 Alavoine punctured six times in that stage, which made it impossible for him to keep up with Heusghem.Heusghem won over 35 minutes on Alavoine, and more than 10 minutes on second-placed Lambot, which was enough to take over the lead.Heusghem was at that point the strongest rider in the race, and seemed to be on the way to the overall victory in Paris.