Dumoulin started the day at just eight seconds off the lead after an impressive time trial yesterday where he took second place, and was in no mood to sit back today.

After breaking away from his nearest overall rivals, Dumoulin got into time trial mode again and rode like a man possessed over the final 15km to gain as much time as possible.

The rolling roads were taking their toll on many of the riders but Dumoulin looked untroubled by the tough parcours and had enough left in the tank to finish fourth up the final rise to La Redoute, catching the remaining breakaway riders on the line.

“I had to work hard for it today,” said Dumoulin after the finish. “I crashed before La Redoute but I stayed calm and was able to come back after a long chase.

“I actually felt really good, even after all the work done, so I decided to go with the Astana guys when they went. When we joined the group with Stybar (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) I came into a situation where I had to do all the work myself because there were not many riders that wanted to race.

“I had to save some energy for the final sprint as to not lose too much time to Stybar. Today was a big chance to take the race lead and I surprised myself.

“You never know what will happen tomorrow but I am really happy to have the jersey now and we will do everything we can to keep it tomorrow.”

"Tom's good form is not a big surprise to us," said coach Rudi Kemna after the stage. "He took a big step in progression at the Tour so this is a logical result. After the Tour he had a rest period and took care of himself well before preparing for this race with some quality specific training. He showed how driven he was by training on the course itself prior to the race.

“It was a super situation for Tom all day. When Astana did the forcing, he was able to follow and he started riding himself into the jersey. He had to work hard to keep a gap over the group behind him but it was the right decision. We are really glad to have the jersey on board, and we will protect Tom as best as possible tomorrow."

Dumoulin now holds an eight second gap over second placed Stybar with just one stage standing between him and overall victory in this WorldTour race.