Muñoz abandoned the race after . Jean-Claude Bagot () escaped on the third climb of the day, after . After he was recaptured, another attack went, containing Joël Pelier. Hinault, suffering from his injuries, was unhappy with the accelerations and brought the escape group back himself, not least due to the participation of Pelier. After , Eduardo Chozas () attacked on a downhill section and managed to get away from the field. By the time he crossed the summit of the Col d'Entremont after , his lead had increased to over ten minutes. With left to ride, the gap had increased to over 11 minutes, while Ludo Peeters () escaped from the main field. At the finish, Chozas took victory, 9:51 minutes ahead of Peeters, who just held off the group of favourites, led by Kelly. Hinault retained the race lead, while Chozas rose to seventh overall. Another stage with minor categorised climbs followed the next day. Frédéric Vichot () broke clear of the field after , building a maximum lead of more than twenty minutes. As he approached the finish, his advantage decreased significantly, but he won the stage, 3:12 minutes ahead of Mottet and Bontempi, as Hinault remained the leader of the race overall. Pyrenees Congestion in his broken nose had led to bronchitis for Hinault, severely impacting his ability to perform. He was therefore weakened as the race entered the Pyrenees on stage 17. On the Col du Tourmalet, set a high tempo, putting Hinault into difficulty. Pedro Delgado later recalled that he saw Hinault yelling at Herrera, at which point he decided to attack. With Delgado went Roche and LeMond, as well as Parra. Early leader Pello Ruiz Cabestany () led over the top of the Tourmalet, 1:18 minutes ahead of Delgado, followed by LeMond, Roche, and Parra two minutes down. As they approached the final ascent to Luz Ardiden, LeMond and Roche were in front. LeMond asked his team car about the gap to Hinault. Koechli told LeMond that Hinault was only 45 seconds behind him and that he was not allowed to work with Roche, in order not to endanger standing first and second on the general classification. He was told to hold station or attack and distance Roche. The latter heard the conversation between LeMond and his team car and remained alert, leading to both cancelling each other out and allowing other riders