A five-rider breakaway was initiated in the early kilometres of the stage; the move consisted of Ag2r–La Mondiale's Sylvain Georges, Saxo Bank–Tinkoff Bank rider Jarosław Marycz, Daniel Teklehaymanot of Orica–GreenEDGE, Federico Rocchetti (Utensilnord–Named) and Bartłomiej Matysiak, riding for the representative Team Poland BGŻ.

Marycz, Teklehaymanot and Georges dropped Rocchetti and Matysiak with around 30 km (18.6 mi) remaining of the stage,[16] with Astana bringing the advantage to beneath two minutes.

Georges looked to go clear on his own, on the fourth and final climb of the Karpacz Orlinek but could not hold off until the summit when the peloton, now led by Henao and his teammate Lars Petter Nordhaug, swept past him.

[12] Christophe Le Mével then went clear for Garmin–Sharp but he was passed by a secondary move by Kolobnev inside of the final 2.5 km (1.6 mi) of the stage.

[20] On the route from Wałbrzych, there were three intermediate sprint points in the towns of Paczków, Prudnik and Krapkowice, as well as a third-category climb in the village of Chrząszczyce, 28 km (17.4 mi) from the end of the stage.

[23] Bodnar did however gain nine seconds during the stage, by taking first place at each of the three intermediate sprint points,[22] and assumed the red jersey for that classification.

As well as the climbs, there were also three intermediate sprint points during the 201.7 km (125.3 mi) parcours, held in Skoczów, Ustroń and in Český Těšín, prior to entering the finishing circuit which was to be completed three times.

Rutkiewicz went alone from the lead group, and was eventually caught by Team Sky's Sergio Henao,[31] who had attacked from the main field; Henao had been placed seventh in the general classification overnight, trailing leader Moreno Moser (Liquigas–Cannondale) by just ten seconds, with ten bonus seconds on offer at the stage finish for the winner.

Henao and Rutkiewicz resisted off the front until the final cobbled climb to the finish; Moser was in contention for the stage win,[31] but it was Zdeněk Štybar who finished strongest for Omega Pharma–Quick-Step,[32] taking victory – his first at World Tour level,[28] and second win of the season[31] – ahead of Astana's Francesco Gavazzi and Sacha Modolo of Colnago–CSF Bardiani.

Polish national champion Michał Gołaś (Omega Pharma–Quick-Step) looked to go clear,[38] but he could not gain sufficient ground on the peloton in the closing stages.

A five-rider breakaway was formed in the early kilometres of the stage, consisting of Team Katusha's Mikhail Ignatiev, FDJ–BigMat rider Mickaël Delage, Bert De Backer of Argos–Shimano, Rafael Andriato (Farnese Vini–Selle Italia) and Davide Mucelli representing Utensilnord–Named.

[42] They managed to establish a maximum advantage of around four minutes on the peloton,[43] which was led by Omega Pharma–Quick-Step, who were protecting the overall leader of the race, Michał Kwiatkowski.

However, he did not make much headway from the chasing peloton, who closed down a minute's gap before the second and final intermediate sprint of the day, coming with 34.7 km (21.6 mi) remaining in the town of Cyrhla.

[45] Ignatiev remained off the front until halfway around the final circuit, when he was caught by Movistar Team's David López García, but both riders were eventually brought back to the peloton.

Bakelants was caught prior to reaching the final summit of the stage,[43] with 3.2 km (2.0 mi) to go, which ultimately led for the sprint finish to be undertaken.

Bodnar's teammate Elia Viviani was behind, but was beaten to the sprint by the points leader Ben Swift (Team Sky),[47] who took his second win of the race,[43] and extended his lead in the classification.

On the fourth lap, there was also an intermediate sprint point at Wierch Olczański, but as a whole, the stage remained below 1,000 m (3,300 ft) above sea level.

Henao resisted capture until 50 m (160 ft) to go, where a quick-finishing Moreno Moser (Liquigas–Cannondale) surpassed him for his second stage win at the race.

[59] The group managed to establish an advantage of around three minutes,[58] but the peloton – being led by the Liquigas–Cannondale team, protecting the race leader Moreno Moser – were being attentive in light of the close margins in the general classification.

[62] Moser finished in the pack to secure the general classification by five seconds ahead of Štybar's teammate Michał Kwiatkowski.