That’s five seconds more than Froome’s current lead on Mollema.
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Last year, Froome entered the final week with a 3:10 lead over Quintana, and the Colombian threatened a comeback in the final mountain stage to l’Alpe d’Huez, but it was too little, too late.
Cavendish took his 30th career Tour de France stage win on Stage 14 into Villars-les-Dombes Parc des Oiseaux already having triumphed on Stage 1, 3 and 6.
“If I’m going to attack I need a good reason”, Froome said.
It means he will not be present to contest cycling’s most prestigious sprint, on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on stage 21, on Sunday.
Sagan won the stage in a sprint, beating the Norwegian pair of Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) and Sondre Holst Enger (IAM Cycling) in a reduced peloton that numbered 33 riders. “I don’t think there are any secrets there”.
“The main thing for me and Team Sky was to get me to the finish line in one piece and hopefully not taking any kind of time gaps to my rivals”, Froome said.
“I believe that Froome and his rivals are more or less on the same level in the mountains this year”, Unzue said.
“The danger at this stage [is] if people start thinking towards the end of the race, “What happens if this, what happens if that”, Brailsford told ESPN.
Froome said he did not did feel that the young Briton Adam Yates, who lies third overall, would be a threat when the race hits the Alps later this week.
Cavendish wore the green jersey for six stages at the Tour in 2016 and held his first career yellow jersey after winning the race’s first stage.
As the Tour de France heads toward the Alps, Nairo Quintana and Alejandro Valverde have only a few opportunities left to try and derail Chris Froome’s bid for a third title in four years.
The peloton crossed into Switzerland midway through the leg, riding through lush, green valleys with views of snow-capped mountains before crossing through the medieval centre of Bern, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Etixx-QuickStep pair Julian Alaphilippe and Tony Martin had animated the day with a breakaway which lasted for 170km and saw them pull nearly six minutes clear at one point.
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Former world champion Rui Costa then launched a solo attack but Sagan preferred to wait until the Portuguese rider was caught, and take his chances in the bunch sprint.
