Fabio Aru (Astana) was left isolated and lost key teammate Jakob Fuglsang during his first day in the yellow jersey, but he was able to defend his race lead with apparent ease as the Tour de France headed out of the Pyrenees.
The short 101-kilometre stage to Foix blew up as expected, but Aru stayed protected on the wheels as Team Sky sent Mikel Landa up the road with Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) and then Chris Froome tried some late accelerations on the step Mur de Peguere. While the likes of Dan Martin (Quick-Step Floors) and Simon Yates (Orica-Scott) set off in pursuit of Landa and Nairo Quintana (Movistar), Aru cruised into Foix, and finished ninth, on Froome's wheel.
Aru still leads the Kenyan-born Briton by six seconds, with Romain Bardet (AG2R-La Mondiale) third at 25 seconds and Rigoberto Uran (Cannondale-Drapac) fourth at 35 seconds. Landa gained 1:46 and so moves up to fifth overall at 1:09.
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"From the spectators' point of view it was very exciting, but I stayed calm in spite of the attacks," Aru explained, again tucking into a hefty portion of rice and almonds during his post-stage press conference.
"My teammates have fallen, some are injured, and that's why I was alone. The next few days will be better for them. I know what's important when it comes to getting to the end of each evening.
"Losing Jakob Fuglsang is a big loss but it was too difficult for him to carry on. I just hope he will recover quickly. He was really important for me in the mountains and he has a great deal of experience. We'll miss him."
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