Jeremy Whittle’s report is here:
Updated
Jeremy Whittle’s stage 10 report will be along shortly. We’ll wrap today’s blog up now. Tomorrow’s stage 11 is a real Alpine brute, with two hors catégorie climbs – Col du Galibier and Col du Granon Serre Chevalier – coming after the photogenic switchbacks of the Lacets de Montvernier, and the Col du Télégraphe.
Thanks for reading, and I will be back tomorrow for more.
Updated
Stage 10, top 10:
1) Cort (EF Education-Easypost) 3hr 18’ 50”
2) Schultz (Team BikeExchange-Jayco) (same time)
3) Sánchez (Bahrain Victorious) 3hr 18’ 57”
4) Jorgenson (Movistar Team) 3hr 18’ 58”
5) Van Baarle (Ineos) 3hr 19’ 00”
6) Zimmermann (Intermarché–Wanty–Gobert Matériaux) 3hr 19’ 05”
7) Thomas (Cofidis) 3hr 19’ 08”
8) Leknessund (Team DSM) 3hr 19’ 10”
9) Wright (Bahrain Victorious) 3hr 19’ 12”
10) Kamna (Bora-Hansgrohe) 3hr 19’ 12”
Kamna missed the yellow jersey by just 11 seconds. Which must be pretty damn disappointing for the lad.
Top 10 GC after stage 10:
1) Pogacar 37hr 11’ 28”
2) Kamna +11”
3) Vingegaard +39”
4) Thomas +1’17”
5) Yates +1’25”
6) Gaudu +1’38”
7) Bardet +1’39”
8) Pidcock +1’46”
9) Mas +1’50”
10) Sánchez +1’50”
Updated
“Can you shed some light on your comment ‘Professional cycling is, without doubt, one of the most polluting sports on the planet,’” asks Tom on email. “Would love to educate myself on this.”
I must admit I don’t have the league table of sports in terms of environmental impact, but when you consider what it takes to get a bike race on: all the race vehicles, the team buses, the helicopters and planes (for the TV pictures), the police motorbikes and logistics vehicles ... also all the thousands of fans who drive around following the race or fly to and from the race. That’s before you start on the amount of flying that is done by teams, riders and race staff to get to races all around the world. Also, as I mentioned earlier, the production of the bikes and all the kit (while it may be improving in terms of environmental impact) is another thing to add to the pile. Flying an entire Giro d’Italia to Israel a few years ago, for example, would have been a huge generator of carbon emissions. People obviously think of cycling as something which is friendly to the environment, but that is definitely not the case when it comes to professional bike racing.
Updated
“Someone told a story of how the Danish reporters in the press zone didn’t take up any offers to interview Nielsen at the start of the stage, because they didn’t realise it was Cort,” emails Nick Honeywell. I can believe that!
Cort speaks: “It’s unbelievable ... I can’t believe what just happened today. I was on the limit for so long on this climb, and luckily I had Bettiol up front and he was really strong, which meant I could sit on, and save some energy ... somehow I was losing the group a couple of times in the last kilometres. Suddenly it was all back together and I was able to take it in the sprint.
“It’s huge, for me, my type of rider, it can’t be any bigger than this ... the Tour de France is the biggest race ... In my first tour I won a stage. And I’ve been here a few times without winning one. Every year I’ve been wanting and trying. To do it again is unbelievable. [Near the end] I could see things coming back together, I told myself, this one is mine. I just had to take it, no matter the price.”
Updated
A decent day at the office for Pogacar and UAE Team Emirates, in the end.
💛 @TamauPogi keeps hold of the yellow jersey in Megève. #TDF2022#UAETeamEmirates #WeAreUAE pic.twitter.com/lYqGTpzJjp
— @UAE-TeamEmirates (@TeamEmiratesUAE) July 12, 2022
The winning moment for Cort:
Holy shit. Magnus Cort wins. Amazing #TDF2022 pic.twitter.com/b7eaJ0EhiM
— daniel mcmahon (@cyclingreporter) July 12, 2022
“Where did Magnus Cort come from?” inquires Andrew.
“I was reading the commentary and you hadn’t mentioned him at all, he wasn’t even in the break away group? Are you sure a spectator didn’t join the race with his number?”
He was in the break, although I initially listed him as Nielsen, not Cort. Nielsen is what he’s named as on the official website. Lessons will be learned.
Updated
Pogacar puts in a big effort to the line, sprinting and trying to nab a second or two from his GC rivals. He doesn’t manage to distance them but he will keep the yellow jersey. There is a close-up of Kamna, who looks utterly gutted not to have taken the race lead.
Updated
Cort is building quite a palmarès: he now has two Tour de France stages (2018 and 2022) and six stage wins at the Vuelta.
The main bunch fights its way up the final climb. It looks as though Pogacar will stay in yellow, but that is still to be confirmed ...
Magnus Cort (EF Education-Easypost) wins Stage 10!
Cort snatches it by a couple of inches in a photo finish. What a ride. Nick Schultz (BikeExchange-Jayco) looked like he had it won, after coming past the Spaniard Luis León Sánchez on the final kick to the line, inside the final 200 metres. But Magnus Cort, who lit up the opening stages in Denmark by going on the attack and taking the polka-dot jersey, manages to draft behind Schultz and they are virtually neck-and-neck at the line ... what a finish!
Updated
Photo finish for Stage 10, between Schultz and Cort!
Wow! Magnus Cort came up behind Schultz right at the end ... who took it? We are waiting for confirmation.
400m to go: The riders behind have caught the front four!
500m to go: Van Baarle is brought back, and we have four at the front ...
800m to go: Van Baarle (Ineos) bridges across to the front three and attacks immediately!
1km to go: It looks like it’s going to be a showdown between Sánchez, Jorgensen and Schultz.
Updated
2km to go: Jorgensen (Movistar) and Schultz (BikeExchange-Jayco) close down Sánchez. Schultz manages to distance Jorgensen, and then forms a two-man group at the front with the Spaniard who just spent a long time at the front ...
3km to go: Kamna is 8’43” down on GC. He’s going to miss out on yellow by a handful of seconds at this rate.
Sánchez ploughs on, he is within 3km of glory, and this will be one of the longer five or 10 minutes of his life.
5km to go: Sánchez, on what looks a slightly flatter section, takes a gulp from his bottle and keeps grinding the hardest gear that he can. He has built a lead of 19”, which is a huge effort ... and now it’s gone up to 28”!
The KOM point comes at Montée de l’altiport de Megève, after which we will have another 2.2km to race.
6km to go: Luis León Sánchez attacks solo at the front! He creates a significant gap in a matter of seconds. He may be 38 years old but he can still show a clean pair of pedals to a world-class breakaway group at the Tour de France.
7km to go: The bunch is 9’22” behind the break. Fred Wright (Bahrain-Victorious) has been setting the pace on the front.
The pace is high, the gradient is sufficiently gentle that the riders can stay in a pretty hard gear.
As you may have noticed I was incorrect to say that the stage would finish at 16.57 local time ... the protest has delayed the whole thing by 20 minutes or so.
Updated
8km to go: Simmons of Trek-Segafredo catches Bettiol and powers past him. Kamna comes back at him hard and gets to the front. This is going to be a massive battle for the win.
Meanwhile, on Twitter:
Avec Bernard Hinault, ça se passait pas comme ça…
— David Guénel (@davidguenel) July 12, 2022
(Paris-Nice, 1984) pic.twitter.com/N1pq5fiKv1
9.5km to go: Bettiol goes again. This is a helluva ride, and clearly it’s a stage that Bettiol has been targeting for a while.
Updated
10km to go: The riders up front are:
Thomas (Cofidis)
Jorgenson (Movistar)
Bettiol and Cort (EF Education-Easypost)
Velasco (Astana)
Zimmermann (Intermarché–Wanty–Gobert Matériaux)
Van Baarle (Ineos)
Wright (Bahrain-Victorious)
Updated
11km to go: Bettiol is caught. Benjamin Thomas of Cofidis had joined Zimmermann and Wright, and now we have four riders ahead ... and it looks like another four riders are going to join forces with them almost immediately.
14km to go: Bettiol grasps his handlebars and pumps his legs as if his life depends on it. He is digging very, very deep to try and maintain this lead. It would certainly be in the top three results of his career if he can win this stage, adding to his Tour of Flanders and Giro d’Italia stage victories. He has 23”.
Updated
15km to go: Bettiol holds his lead at 31”. The Alps loom into view as the chasing grinds up the climb. Zimmerman and Wright are giving chase to Bettiol, working to try and close down Bettiol. Behind them, we have a group of 15 riders, Kamna of Bora-Hansgrohe among them, who will be going into the maillot jaune if it stays like this.
Updated
17km to go: Even with the hold-up for the protest, it looks like the stage is still going to finish on the fastest estimated time schedule on the official website – 45km/h average with a finish time of 16.57 local time.
Bettiol powers on up the climb, accompanied by the pink team car. He has 32”. Sean Kelly employs the word “performant” on commentary, which is always nice.
19km to go: Bettiol stretches his lead to 40”! It would seem that no one in the chasing group is willing to work, and if they don’t get busy, the EF Education-Easypost rider will be able to create a decisive gap.
Back down the road, the main bunch rolls through the intermediate sprint, nine and a half minutes behind our lone leader.
Updated
20km to go: It’s now all uphill until the finish. Surely Bettiol cannot hold off the chasers? He does have 26”, but it would be a mind-blowing performance if he wins this solo.
21km to go: Bettiol’s advantage is down to 16”.
Video here of the Italian rider dodging around the protest earlier:
Breakaway leader Alberto Bettiol dodging protesters just now on #TDF2022 pic.twitter.com/vN4suzK5Hy
— Andy McGrath (@Andymcgra) July 12, 2022
22km to go: Kamna could be heading for the yellow jersey tonight. He is the virtual leader of the Tour de France as it stands.
I've said for years that every major sporting event should be required to publish its estimated carbon cost (in units that are consistent and comprehensible) @LukeMcLaughlin.
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) July 12, 2022
They can also publish their offsets if they so wish.
Updated
25km to go: Bettiol rolls through the intermediate sprint at Passy-Marlioz, and takes 20 points in that competition, not that he cares. The gap is down to 22” to the chasing bunch. Christophe Laporte of Jumbo-Visma, who is fifth in the points classification, comes through second and grabs 17 points.
Updated
31km to go: Bettiol is hammering away up front again and he has an advantage of 48”. It looks like this may work in Bettiol’s favour after all ...
He soloed to victory in the Tour of Flanders in 2019, so it’s the sort of thing we’ve seen from the Italian before. He also won a stage at the Giro last year.
Updated
33km to go: Bettiol is racing again up front.
@LukeMcLaughlin I'd argue F1 is far worse in terms of pollution but far less practical in terms of protesting across the road.
— Beau Dure 🇺🇦🌈🖖☮️ (@duresport) July 12, 2022
F1 is an obvious culprit in terms of carbon emissions ... but I’m not sure people comprehend the sheer amount of energy it takes to put a grand tour on. I’m not just talking about things like race vehicles, helicopters, and the emissions necessary to fly and bus the riders and teams around, either. Producing carbon bikes, and all the kit, is a huge generator of carbon emissions.
36km to go: Carlton Kirby reckons this delay is due to the police checking the road ahead for more protestors.
35km to go: Confusion reigns. We are not racing yet. Bettiol is still stationary up front – in fact, he is rolling around in circles on the road, keeping his legs moving and waiting to be told he can start racing again. Will this play into Bettiol’s hands, or the chasing pack? You’d have to suspect it will be the latter.
36km to go: “A lot of people are getting quite angry ... a DS got out of the car and stuck a boot in. Great scenes here.”
I’m not sure if they are great, to be honest ... Anyway. Looks like the protestors have been cleared and we are racing again. “All the gaps have been taken,” says Seb Piquet on race radio. Which means the gaps have been reinstated.
Now there is a shot of the breakaway group I think, having been stopped, in order to reinstate the time gaps. But then there’s a shot of Bettiol who is still stationary. He looks annoyed, understandably.
I presume they were climate crisis protestors. It may annoy the riders and the teams, but no one can seriously argue they aren’t protesting for a good reason. Professional cycling is, without doubt, one of the most polluting sports on the planet.
Updated
Protestors in the road stop the race!
36km to go: There are protestors in the road ahead of our lone leader Bettiol. Several people are sitting in the road, and at least one flare has been let off. Bettiol has come to a halt, stopped in his tracks by the official race motorbike, having swerved around the protestors in the road and made his way through.
Updated
39km to go: Bettiol is going for this, good and proper. He has left the breakaway in his wake, at is stands, and is stamping on his pedals and trying to create a decisive gap. Long way to go: there’s an intermediate sprint coming up at Passy-Marlioz.
Bettiol takes a drink from the neutral service motorbike as he powers along a straight stretch of road.
43km to go: This is a super-fast stage, as I may have mentioned. The average speed stubbornly stays at over 45km/h, remarkable for a mountain stage. The gap is up to 7’07”.
Bettiol is pictured out front on his own ... McEwen on Eurosport just said he’s trying to bridge to Rolland and Wright, but I don’t think that is correct. Bettiol is out front on his own as far as I can see. That is backed up by letour.fr.
Updated
51km to go: Pierre Rolland, the perennial KOM contender, attacks from the front of the breakaway and grabs the solitary point atop the Côte de Châtillon-sur-Cluses for B&B Hotels. Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) went with him but could not get past the Frenchman. The gap is 6’28”.
51 km to go: On the subject of suitable Bob Dylan songs ...
@LukeMcLaughlin Thunder on the Mountain, plausibly
— The Justin Horton Show (@ejhchess) July 12, 2022
52km to go: The gap grows further, to 6’14”. UAE’s riders are now on the front of the peloton, protecting Pogacar’s position in GC. Robbie McEwen reckons letting Kamna of Bora-Hansgrohe take the yellow jersey would be a good idea, as it would in theory mean that team would do some work in the mountains that would otherwise fall to UAE Team Emirates.
54km to go: The breakaway riders are on the category-four Côte de Châtillon-sur-Cluses. Ganna’s efforts on the front of the bunch have stretched the gap to 5’41”.
Updated
58km to go: The riders in the bunch roll through a feed zone and grab some lunch.
The gap between peloton and the 25-man breakaway is 5’25”.
So tell me, who do you fancy for the stage win from this breakaway?
Just as I say that, Ganna has put the hammer down at the front of the breakaway, trying to smash things up and make it a more selective group.
The riders in the break are as follows: Kamna (Bora-Hansgrohe), Sánchez and Wright (Bahrain Victorious), Thomas (Cofidis), Jorgenson (Movistar), Schultz and Bauer (BikeExchange-Jayco), Leknessund (Team DSM), Ion Izaguirre (Cofidis), Bettiol (EF Education-Easypost), Velasco (Astana Qazaqstan), Boasson Hagen (TotalEnergies), Gilbert (Lotto Soudal), Zimmermann (Intermarché–Wanty–Gobert Matériaux), Van Baarle and Ganna (Ineos), Sbaragli (Alpecin–Fenix), Laporte (Jumbo-Visma), Hofstetter (Arkea-Samsic), Clarke (Israel-Premier Tech), Rolland (B&B Hotels), Cort (EF Education-Easypost), Pedersen and Simmons (Trek-Segafredo), Swift (Arkea-Samsic).
Updated
62km to go: “I see that both Dylan (van Baarle) and Zimmerman are in the break today, so what song of his suggests itself?” asks Brian Hudner on email. “To Be Stuck Inside of Morzine with the Megève Blues Again?”
65km to go: Gilbert, up in the breakaway, nearly loses it on a left-hand bend. Robbie McEwen remembers the time he went over a wall descending the Col de Portet d’Aspet, a spectacular and scary accident, in which I think he also broke his kneecap. The Col de Portet d’Aspet is also where Fabio Casartelli tragically died after crashing at high speed during the 1995 Tour de France.
Updated
67km to go: AG2R-Citroën, UAE Team Emirates, Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl and Groupama-FDJ are teams to have missed the breakaway.
Updated
71km to go: Four minutes for the breakaway now. The pain in the legs of the riders in the peloton will have receded significantly in the last half an hour or so.
The race is rolling downhill towards the point where they will begin today’s third climb, the Côte de Châtillon-sur-Cluses, which is a category four.
Updated
75km to go: The gap has risen to 3’18”, with the main bunch now enjoying a nice little “break”. If you can count cycling at over 40km/h a break.
Rolland took two points atop the Col de Jambaz, while Kamna took one point for coming second. The king of the mountains competition is sure to hot up in the coming days.
Updated
81km to go: The gap is now 2’11”.
The riders in the break are as follows: Kamna (Bora-Hansgrohe), Sánchez (Bahrain Victorious), Thomas (Cofidis), Jorgenson (Movistar), Schultz (BikeExchange-Jayco), Leknessund (Team DSM), Ion Izaguirre (Cofidis), Bettiol (EF Education-Easypost), Velasco (Astana Qazaqstan), Boasson Hagen (TotalEnergies), Gilbert (Lotto Soudal), Zimmermann (Intermarché–Wanty–Gobert Matériaux), Van Baarle (Ineos), Sbaragli (Alpecin–Fenix), Wright (Bahrain Victorious), Laporte (Jumbo-Visma), Hofstetter (Arkea-Samsic), Clarke (Israel-Premier Tech), Rolland (B&B Hotels), Simmons (Trek-Segafredo), Cort (EF Education-Easypost), Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo), Swift (Arkea-Samsic), Ganna (Ineos), Bauer (BikeExchange-Jayco).
Updated
83km to go: The gap between break and peloton flies out to 1’17”. The die is cast, it would seem.
Updated
84km to go: We now have a much larger front group, with the four riders having been swept up. It’s 25 riders are up there, and the gap has flown out to 52” ... none of the riders in front are a threat in GC, so it looks very much like we finally have the break of the day. Five kilometres remain on this climb, the Col de Jambaz.
85km to go: The commentator Rob Hatch, meanwhile, says this is the fastest Tour de France for 20 years for average speed. It’s rolling along at above 44km/h after nine and a half stages.
86km to go: “What is going on in this Tour de France?” asks Adam Blythe on Eurosport. “The further you get into the stage, you think, it’s going to be another GC battle today.”
88km to go: The gap is yo-yo-ing but we still have four riders up front:
Pierre Rolland (B&B Hotels)
Philippe Gilbert (Lotto Soudal)
Dylan van Baarle (Team Ineos)
Luis León Sánchez (Bahrain Victorious)
We are not officially on the next climb, which is 6.7km long and summits with 78.9km to go on today’s stage.
Updated
90km to go: The four man break has 18”. Back down the road, there are desperate attempts to chase. Simon Clarke (Israel-Premier Tech) is one of the riders there.
91km to go: Looks like some other riders are trying to join the fun at the front of the race. The smart money would have been on a larger breakaway than four riders, given the stages to come in the following days, and the fact that it looked like it might be a nice easy day for the GC guys.
92km to go: If Thomas de Gendt can win a stage at the Giro, Philippe Gilbert can win a stage at the Tour. Right?
🇫🇷 #TDF2022
— Lotto Soudal (@Lotto_Soudal) July 12, 2022
Hello there, @PhilippeGilbert 👋
Together with three other riders, he is currently a couple of seconds in front of the bunch as the attacks keep flying. pic.twitter.com/ogYbfD67Hs
94km to go: Rolland (B&B Hotels), Gilbert (Lotto Soudal), Van Baarle (Ineos) and Luis León Sánchez (Bahrain Victorious) have forged ahead at the front. They have 11secs. That’s a very experienced and canny breakaway group, if it sticks ...
Updated
97km to go: Crikey, this is a tough day. Marc Hirschi, who is clearly not himself, is off the back for UAE Team Emirates. UAE have already lost George Bennett to Covid today.
The average speed so far is 44.9km/h, which is insanely fast given the amount of climbing the peloton have already done.
Pierre Rolland (B&B Hotels) now has a crack at the front. Dylan van Baarle (Ineos) is there too, as is Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo-Visma).
Updated
99km to go: After a long, sweeping descent off the Côte de Chevenoz, the road is heading uphill again. Gougeard is about to be caught, while in the peloton things are splitting up with the hot pace. The race is heading uphill towards the second categorised climb of the day, the Col de Jambaz. This is a painful day for anyone who is not feeling good, and struggling to stay in touch with the peloton. Those riders will be praying that a break goes away on this climb ...
Updated
100km to go: On the Intermarche.
We're on the attack with Andrea Pasqualon & Georg Zimmermann!#TDF2022 pic.twitter.com/UVUZokXBFQ
— Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert (@IntermarcheWG) July 12, 2022
101km to go: Gougeard has 19” up at the front. Mattia Cattaneo (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) is among the riders on the front of the bunch trying to close it down. Pidcock and Quinn Simmons (Trek–Segafredo), who has been very active at this race so far, are also up there.
103km to go: Good screengrabbing work from Felix Lowe on Twitter:
A couple of #TourSwimmingPools lurking there as the peloton rampages through Marin towards Lake Geneva. #TDF2022 pic.twitter.com/2h5G5LjmuW
— Felix Lowe (@saddleblaze) July 12, 2022
105km to go: Andrea Pasqualon (Intermarché–Wanty–Gobert Matériaux) has now attacked from the front of the bunch. The advantage for Gougeard is 18”.
Dancing in the streets of Intermarché–Wanty–Gobert Matériaux tonight?
Updated
112km to go: “At some point this race has got to give,” Bradley Wiggins observes from the Eurosport motorbike.
Gougeard powers on up front – and he has built a gap of 25”. Matej Mohoric, of Bahrain-Victorious, is the man leading the chase in the bunch, with Tom Pidcock (Team Ineos) up there too.
Looks like a good old-fashioned attempt to get his sponsors (B&B Hotels) on telly from Gougeard, because there isn’t a chance in hell that he will be able to make this stick on his own unless the peloton sits up.
Updated
113km to go: Picking up on Kirby’s point about the lack of a break ... I think I miss those sleepy days when nothing (or almost nothing) happens.
Updated
115km to go: “I thought we’d have a good break established by now,” says Kirby on Eurosport. “I thought we’d be talking about cheeses, and truffles, and insect life ... The pace is relentless, and this is very nervous.”
Gougeard goes again off the front. He manages to forge a very significant gap. But surely he’s not going to hold off the peloton on a descent? Are we going to have a GC day if no break can get away?
Updated
118km to go: There is now a long descent down the valley before the riders gear up for the second climb, the Col de Jambaz, which is a category three. Pierre Latour took the KOM point atop the Côte de Chevenoz, by the way.
Updated
119km to go: It does seem a bit odd that the whole race was delayed for a rider such as Thomas, for such a long time, unless the powers that be had been told by Cofidis in advance that he was going for the break today?
Updated
123km to go: Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis), the rider who held up the stage because he had an issue with his shoes, now attacks at the front. I think Alexis Gougeard (B&B Hotels) also had a go but was pulled back. The pace is hot, anyway, and it’s strung out at the front of the bunch.
124km to go: The peloton winds around a left-handed hairpin. It is strung out up at the front. Are Pogacar’s rivals going to try and attack him today, with George Bennett having been ruled out by Covid?
Updated
126km to go: That two-man break has been shut down by a much larger group. In fact it looks like pretty much the whole peloton is together, although I am not sure how many are off the back ...
Updated
127km to go: The riders are on the Côte de Chevenoz which is a category-four climb. Benoît Cosnefroy (AG2R Citroën) and Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-Easypost) are together, out front. But it looks like a big group are trying to bridge across and form a big breakaway. Behind, the peloton is splintering, and it looks like it’s going to be a tough day ... Kron (Lotto Soudal) is one of the guys trying to get in the break.
Updated
128km to go: Romain Bardet has said the first week was the hardest he’s ever done at the Tour de France. Via L’Equipe, via Andy McGrath on Twitter:
Romain Bardet in L’Equipe: “It was the hardest first week of the Tour I’ve ever done.” The expected heatwave and harder stages tomorrow and Wednesday is going to whittle down contenders further
— Andy McGrath (@Andymcgra) July 12, 2022
132km to go: Now we do have attackers off the front. Mathieu van der Poel is up there, and he is a big threat for the stage win if he has good legs, because the climbs aren’t that hard today.
Updated
135km to go: Maciej Bodnar (TotalEnergies) now has a crack, and gets a little gap. On Eurosport, Daniel Lloyd sagely observes that many riders aren’t trying to get in the break yet, because it’s all downhill to the first climb, so there is a risk of using a lot of energy for very little reward. That sounds plausible to me, anyway. At the back of the bunch it looks like Nils Pollitt (Bora–Hansgrohe) has a puncture. Bad timing.
Updated
137km to go: Benjamin Thomas of Cofidis had a problem with his shoe, which it appears is what held the whole race up to start with. Which seems a bit ludicrous, but there you go. Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies) now tries to power away from the bunch ... but it’s still altogether. The peloton is currently on a downward course towards the foot of the first climb, which I guess is where we’re going to see some serious attacking.
141km to go: Ineos to have a crack?
If he's had a good rest day, I'd fancy Dani Martinez for the stage today @LukeMcLaughlin. Or I would if Ineos were ever to come out of the wheels.
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) July 12, 2022
Sending him up the road might also offer a bridge if Pidcock, Thomas and Yates can gang up on Pogacar - but... see above.
Updated
146km to go: This all seems a bit odd. There were some initial attacks, but now it looks like the bunch is happy to ride along together.
Updated
We're racing on Stage 10!
Finally, Prudhomme flutters his flag, and the race is on. A clutch of riders make a dash for it to begin with, but no one has got a gap yet ... presuming there is a protracted fight to get in the break, it’s going to be another lightning-fast day.
Updated
“Halfway up the Chevenoz,” emails Mark Roper from France, with a photo attached from his position on the first climb. “Just us and the riders I reckon ...”
The scenery is already looking beautiful. It’s going to be a picturesque day for us telly viewers. The GC riders, meanwhile, will be hoping for a relaxed day while the breakaway fights it out up front.
Breakaway hopefuls are crammed behind the official race car ... still Prudhomme waits to wave his flag and start the stage proper. Someone or other is off the back with a problem with his kit.
We’ve gone past the official starting point, but Prudhomme and co. aren’t happy, and have not dropped the flag yet. There seems to be some consternation in the bunch. Pierre Rolland is pictured shaking his head. Ah, on Eurosport Carlton Kirby points out he’s got bronchitis, so maybe that is why he looks so unhappy.
Updated
Speaking of Pogacar’s team: George Bennett is out of the Tour, having tested positive for Covid:
UAE Team Emirates confirms just now that George Bennett has tested positive to Covid-19 and is out of the #TDF2022 . Big blow to Tadej Pogacar, who is now down to five support riders.
— Sophie Smith (@SophieSmith86) July 12, 2022
Here we go then. The riders are on the road, in the neutralised zone, and they have about three kilometres to cover until the flag drops. Let’s go!
Good analysis, Mike, thanks. Important qualification at the end about the likelihood of Pogacar having an off day, too. It doesn’t really look on the cards, does it? And he seems perfectly happy to try and survive without his team (although that may of course be different in the high mountains). Take the cobbled stage as an example ... how many times do you see a lightweight GC guy riding away from classics specialists on a flattish cobbled stage like that? He is on another level.
“Today would usually have ‘breakaway winner” written all over it,” emails Mike Waters. “Huge day tomorrow, with a finish not hard enough for race-changing gaps between leaders. But UAE are vulnerable, not because they are fundamentally a weak team as many claim, as Bennett, Majka and McNulty could all easily be leaders of a smaller team.
“But with one abandoned and Hirschi looking off-colour it would make sense for Ineos, Jumbo-Visma and Movistar to send their second or third-best riders up the road to give UAE another hard day, hoping that will pay off as the race progresses into week three. All of this is of course subject to Pog himself having an off day sooner or later, which doesn’t seem to happen very often, and one of the rivals being able to take advantage.”
After a second rest day, a stage in the Alps that skirts the biggest climbs; with much more to come, the favourites are likely to mark each other, with a big battle for the stage win from an early break. The 19km drag to the finish is where it will all happen; that will favour the likes of France’s Warren Barguil or Mathieu Van der Poel.
If the predictions for today’s stage are correct, we’ll have a massive scrap to get in the breakaway early on. So the start should be worth watching.
Today’s L’Equipe, wondering who will wipe the smile of Pog’s face in the mountains. A bit of a punchy angle from them. Via the Rouleur magazine editor, Edward Pickering, on Twitter.
L’Equipe showing signs of Pogacar fatigue as they ask who will wipe the insolent smile off his face in the Alps. pic.twitter.com/E9WA7GxriB
— Edward Pickering (@EdwardPickering) July 12, 2022
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According to the renowned Italian cycling scribe, Ciro Scognamiglio, Mark Cavendish will be leaving Quick-Step after this season.
The team boss Patrick Lefevere said: “I know that he wants to do two more years in the bunch ... but he’s not part of our project.”
Info @Gazzetta_it - Today we speak with @PatLefevere about future of @MarkCavendish, if he can continue with @qst_alphavinyl (Soudal-Quick Step next year) in 2023 or not. "I know that he wants to do 2 more years in the bunch... but he's not part of our project".
— Ciro Scognamiglio (@cirogazzetta) July 11, 2022
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There was no rest day for Jeremy Whittle: he spoke to Geraint Thomas, Team Ineos’s leader, who currently sits third in the general classification, 1’17” behind the leader Tadej Pogacar.
“A lot of people have been praised in the past and said: ‘This guy will go on to win X,’ but I can’t see how Pogacar won’t continue to be the biggest favourite in the next five or six years.” Thomas said. “I think he’s just a level above. Vincenzo Nibali and Alberto Contador were great climbers and Contador improved his time trialling a lot. Froomey [Chris Froome] could do both really well, but Pogacar, he’s got everything else.”
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Three riders packed it in before stage nine on Sunday: Kasper Asgreen (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl), Guillaume Martin (Cofidis), and Ruben Guerreiro (EF Education - Easypost).
You can keep up to speed with withdrawals, stage by stage, on letour.fr’s “Withdrawals” page, which does exactly what it says on the tin.
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Preamble
As the world’s greatest bike race hits the Alps, four categorised climbs await the riders on today’s stage: the category-four Côte de Chevenoz, category-three Col de Jambaz, the Côte de Châtillon-sur-Cluses (category four), and finally a summit finish at the category-two Montée d l’altiport de Megève, topping out at 1,460m above sea level.
The 148.1km route might be thought of as merely an entrée before some far more demanding mountain tests in the coming days, with a breakaway of stage hunters likely to succeed in battling it out at the front, while the GC contenders declare a temporary truce behind.
But this is the Tour de France, where drama is never far away, so should we expect the unexpected and hope for fireworks in the battle for the yellow jersey in the next few hours? The riders can never be sure how their bodies will react immediately after a rest day, which will add a potential layer of intrigue this afternoon as the race heads in the direction of Mont Blanc, and the Swiss border.
Whatever happens it’s going to be beautiful, as all mountain stages are, and there is sure to be some sort of excitement along the winding road to Megève.
Stage start time: 12.40 BST
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