled down peloton. He had Sebastien Minard (AG2R) did his best to go with the attacking German, but just couldn't hold his wheel on the ascent.