Not a good day for Menchov as he conceded over 3′ 30″ to all of his major rivals on General Classification. On a brutal day in the Alps the climbs of the Col du Telegraphe and the Col du Galibier took its toll on Denis. At the top of the Telegraph he was with the main contenders but following the descent into Valloire and the subsequent steep rise out of the town it was clear that the pace had been upped considerably. Riders were constantly being dropped and with 10km to go to the summit of the Galibier Valverde began multiple attacks. Denis had spent some time on the front assisting yellow jersey wearing teammate Rasmussen and it was here that Denis did not have the strength to hang on. He would later complain that he was not feeling well all day. Riding with Moreau for a while it was clear Denis was on a loss-limiting day and despite not being far behind the leading riders the descent of the Galibier without any help proved very difficult. He eventually rode into Briancon alone in 32nd place, some 4′ 33″ down on stage winner Soler of Barloworld.

Today saw Denis drop to 18th on GC at 7′ 10″ to teammate Michael Rasmussen.