Thomas had the full support of his team up the climb, with Sergio Henao with him until the final few hundred metres, and the energy saved was put to good use as he matched and held off Alberto Contador's best efforts.
With a climb just a few kilometres into the stage, the peloton stayed relatively together over the Côte de Gattières , Thomas de Gendt (LTS) leading polka dot jersey holder Jesus Herrada through the first of seven King of the Mountain peaks.
The Lotto-Soudal rider was in combative mood, joining a break after that first summit in a bid for the overall polka dot jersey. Antoine Duchesne (DEN) had other ideas, tracking de Gendt over the next three peaks to take a trio of second places, and the virtual lead of the climber standings, as well as virtual yellow at the feed zone.
Duchesne hung on out at the front until the final descent of the day, those two extra point hauls securing the polka dot jersey for himself and his Direct Énergie team.
As the breakaway splintered, Tinkoff drove the peloton hard. The flourescent-clad team were working for Alberto Contador, 37 seconds down in GC, although Rafal Majka was also in contention. Orica-GreenEDGE meanwhile were keeping race leader Michael Matthews in the hunt.
On the climb up the Côte Duranus, Matthews' determined grip on the yellow jersey faltered, as he fell back from the main group. His resistance had lasted from the prologue until the sixth of seven climbs in the sixth of seven stages, still a hugely impressive achievement, but as he cracked, the pre-race favourites saw their chances open up.
Sky were first to move, as soon as they finally passed Duchesne they stepped up the pace on the descent, stringing the peloton out and creating gaps. When the pace settled back down as the road flattened, a lead group of around 30 was left a minute clear.
Team Sky remained at the front, dropping Roche after a long day at the front but still with five riders, including Geraint Thomas. Other teams had no more than three riders each, with principles Alberto Contador (TNK), Tom Dumoulin (TGA), Richie Porte (BMC), Romain Bardet (AGR) and Luis Leon Sanchez (AST) all in the group.
At the 10km banner, Rafal Majka and Alberto Contador upped the pace, leaving two of Sky's riders for dead and immediately shattering the lead group down to just 16, with the rest strung along the French hillside, but all the key protagonists remained, albeit with little or no support.
With 6km left, as the gradient hit 9%, Majka pushed briefly before peeling off for Contador to take over, and it was only Sergio Henao (SKY) and Thomas that could stay with him briefly, although they were trailing a few yards behind the great Spaniard. Porte reacted slower but caught the trio, as did Ilnur Zakarin of Katusha.
The quintet worked together to stay clear, although Simon Yates (OGE) managed to bridge the gap from the chasers. As they went past the flamme rouge, Porte made an unsuccessful attack, although a second from Porte did manage to drop Yates and Henao back from the group.
As the final climb approached, Contador attacked, but as they passed the 300m boards, Thomas surged past. leading Zakarin up the hill with Contador a few bike lengths back. As the line came into view, Zakarin found just enough to overtake the Welshman, taking a hard-fought win by a couple of metres.
ASO/G. Demouveaux
Thomas was visibly disappointed as he crossed the line, but was soon cheered by the confirmation that he took the lead of the GC standings, by 15 seconds from Alberto Contador. It's a gap large enough that Contador should be able to be kept at bay in tomorrow's bumoy stage around Nice, with Contador either needing every time bonus or to gap Thomas to prevent a first WorldTour stage race win for the Sky rider.
Stage winner Ilnur Zakarin (KAT):"I prepared this race at altitude. The team was super. They protected me all day and I just had to give my best in the final climb and it worked."
GC leader Geraint Thomas (SKY):
"It's unbelievable. The boys were incredible today. Thankfully I had the legs and I was able to respond to Contador's attacks. Sergio was really great and I've really got to thank him because he was fully committed to me. I'm disappointed not to win the stage.
"It's by no means finished. They won huge races. There's still a hell of a long way to go. Hopefully we can defend the jersey."
Stage results:
1. Ilnur Zakarin (KAT) 4:45:11
2. Geraint Thomas (SKY) + :00
3. Alberto Contador (TNK) + :00
General Classification:
1. Geraint Thomas (SKY) 24:10:26
2. Alberto Contador (TNK) + :15
3. Ilnur Zakarin (KAT) + :20
4. Richie Porte (BMC) + :21
5. Tom Dumoulin (TGA) + :32
6. Ion Izaguirre (MOV) + :37
7. Sergio Henao (SKY) + :39
8. Simon Yates (OGE) + :44
9. Tony Gallopin (LTS) + :51
10. Romain Bardet (AGR) + 1:00
King of the Mountains:
1. Antoine Duchesne (DEN) 56
2. Thomas de Gendt (LTS) 35
3. Jesus Herrada (MOV) 33
Points Classification:
1. Michael Matthews (OGE) 53
2. Alexander Kristoff (KAT) 26
3. Ben Swift (SKY) 22
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