It was not the expected major shakedown, but the riders' faces told a story of suffering as most of the main Tour de France favorites stayed in contention after a much-feared stage nine on Sunday.
The 156.5-km route from Arras featured 21.7km of cobbled sections, in which the climbers had to grind their way to the finish.
There were scares and crashes, but defending champion Chris Froome, his lieutenant Geraint Thomas as well as Spain's Alejandro Valverde, twice runner-up Nairo Quintana, Dutchman Tom Dumoulin and 2014 champion Vincenzo Nibali all escaped unhurt.