Having crossed the Channel to resume hostilities in France, the Tour de France peloton ensured we were treated to a dramatic day en route to Lille.
Crashes by Chris Froome, Bauke Mollema, Niki Terpstra and Greg Henderson among others made for an incident-packed, fraught stage.
We were also treated to the sight of Thomas Voeckler in full flow, attacking solo to ensure his home fans were treated to the customary sight of him burying himself in a doomed breakaway.
And while the end result may have been as predicted – a third stage win for Marcel Kittel – it was far from straightforward for the German who had to dig deep to seal his hat-trick.
Relive the stage in the full-screen gallery below of ASO photographers Bruno Bade and Xavier Bourgois, brought with the permission of the ASO.
