Vincenzo Nibali said after the finish of the stage he is not even a shadow of the Nibali who won the Tour last year.

The Astana man was inconsistent at best at the Criterium du Dauphine, and while that is nothing new – the Shark started last season slowly too – it looks as though his goose is cooked as far as defending his title goes.

Nibali finds himself just shy of seven minutes back overall, and was the first of the major contenders to crack on La Pierre-Saint-Martin.

It is a far cry from the man who, 12 months ago exactly, was soloing to victory on La Planche des Belles Filles.

Nibali remains a man to watch in the mountains – and he was insistent before the stage that Froome will crack in the Alps.

But it is not just Froome whom he trails – all of the major GC men are ahead of him overall, and he trails second-placed Tejay van Garderen by more than five minutes too.

With Alberto Contador later stripped off his 2010 title and Lance Armstrong’s seven wins scratched from the record, you have to go back to Miguel Indurain to find the last man who won back-to-back Tours.

And it looks as though that record will continue for at least another year with Nibali well off the pace he showed last year.