Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team rider Niki Terpstra made a breakaway of 14 riders, which split apart on the final, HC climb of the day. The last two leaders were caught with 19km to go by an attacking Joe Dombrowski (Sky ProCycling) in a select group of riders that was only the top GC contenders and a few domestiques.
Dombrowski was eventually caught by Rui Costa (Movistar) Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing Team), Bauke Mollema (Blanco Pro Cycling) and Thibaut Pinot (FDJ), who accelerated ahead of the yellow jersey group containing race leader Mathias Frank (BMC Racing Team) with 12km to go. Dan Martin (Garmin-Sharp) briefly bridged to the group when they caught Dombrowski just 2km from the summit of the final climb. Costa, Mollema, van Garderen and Pinot dropped them with 10km to go, and then on the fast, sometimes technical descent Van Garderen and Costa were able to get a gap. However, Mollema caught them with 1km to go and those three decided the stage.
Costa won out of the three man sprint. Mollema was 2nd, van Garderen 3rd.
OPQS looks next to a 180.5km Stage 8. The stage features an early Category 1 climb and a Category 3 climb at km 174.2 before a flat finale.