The Australian duly narrowed the gap on green jersey holder Marcel Kittel to 29 points in the sprinters classification after the German lost contact with the peloton before the finish.

Britain's Chris Froome retained the overall leader's yellow jersey on a day in which crosswinds reaped havoc. 

It came on a 165 kilometres journey from Le Puy-en-Velay which was billed as a rare easy stage for the general classification riders before the race reaches the Alps.

This did not prove to be the case, however, as Ireland's Dan Martin slipped from fifth to seventh overall after losing 48 seconds on the other contenders.

Team Sunweb set a relentless pace from the outset as they attempted to force Kittel out of contention.

The German Quick-Step Floors rider lost contact in the first 20km and never recovered.

Matthews held on to cross first in 3 hours 38min 15sec.

Norway's Dimension Data sprinter Edvald Boasson Hagen finished second in the same time.