Having already prevailed in the Vosges, Nibali wasted little time acquainting himself with success in the Alps too.

A furious pace was set in the early part of the stage as Katusha rallied to protect Joaquim Rodriguez’s King of the Mountains lead.

Burning themselves on the front of the bunch, the break which went clear was in tatters before they had even crested the first climb as Katusha applied some furious pressure from behind.

The result, as the fastest projected times were shattered by the pedal stroke, was a huge thinning out of the peloton – Nibali losing several team-mates on the way up the Col de Palaquit.

When wing man Jakob Fuglsang then collided with an errant bidon and crashed badly on the first descent, Nibali was all-but alone in the lead group.

Ever the tactician, however, Nibali’s confidence shone through as he happily instructed his last remaining team-mate Tanel Kangert to bury himself with one more shift on the front.

Alejandro Valverde’s Movistar tried to take advantage of Nibali’s isolation but his confidence proved to be well-placed.

Every attack off the front was kept in check by the yellow jersey until, with 6.5 kilometres remaining, he flew off the front.

Within half a kilometre he had shut down the remains of the break – Rafal Majka (Tinkoff-Saxo) and Leopold Koning (Team NetApp- Endura) having earned a gap.

His pace was unmatchable, his sudden acceleration leaving no answers, and victory number three was secured in emphatic style.