The stage ran through the foothills of the Pyrenees, in the Gers and Pyrénées-Atlantiques departments. There were three minor climbs in the final third of the stage, which was expected to suit the remaining sprinters. Like the previous day, small attacks set the course of the early running of the stage, with the field remaining as a whole for the first hour of racing after the attacks were unsuccessful. The most prominent of these was a five-rider move, involving Omega Pharma-Quick-Step's Bert Grabsch, Garmin-Sharp rider David Millar, Andriy Hryvko of Astana, Rui Costa (Movistar Team) and Yukiya Arashiro, representing Team Europcar. The peloton did not allow them to gain an advantage of more than 30 seconds, and they were eventually brought back to the main field at the mark.