After their rest in Le Touquet, the riders took two early planes to Paris and the start of the transitional stage 7, a route to Nevers and the subsequent two-stage traverse of the Massif Central. With the peloton in the final kilometre, there were three crashes, one of which included De Vlaeminck, who injured his wrist and lost the green jersey by end, to Karstens. In the bunch sprint, Leman claimed his third win. Merckx was expecting a dangerous sprint, so he chose not to participate. Although to a lesser extent than in his previous Tours, Merckx competed for the time bonuses available in intermediate sprints and final sprints throughout the flat terrain of the early stages, unlike his closest rival Ocaña, who had been saving his energy for the upcoming mountains, on the advice of five-time Tour winner Jacques Anquetil.