Timothy Roe, Martin Kohler, and Blel Kadri formed the day's significant breakaway, coming clear of the peloton after . They were away through the day's intermediate sprint, and Roe was able to claim the Mengler Hill climb, putting three of the four major jerseys on these riders' shoulders at day's end. In the last , a driving Team HTC-Columbia, led by time trial specialist Bert Grabsch, absorbed all of them back into the peloton. Roe had also crashed while descending Mengler Hill. The group sprint finish was won by HTC-Columbia rider André Greipel.