Lutsenko broke away, past the only remaining member of a group that had led over the day's five categorised climbs, his sights set on closing the gap to Matthews, an admirable and unlikely aim that sadly for him fell a few seconds short.
A large group of eight made the breakaway for the day, including such eminent names as Lars Boom (AST), Edward Theuns (TFS), Wouter Wippert (CPT), Matthias Brandle (IAM), Jesus Herrada (MOV) and Stijn Vandenbergh (EQS), although Brandle was dropped after the first category 3 climb.
The trip part way up the legendary Mont Ventoux, albeit only as high as Chalet Reynard, was enough to throw some big gaps into both the peloton and the break. Three riders attacked the break on the climb, looking to pick up King of the Mountains points over extending time over the peloton.
Herrada was ultimately first over the crest for the second time of the day, a pair of victories which secured him the polka dot jersey, followed by Arnaud Courteille (FDJ) and Antoine Duchesne (DEN). Boom and Vandenbergh caught the trio on the way down, leaving a reduced group of five some 5 minutes clear.
Mont Ventoux proved a big problem for several riders. AG2R's Alexis Gougeard and Lotto-Soudal's Andre Greipel both abandoned on the climb, while Jose Joaquin Rojas crashed heavily on the descent, being carried away with a knee injury and leaving his Movistar team one rider light. Frank Schleck was also forced to abandon, failing to recover from a crash in the mountains.
A group of sprinters, including Nacer Bouhanni, Marcel Kittel and Alexander Kristoff were also hanging off the back of the peloton, trying to stay in touch for the flatter end of the stage.
More dropped away as Tinkoff ramped up the pace, hunting down the increasingly spread out breakaway, catching most with just over 30km remaining. Duchesne continued alone for another 15km before being replaced by Alexey Lutsenko of Astana, making a brave solo bid to overhaul the yellow jersey.
The chase did pick the pace up, but a roundabout splintered the front of the peloton enough to give Lutsenko some breathing space, as he looked to overhaul the 33 second deficit to race leader Michael Matthews.
Under the flamme rouge his lead remained 25 seconds, just enough with the bonus seconds available, and a final kick saw him take the stage win, a magnificent solo performance. Attentions turned to the clock as Kristoff, having worked so hard to stay with the peloton in the mountains, was only able to take second in the stage despite winning the sprint.
Crucially for Lutsenko, the chasing group came in 21 seconds behind, not quite enough to put the gutsy Kazakh in yellow for tomorrow, especially since Matthews came in third behind Kristoff, saving himself four bonus seconds in the GC standings he has led all week.
ASO/G. Demouveaux
It is likely that Matthews will finally be removed from the yellow jersey after tomorrow's mountain stage, containing no less than five category 2 climbs, and a pair of category 1s, including a final summit finish up to La Madone d'Utelle. With the final day's expected bunch sprint, barring an exceptional resistance from the Australian, it should be a smash and grab for overall victory.
Stage winner Alexey Lutsenko (AST)
"I attacked in the last climb. I managed to take some 40 seconds and I rode the last 25 kilometres solo. It's my second World Tour victory after a stage on the Tour of Switzerland last year. But it's my best victory of the season, for me and for the team. Tomorrow, we will see."
GC leader Michael Matthews (OGE)
"I was hoping we could get rid of the sprinters along the way but as we didn't, we sat back and let the other teams do the work. The priority was then the yellow jersey more than the stage win. I'm not going to say I can win Paris-Nice but I'm going to give it everything I have. It's already over for the green jersey, I won it, so now it's all for the yellow."
Stage results:
1. Alexey Lutsenko (AST) 5:00:26
2. Alexander Kristoff (KAT) + :21
3. Michael Matthews (OGE) + :21
General Classification:
1. Michael Matthews (OGE) 19:24:58
2. Alexey Lutsenko (AST) + :06
3. Tom Dumoulin (TGA) + :18
4. Patrick Bevin (CPT) + :23
5. Ion Izaguirre (MOV) + :23
6. Geraint Thomas (SKY) + :23
7. Lieuwe Westra (AST) + :28
8. Dries Devenyns (IAM) + :29
9. Rafal Majka (TNK) + :31
10. Richie Porte (BMC) + :31
King of the Mountains:
1. Jesus Herrada (MOV) 28
2. Antoine Duchesne (DEN) 24
3. Arnaud Courteille (FDJ) 18
Points Classification:
1. Michael Matthews (OGE) 53
2. Nacer Bouhanni (COF) 33
3. Alexander Kristoff (KAT) 26
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