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Congratulations to Contador, Cavendish and everyone else. Every rider who made it across the finish line Paris today was a winner!

Thanks for joining us for the Tour de France. We hope you enjoyed it.
 

The Top Five on this stage:

1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team Columbia - HTC
2 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Team Columbia - HTC
3 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Slipstream
4 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Milram
5 Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) Française des Jeux

Here's our Top Five for this year's Tour de France:

1 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana
2 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank
3 Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana
4 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Garmin - Slipstream
5 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank

A dramatic end to an interesting race: the return of Lance Armstrong, the climb up Mont Ventoux, the dominace of sprinter Cavendish.

And let us not forget the big winner today: Alberto Contador! The Spaniard takes his second Tour de France title.

Renshaw and Cavendish shot out of the last corner and accelerated away like rockets. Cavendish took off and won more than easily. Renshaw was second, and there was a laaaaaaaarge gap back to the next rider. One could hardly call it a mass sprint!

An unbelieveable win for Cavendish!

The peloton torn apart by thesis speed. Renshaw leds out and Cavendish pullss away and away and away!

Last km, and Columbia tears away. Hincapie pulls for Cav.

Garmin at the head of the peloton as they go trhough the tunnel for the last time.

Everyone tearing along!

Garmin builds a train for Farrar.

Cervelo moves to the front, behind Cavendish and Hushovd.

Two Garmin riders and Flecha attack but are caught, as are the three leaders.

The last time over the finish line, and they set off on the last lap!

Vaikennan, Beppu and Wegmann maintain a slight lead as the other four are caught.

Mechanical for Michael Rogers of Columbia.

Milram moves t the fron as there are only 10 km to go.

The escspees aren't givng up, though. They are speeding along in perfect formation.

Columbia's dogged work is paying off as the gap melts away.

Yet again over the finish line. Two more rounds, and the gap is down to 12 seconds.

In and out of the tunnel the field goes.

The Number One is near the end of the field, Carlos Sastre.

The unlikely twins, Cavendish and Hushovd, are together near the front. The Dane is tight on the Briton's rear wheel.

The hairpin turn again for the lead group.

The gap continues to fall as they all cross the finish line again. Three more laps to go.

Round and round and round they go....

The Arc de Triumphe looms in the background.

The lead group goes around the hairpin curve and heads back the opposite direction.

A Lampre man tries to get away, and has five seconds on the peloton led by Kim Kirchen.

The escapees head to the finish line again. Now there really are only four rounds to go.

Down into the tunnel for the leading group.

The chase continues, with Columbia keeping an eye on things. The gap has crept up to 33 seconds.

The group took the points in the last intermediate sprint of this year's Tour, with Barredo ahead of Wegmann.

The leaders cross the finish line, and have four more rounds to go.

Lots of Norwegians along the way here, with flags. Who are they rooting for?

That was a short-lived attack by Ignatiev and Trussov. They are already back in the peloton.

The two chasers are 20 seconds back, with the peloton at 35 seconds.

Mechanical for a Silence-Lotto rider. This is not a good time.

Two Katusha riders take off in pursuit of the escape group.

The field goes over the finish line again and off they go for another round.

Maxime Monfort leads with the whole Columbia team at the head of the peloton. Hushovd is directly behind Cavendish.

No intermediate sprint points for either Hushovd or Cavendish, as the escape groups takes the points.

Our lead group is: Jussi Veikkanen (FdJ), Arnaud Coyot (Caisse d'Epargne), Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis), Alexandre Pichot (Bbox), Carlos Barredo (Quick Step), Fabain Wegmann (Milram) and Fumiyuki Beppu (Skil-Shimano). They have a 15 second lead over the peloton.
 

Columbia has taken over the lead work. Gosh, wonder why....

The group includes Wegmann (Milram), Beppu (Skil) and Barredo (Quick Step).
 

A group of seven has a slight lead now

The first three riders try to escape, but are soon caught by the fast flying field.
 

Tom Boonen did not have his best Tour ever – and isn't that an understatement! He had to go to court to be allowed to start, and it may not have been worth the effort. He never finished any higher than 16th, and eventually had to drop out with intestinal problems that had dogged him the whole time.

The Quick Step rider is doing better again now. "The day before yesterday I started training again. I feel good, although I was a little bit tired yesterday. Normally that will be ok in the upcoming days", he said.

Astana leads the way before huge crowds on a beautiful sunny day in Paris.

The peloton approaches the finish line for the first – but not the last – time. Things should start hapenning now!

Yesterday was only the eighth time that a stage has finised atop the Mont Ventoux, and Garate is the first Spaniard to win there. The previous winners were Raymond Poulidor (1965), Eddy Merckx (1970), Bernard Thevenet ('72), Jean François Bernard (1987), Marco Pantani (2000), and Richard Virenque (2002).

Niki Terpstra of Milram says that his team has already starting celebrating the end of the race. Having survived Mont Ventoux, the run into Paris ought to be no problem. And how did the German ProTour team celebrate last night? With a stop at McDonalds. “After three weeks of French pasta, an unhealthy hamburger is wonderful!”
 

We're in Paris! Hopefully something will start happening soon.

Another rider who has definitely made his name in this tour is Jurgen van den Broeck. In fact, his team has said that he will be captain or co-captain at the Tour next year.

The 26-year-old isn't swayed by all the talk of how good he is. “I still live and work as I always have.” And as to his future: “There is no urgency.”
 

How did Garate see his win yesterday? “I had already won stages in the Vuelta and the Giro. The Tour was a goal and a dream. A real dream. In the clouds. because you do not get many chances, and then suddenly on Mont Ventoux....”

The 2009 Tour de France was one for Rabobank to forget. Giro champion Denis Menchov was unable to do anything and crashed constantly. Young hopeful Robert Gesink had to drop out with a broken wrist in the fifth stage. Three-time World Champion Oscar Freire couldn't win a sprint.

And the “Juanma” Garate won on Mont Ventoux Saturday and save the day for the Dutch team, much to everyone's relief. You can read more about it at www.cyclingnews.com/news/juan-manuel-garate-saves-tour-de-france-for-rabobank

Ah, we might actually have a race today after all! Astana has taken over the lead work in the peloton, as we slowly approach Paris.

Over in Germany, Columbia's Thomas Lövkvist won the final stage of the International Sachsen Rundfarht, while Patrik Sinkewitz (PSK Whirlpool) won the overall. Sinkewitz is returning from a one-year suspension for using testosterone, and his success was not popular with the rest of the peloton.

Skil-Shimano has been very active in its Tour debut, often represented in escape groups. Yesterday it was the turn of Albert Timmer, 24, who had been sick earlier in the week. He said there was no one from the Dutch Professional Continental team in the group when it formed, so he went for it. “It was a beautiful day to be in the lead grop. All those people along the way, it gave me chills.”

Timmer finished 46th on the day, about six and a half minutes down.

Did you know there were other races going on? The women were in action in the Thüringen Rundfahrt. Fabiana Luperini won the final stage today, but the overall win went to Linda Villumsen of Team Columbia.

According to the French national anti-doping agency, 15 of the top 20 riders from the 2008 Tour will have their doping controls re-checked. Results aren't expected until October., and of course no names were mentioned.

We had two Japanese starters in this year's Tour de France and we will have to Japanese riders finishing the race today in Paris: Yukiya Arashiro (Bbox Bouygues Telecom) and Fumiyuki Beppu (Skil-Shimano). Going into todays stage, Arashiro was 130th and Beppu was 112th.

Contador has grabbed a Spanish flag and ties it around his neck like a Superman cape.

Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) gave notice that he is to be a factor in upcoming Tours. He is another 24-year-old who is shining in the Tour this year. You can read more about him here: www.cyclingnews.com/news/nibali-set-for-seventh-spot-in-this-years-tour-de-france

Team Quick Step has just announced that Steven De Jongh is retiring the end of this season. “I'll turn 37 this year and it's time to focus more on my private life and on my two kids,” he said. The Dutch rider has been a pro for more than 15 years and has over 50 career wins.

Franco Pellizotti has been named the most aggressive rider overall in the Tour. The Italian won the King of the Mountains jersey. Race director Jean-Francois Peschaux says it came down to Pellizotti, Andy Schleck and Jurgen van den Broeck, with Pellizotti getting the final nod.

The peloton is passing through a pretty forest. If we are not writing much about the race, it is because nothing is happening. Lots of talking going on, with many of the groups made up of teammates or those from the same country.

Andy Schleck knew it would be hard to beat Contador on Mont Ventoux and take over the Tour lead, and it did indeed prove to be an impossible task. But 2010 is another year Luxembourger has his eye on the top of the podium then. Read about it at: www.cyclingnews.com/news/schleck-concedes-defeat-to-contador-after-ventoux

The Lanterne Rouge, or last rider n GC is FdJ's Yauheni Hutarovich. He is celebrating that fact with a red hand towel stuck in the back of his helmet, and a big smile on his face. He may be last, but he is finishing the race!

Fränk Schleck tried his best to get up on the podium with younger brother Andy, but was unable to get around Lance Armstrong and Bradley Wiggins (Garmin). He was able to claim fifth place, though. There's more about that here: www.cyclingnews.com/news/schleck-gives-ventoux-fight-but-misses-tour-podium

Cavendish has continued to show that he is the fastest man in the peloton this year, adding five stage wins (so far) to the four from last year. That gives him a total of nine Tour stage wins in only three Tours, and just think, he is still only 24 years old.

With his fifth stage win on Friday, he set a new national record for most Tour stage wins by a Briton.

It's Champagne time for Astana! They certainyl deserve to drink a toast to their performance this year.

The fashion trend at this year's tour seems to be mustaches. We notice qutie a numer of peloton members today with that kind of face fuzz.
 

Yesterday's winner was “Juanma” Garate of Rabobank. “If we could have picked out one stage of the Tour that we would have liked to win, then it would surely be this one,” according to Rabo's Grischa Niermann.

Niermann felt sorry for his fellow German, Tony Martin, who finished second, but as he pointed out, “we needed this stage win a lot more than Columbia did.”

One of the discoveries of this year's Tour has to be young Tony Martin of Columbia HTC. The 24-year-old was in the Top Ten for a long time, and wore the white jersey of the best young rider for 12 stages. But of all his feats in this, his Tour debut, none is more impressive than his second-place finish atop Mont Ventoux on Saturday. And he was rewarded for that with the recognition of being the most aggressive rider on the stage.

Former Tour winners Armstrong and Carlos Sastre ride side-by-side for a chat. Perhaps discussing what it is like to ride a Tour they are not winning?

Cancellara seems to be an exceptionally good mood today. Right now he is talking with Garmin's Christian Vande Velde, waving his arms and smiling.

Is there rivalry between Mark Cavendish and Thos Hushovd? (Now there's a dumb question!) The two, who will never be close friends we dare say, aren't about to give up an inch to the other.

They were together in the gruppetto in yesterday's Mont Ventoux stage, and what did they do when the finally arrived at the finish line, some 25 minutes after winner Garate? They sprinted, of course, gaining seven seconds on the rest of the group.

Cavendish won the sprint over Hushovd, as has been the pattern this Tour. Unfortunately for the pair there were no more points left to be given out to the 104th and 105th places.

Do you want to refresh your memories of the last three weeks here in France? Read about what happened and look at the pretty pictures that CN's Rich Tyler put together at www.cyclingnews.com/news/23-days-in-france-look-back-at-this-years-tour
 

Is Lance Armstrong happy to finish third, instead of his usual first? You betcha. "I can't complain," said Armstrong after the stage. "For an old fart coming in here and getting on the podium, [it's] not so bad." More here: www.cyclingnews.com/news/armstrong-claims-tour-podium-after-three-year-absence

We had 156 riders at the start this morning, which is quite a lot. That means a lot fewer crashes and illnesses than in past years. The next highest number of riders going into the final stage was 155 in 2005. The lowest in a “regular” year was 128 in 2000. 1998 saw only 96 riders making the final trek to Paris, but you may remember, that was a very irregular Tour.

Number one in the team rankings is Astana. They have had that honour for 13 stages. AG2R was tops five times and Saxo Bank twice.

Best young rider is the number two in GC, Andy Schleck, who last month turned 24. After the first stage, the white jersey went to Roman Kreuziger of Liquigas, but he only wore it two days before turning it over to Columbia's Tony Martin. The German wore the jersey for 12 stages, with Schleck having it the final six stages.

King of the Mountains is Franco Pellizotti of Liquigas – the man with the long blond curls and the red polka-dots. This jersey has jumped around more than any other in this Tour. Contador won it after the first stage, and it then wen to Jussi Veikkanen (FdJ) for four stages. After that, Stephane Auge (Cofidis), Brice Feillu (Agritubel) and Christophe Kern (Cofidis) each wore it for one stage. Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel) was next and was all polka-dotty for 4 stages before Pellizotti took it over for the last eight stages.

The green jersey for the points competition is the only one which could possibly change shoulders today. Going into today's final stage, Thor Hushovd (Cervelo) hasd 265 points to Mark Cavendish's 230 points. The first green jersey this year went to Cancellara, who wore it for one stage. After that it went back and forth between Cavendish and Hushovd, with the Briton wearing it for eight stages and the Norwegian for 11.

Contador and Andy Schleck put their arms around each other's shoulders for a nice photo of the first and second-placed riders.

Who will win which jerseys this evening in Paris? Let's take a final look. The Yellow Jersey, of course, goes to overall winner Alberto Contador of Astana. He has only been wearing it the last six days, though. It started out with Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank), who won the first stage and wore yellow for six days. Record-holder for this Tour was Rinaldo Nocentini of AG2R, who wore the jersey for eight stages, in between Cancellara and Contador.

Fabian Cancellara was taking pictures with his mobile phone, until he had to pull over and take a long look at his bike with a mechanic. Now he is back again, photographing the photographer.

The riders have a long journey behind them, and, no, we don't mean their little jaunt on their bikes the last three weeks. As if climbing Mont Ventoux yesterday wasn't enough, they then had to make their way 700 km north to the start today. But they were able to make it relatively comfortably with the high-speed TGV train this morning.

Three Italians in special jerseys ride together: national champion Filippo Pozzato, King of the Mountains Franco Pellizotti, and World Champion Alessandro Ballan.

Andreas Klöden enjoys a piece of cake. Guten Appetit! The skinny German sure doesn't need to worry about calories.

Armstrong is on yet another new bike. This one is white and decorated with butterflies.

Germans Sebastian Lang andf Andreas Klöden have quite an involved conversation, while three Lotto riders are at the back of the peloton, discussing something with many gestures.

Contador and Hushovd ride ahead of the field, their yellow and green jerseys reflecting the yellow and green of the sunflower field next them. What an opportunity for the photographers!

Now, there was an original touch. The village painted red dots on the white lines at the pedestrian crossing on the road. A small salute to the King of the Mountains.

Lots of chatting going on: Contador with a Caisse d'Epargne rider, Hushovd with someone from Garmin.

Naturally he was only out front to give the photographers something to do, and now is back with the others.

The peloton has left the city and i snow making its way through the countryside, surrounded by wheat (?) fields. And now the neutralized stage is finished and the real race can start.

Attack! Contador breaks out, with a silly grin on his face!

Today's stage is not totally flat, but it may as well be. Not a single ranked climb to be found today, but there are two intermediate sprints, fairly late in the stage.

The sun is shining and the jersey wearers ride in a row across the front of the slow-moving peloton

The final stage is very traditional: a relaxed ride for the first part of things, with clowning around and champagne. But the mood changes as the field hits Paris. Once those sprinters hit the Champs Elysées, they start flying.

And here we are, back again. 156 riders took the start this afternoon in Montereau-Fault-Yonne before heading northwest to Paris.

We'll leave it there for today - that's for reading! You can get a report and results here www.cyclingnews.com/races/96th-tour-de-france-gt/stages/stage-22/results - more later, as well as all the news. Over and out from an increasingly wind-buffeted Hindenburg IV...it's picking up here, so we'd better skedaddle while we still can..

So that's the action for stage 20....it was a very good day's racing, and the action amongst the GC favourites at the bottom of the climb was dynamite. Speaking at the end of the stage, Scleck said that Contador was the strongest today and there was nothing he could do. He decided then to help Frank - that's certainly how it looked.

Cavendish and Hushovd had a bit of a laugh at the end of the stage, coming out of the autobus group and sprinting, laughing, for the line. Good to see that things have been patched up between them.

Pellizotti made a good bid for the stage win but cracked into the wind. He will take a very dominant win in the mountains classification tomorrow, though...nice result.

Andy Schleck ends the day 3'24 ahead of Nibali in the best young rider classification.

Here's the GC....so Wiggins equals Robert Millar as the best ever British finisher in the Tour, superb result for a rider who has never been considered a GC contender before. Kloden was overtaken by Schleck for fifth place. Le Mevel is overtaken by Kreuziger and drops one place to tenth.

1 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 81:46:17
2 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:04:11
3 Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana 0:05:24
4 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Garmin - Slipstream 0:06:01
5 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:06:04
6 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana 0:06:42
7 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas 0:07:35
8 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin - Slipstream 0:12:04
9 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas 0:14:16
10 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Française des Jeux 0:14:25
 

Here's the top ten on the stage.

1 Juan Manuel Garate Cepa (Spa) Rabobank 4:39:21
2 Tony Martin (Ger) Team Columbia - HTC 0:00:03
3 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:00:38
4 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana
5 Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana 0:00:41
6 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:00:43
7 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas 0:00:46
8 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas 0:00:56
9 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas 0:00:58
10 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Garmin - Slipstream 0:01:03

Wiggins lost 22 seconds to Armstrong....I think that keeps him in fourth, though - a superb result. Frank Schleck should be fifth.. But bear with us a moment longer.

When Andy Schleck attacked early on, he quickly realised that it was going to be impossible to drop Contador. His focus then appeared to change from going for the win to helping Frank Schleck chase third. But Frank doesn't appear to have the strength today...he lacked that little bit of ooomph to get away from Armstrong. Every time he moved, he was marked by the American.

Martin lost out as he probably led too much into the wind towards the end... He got back up to Garate but went by and kept riding. With the strong wind, it gave the former Spanish champion the chance to have a breather and prepare for the sprint.

Congratulations to Garate, who rescued Rabobank's Tour. He and Martin were out front all day and even if they benefited a little from the chess match behind, they deserved to stay away...took a lot of courage to attack so early with a finish like that on the horizon.

Andy Schleck and Contador were by far the strongest on the climb, but the tactical battle for third meant that the younger Schleck brother eased back. Contador made no effort to attack, even though he looked very strong...

Hard luck to Wiggins, who found this climb just a bit too hard. It's regarded as one of the toughest ascents in cycling, though....and for a guy who has improved as much as he has, he can surely head away from this race with aspirations of chasing yellow in the future.

Here's the first five...

1. Juan Manuel Garate (Rabobank)
2. Tony Martin (Columbia)
3. Andy Schleck (Garmin) at 0.38
4. Alberto Contador (Astana)
5. Lance Armstrong (Astana) at 0.40

He gets third, with Contador on his wheel...looking very comfortable. He waves at the crowd. Armstrong is gapped but is next across the line, securing third in Paris. Frank Schleck was also there, but Wiggins lost time... He was perhaps 30 second back...

Andy Schleck leads them around the last bend.....he's going for second....

Pellizotti has been caught...Andy S. and Contador sige by side...

Garate goes for it! He gets the win...wow, that came up fast. Martin next.

Martin leads Garate...don't forget that headwind...

Will Contador go? He's looking frisky....

Pellizotti is close to being caught by the others. Meanwhile Martin gets up to Garate! They are close to the top...who will get it?

Andy Schleck attacks again! Contador, Armstrong and Frank Schleck go with him...Wiggins is dropped once more..

Garate has dropped Martin and looks to be heading for the win...

Schleck is facing a 41km/h headwind...he's doing himself no favours by sitting at the front and towing the others along.... This is frustrating to watch, he and Contador were the strongest but have been joined by those they dropped at the bottom. The tactical play has affected the racing at this point....

Kloden is coming back.

He's back up again...good ride... Seven in this Contador group... No attacks for a while...

Wiggins looks like he's cracked....that's a pity.. come on Bradley!

Wiggins face is full of pain...he's drifting back slightly....

Andy Schleck still leads from Frank, Armstrong, Contador (who looks very relaxed), Krueziger. Nibali and Wiggins get back up...Wiggins takes the shorter line around a gradual bend. So he's still there...

Pellizotti is still 52" back! Could Martin and Garate stay clear?

The problem for Andy S. is that he has a 30km/h headwind now....he's going to find it hard to get rid of those on his wheel...

Nibali and Kreuziger are there....Wiggins is dropped...Nibali too....

Now Andy Schleck leads, from Frank S., Armstrong, Contador, Wiggins... They are 1'34 behind the leaders.... Pellizotti is chasing hard.

Andy Schleck goes!! Frank is with him this time.....could this be it? Kloden dropped....

Pellizotti now is 33" ahead....if those behind don't respond, he will win this stage. That would be ironic as he was dropped early on....is not the strongest today. He's taken advantage of the tactical battle behind.

Situation:

Juan Manuel Garate (Rabobank) and Tony Martin (Columbia HTC)

Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas) at 1.42

Alberto Contador (Astana), Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank), Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) and Christophe Riblon (AG2R La Mondiale), Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Silence Lotto), Bradley Wiggins (Garmin), Lance Armstrong (Astana), Frank Schleck (Saxo Bank), Jose Ivan Gutierrez (Caisse d’Epargne) and Andreas Kloden (Astana) and Maxime Bouet (Agritubel) at 1.59

These crowds are absolutely huge!! Wow...

Of course, one benefit (apart from the encouragement) is that they are sheltering the riders a little from the sidewinds.

Kloden now leads the Contador group... This regrouping was strange, we guess that Andy Schleck wants to go again with Frank.

Pellizotti is already 14" ahead....

The Kloden-led group appears to be closing..they do so. Pellizotti attacks!! He's gone clear...

Andy Schleck might be holding back...looks like the urgency has gone out of this. He might be hoping his brother gets across and goes for third overall.

The group behind Schleck and Contador contains Frank Schleck, Armstrong, Wiggins, Van den Broek, Bouet, Kloden and Pellizotti. Kreuziger is also there.

The leaders now have just 1'17...7km to go. Martin is leading Garate, but is suffering...

Nibali was just 1'54 behind Armstrong this morning....He's 20 seconds further up the road now... Kloden is leading the Armstrong group.

Here was the GC this morning:

1 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 77:06:18
2 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:04:11
3 Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana 0:05:21
4 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Garmin - Slipstream 0:05:36
5 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana 0:05:38
6 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:05:59
7 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas 0:07:15
8 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin - Slipstream 0:10:08
9 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Française des Jeux 0:12:37
10 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:12:38

Martin and Garate continue to lead. 1'46 back are Andy Schleck, Contador, and Nibali is flying up to them!! Very impressive.

This climb is savage...

Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador, first and second overall, are clear and leaving the others behind... Van den Broeck attacks...

The Armstrong/Wiggins group are going quite slow now....they have been cracked by Schleck's acceleration.. But those fighting for third overall are all together.

Krueziger is back up there, Kloden about to join.

Andy Schleck goes again! Contador is on his wheel.... Others are dropped....

Wiggins looks good...he's just followed so far, saving his energy....

The leaders are just 2'15 ahead.. Kloden is coming back, so too Van den Broeck..

10 km for the leaders...

Frank Schleck goes, Armstrong marks him... Contador, Wiggins and Nibali are there....and Andy Schleck, of course...

Schleck's attacks have been followed by a regrouping each time, but what he's done is put the others into trouble.

They are back up again, but he'll jump once more...he know's he's causing problems.

Andy Schleck still leads, Contador on his wheel. Wiggins, Niballi, Armstrong, Armstrong, Frank Schleck are there...

Andy goes again! Contador is again the only one to respond.

Andy Schleck goes again! He's got Contador on his wheel...

Kloden is gone...so too Krueziger.

Andy Schleck goes....Contador marks him...they've left the others. Armstrong is trying to get across.... he's doing it...

Vande Velde is gone...  The two Schlecks, Contador, Nibali, Wiggins and Armstrong are there...

Schleck and Armstrong have been joined by the others, but this group is really shrinking....  Now Andy Schleck jumps!

Frank Schleck attacks! He's jumped...Armstrong goes with him...

Martin and Garate have slightly distanced Riblon.

Chris Anker Sorensen is dropped, so too Cyril Lemoine (Skil Shimano). Karpets is also gone now...

This is going to be absolute mayhem...the group will explode on the climb.

Vande Velde, Karpets, Astarloza (Euskaltel), Jurgen Van Den Broucke (Silence Lotto) are with the Contador group...so too the Schlecks, Wiggins, and about 20 others..

The crowds are really big here....huge.. Hincapie has been dropped from the Contador group. Saxo Bank are driving it now...

Millar is getting every last bit of energy out.

The leading riders have 15.9km to go...3'24 is the gap. That's not enough.

Garate goes again....he gets a gap on Martin and Arrieta. They get him back.

Millar still leads behind, Wiggins and VDV on his wheel. They have to give their all on this climb - Wiggins has a chance to be the best-ever British finisher in the Tour if he can finish higher than fourth. Robert Millar has that distinction until now.

Garate, Riblon and Martin are together now. They have a sidewind but it's just 14km/h at this point.

Will be interesting to see if this acceleration in pace behind will affect Contador. He's lighter than most of the other riders and might be more affected by the wind.

Posthuma leads the break, 18.6km from the top of the climb. They have just 3'57" now, so it's very unlikely any of those will win today.

David Millar now hits the front of the Contador group, driving the speed up again. Wiggins sits on his wheel.

Up front, Arrieta jumps...Martin goes after him.

The Roche group is now 1'05" back...that's a pity, he had a chance of getting into the top 20 in his first Tour.

Cancellara has blown now. Cavendish sits up from a group...probably the second group on the road, not certain. He smiles at the camera - no worries.

20km to go for the breakaway. Garmin are also riding hard behind, showing that they too can put the pressure on.

The Contador group has only about 30 riders left..wow.. The break is now just 4'39 ahead.

Astana really are pushing hard...the riders are pulling at a tough place, trying to thin out this group before the climb.

The riders in the second group are chasing hard to try to get back on, Roche leading them. The problem is that they are using the energy they'll need for the climb.

The break is also in an echelon, so the winds are strong in the valley... It's going to be worse on the climb..

They are 5'14" ahead now, with 22km to go..

Cancellara is driving now...the Garmins are there too, sitting back.. No indication yet if any names are missing. Hushovd, Roche and others are in the next group.

Wow....the bunch has split... We are wondering if any of Astana's GC rivals have been dropped...I can see Garmin riders, so Wiggins should still be there. Contador is there, of course, and looks like the Schlecks are also.. bear with us...

Kuschynski took that bonus sprint, ahead of Delage and Dumoulin. The climbing starts now, gradually getting steeper until the Ventoux start proper.

Astana are chasing really hard now...full gas.

7'47 for the break...they are flying... But the bunch is going even quicker, gradually whittling down the lead.

The leaders are going to start the climb over six minutes clear of the bunch... will that be enough? We are not sure about that, as it's a real monster. But it'll make it exciting - anyone in the bunch and thinking of a stage win can't really afford to wait around.

The Ventoux will start pretty soon... The break is just 34 km from the finish of the stage. The road starts going upwards after the final sprint, which is 29km from the finish....so, approximately 5km to go.

Behind, the Astana team are now chasing hard on the descent..they led the bunch over the summit of the climb.

The peloton is now less than 1km from the summit of the climb. O'Grady STILL leads, doing a huge amount of work today. Once he's burnt all his matches the others will take over.

Ventoux beckons on the horizon...it's an unmistakable sight, with its bare, white slopes.

Gutierrez also has a bit of fun, going past the TV moto smiling as he lunges the bike forward a few times on the descent. Overhead, a fire plane gets ready to dump some power on the blaze...watch out for the riders :)

The break is almost at the top of the Col des Abeilles; the peloton is 5km further back.

On the horizon, there's a large amount of smoke haze from the forest fire. Fortunately the Ventoux itself hasn't been affected - that would really mess things up.

Garate leads Martin and Postuma over the top of the climb. The latter appeared to be having some fun, doing a slow motion sprinter's lunge for the line.. Good to see that he's able to have a laugh out there.

This gap remains pretty healthy - it's almost nine minutes with 47 kilometres to go.

Back in the peloton, O'Grady and Cancellara are first and second in line again, with the Astana team sitting a few places further back. Contador is on Armstrong's wheel.

It's been a good Tour for French teams - Thomas Voeckler, Pierrick Fédrigo (BBox Bouygues Telecom) and Brice Feillu (Agritubel) won stages, while Ag2r La Mondiale lead the race for over a week thanks to its Italian rider Rinaldo Nocentini.

That puncture will of course have broken up the Saxo Bank chase, giving the break the chance to increase the lead again.

The landscape is stunning here...

Problem for Christophe Le Mevel - looks like a puncture. Think a team-mate gave him a wheel to get him going as quickly as possible... He started the day the best Frenchman in ninth overall, 12'37 back.

Cancellara, Nicki Sorenson and another Saxo Bank rider were off the back of the peloton...looks like there was a puncture for Frank Schleck and they were chasing back on... No problem in doing so, they are back up now.

Meanwhile the break is on that climb and is 7km from the summit. Their lead is 8'49. Martin leads on the climb, then Riblon takes over.

The break thunders onwards....the penultimate climb is coming up, the third category Col des Abeilles (km 121.5km). After that, there's a 17km descent to the bonus sprint in Mormoiron, then very soon afterwards the final climb to the wind-blasted summit of the Ventoux.

Hushovd has a puncture and has to stop...He's chasing back on now after getting a rear wheel change..

Leadout man Brett Lancaster (Cervelo Test Team) is waiting for him now...no panic, they should make it fine.

In contrast to the lush mountain areas we've seen earlier this Tour, parts of this region are very dry and rocky... a little like Spain in places.

There's a big forest fire raging nearby. There's actually strong storms in some parts of Europe, and forest fires in Corsica, Greece and Italy. Spain too is badly affected - approximately 1,500 people were evacuated from the Mediterranean coastal resort town of Mojacar.

Mikel Astarloza has had a problem - probably a mechanical - and is chasing back on wtih some team-mates. They are sitting behind a team car...not far from there to the peloton, should make it back okay.

The gap now is 9'14. The sixteen leaders are rolling through well; behind, O'Grady is trying to limit their progress.

O'Grady's tearing along, lining out this bunch. They want to keep the pressure on the Astana team. Andy Schleck will undoubtedly attack today, hoping to finally crack Alberto Contador, but he's a long way back. Still, he'll want the stage win and to copperfasten his second place overall. He'll also try to help his brother Frank move to third.

Matthew Lloyd (Silence Lotto) sits at the back of the bunch. The Australian has had a fairly quiet race...he was injured earlier this year, crashing heavily with Frank Schleck in the Amstel Gold Race. He broke three vertebrae but has got over that...he'll hope to have a good end of season.

He's here in the race to work for Cadel Evans, but the older Aussie hasn't had a good race. He's going to aim for the Vuelta instead. There are rumours that he has been approached by Radio Shack to ride with the new US team but that's unconfirmed. Would be hard to see that happening as he wouldn't be the sole leader.

Righi, Timmer and Garate were first riders over the cat 4 climb. The previous ascent, the Col d’Ey, went to Kuschynski ahead of Garate, Martin and Timmer.

Of interest were the next placings:

12 Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana
13 Serguei Ivanov (Rus) Team Katusha 0:00:04
14 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Garmin - Slipstream
15 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank

The gap in the 39-man bunch saw Armstrong gain four seconds on his other GC rivals. Will that prove decisive? If so, Wiggins and the other riders will regret that split.

Juan Manuel Garate and Joost Postuma lead the break on the next climb, the category 4 Col de Fontaube. The Rabobank team hasn't had much to show from this year's race and we've little doubt that they were told to get up the road pronto today.

The team hauled back the big break yesterday, but Oscar Freire couldn't deliver in the final. He was only fifth in the gallop:

1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team Columbia - HTC 3:50:35
2 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team
3 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Milram
4 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Silence - Lotto
5 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank
6 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Quick Step
7 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Skil-Shimano
8 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale
9 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Française des Jeux
10 Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Garmin - Slipstream

Filippo Pozzato sits at the back of the bunch, wearing a greatly modified Italian champion's jersey when compared to the one he had on two weeks ago. The Italian federation wasn't happy with Katusha's redesign of it, insisting that it was changed. Personally, it'd be nice if the bands of colour were thicker.. Maybe it's a work in progress.

The riders are passing through the feed zone, grabbing bags of goodies...it's like Halloween, only no scary masks (just grimaces - the pace is on).

It's really warm today, the peloton passing some sun-scorched sections of grass. Stuart O'Grady and Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank) are leading the chase.

Okay, the Hindenburg IV has been buffeted around quite a bit, but we've got the engines working and will be closer to the action now...really wild up here..

The break pushes onwards, holding a considerable lead. It's up to 10'03 now, and everyone's riding through well.

On the Ventoux, we understand that winds of 110km/h have been recorded earlier today... It's going to be very tough for the riders - the sheltered section is early on during the climb, while the last few kilometres are exposed. Tactics are going to be crucial into what is expected to be a strong headwind.

Here's a list of today's climbs:

Km 14.0, Côte de Citelle: 5.2 km at 3.9 % - Category 3
Km 65.5, Col d'Ey: 6.7 km at 4.8 % - Category 3
Km 87.0, Col de Fontaube: 4.7 km at 4.2 % - Category 4
Km 121.5, Col des Abeilles: 7.7 km at 4 % - Category 3
Km 167.0, Mont Ventoux: 21.1 km at 7.6 % - Hors categorie
 

The gap is soaring at the moment - it's up to 9'04 coming to the top of the Col d'Ey.

Here's the points totals for the green jeresy contest. We don't expect many changes to that today!

1 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team 260 pts
2 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team Columbia - HTC 235
3 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Milram 148
4 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 126
5 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale 122
 

Roche isn't a pure sprinter, but more an all-rounder. He thinks that he might be able to aim for the green jersey in the future: www.cyclingnews.com/news/roche-harbors-ambitions-for-green

The young rider classification looks set - barring any unexpected developments - to go to Andy Schleck. He won the white jersey in the 2008 Tour and also in the 2007 Giro, where he was second overall. That was his first ever Grand Tour...no wonder many see him as a future winner of this race.

Here are the standings in that competition:

1 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 77:10:29
2 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas 0:03:04
3 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas 0:09:57
4 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale 0:27:34
5 Pierre Rolland (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom 0:27:43
6 Brice Feillu (Fra) Agritubel 0:28:14

Nicolas Roche moved up to fourth yesterday - he's having a great debut Tour. He was in the big break yesterday but while he used up a lot of energy there, somehow hung onto the rapidly-thinning peloton on the final climb, then finished eighth in the sprint.
 

In case you are worried that we can't count here, high up in the Hindenburg IV blimp, we realise we left out a name in our list of Ventoux riders 2000/2009. The missing rider is George Hincapie (Columbia HTC).

Spare a thought for the veteran American - he's got a suspected broken collarbone. As gruelling as the Ventoux is, you've got to consider it will be even more difficult when you can't properly pull on the bars.

Today's stage will see a chunk of mountains points being awarded, but Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas) looks set to stand on the podium tomorrow in Paris. He's got a huge lead:

1 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas 196 pts
2 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 135
3 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom 99
4 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 98
5 Christophe Kern (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 89
6 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 86

According to the Tour de France’s website, out of the 151 riders who finished the Ventoux stage in 2000, six will be riding the stage nine years later. They are Armstrong, who has placed second and third on the mountain, Christophe Moreau (Agritubel), Grischa Niermann (Rabobank), Jose Luis Arrieta (Ag2r La Mondiale) and Andreas Klier (Cervélo Test Team).

This gap grows and grows; it’s now seven and a half minutes.

Dumoulin took the sprint at Pilles, crossing the line ahead of Timmer and Riblon. Next up is the Col d’Ey, with the summit 65.5km after the start.

Lance Armstrong is in third place but there's three other riders within 38 seconds of him; he's been fragile at times in the mountains this year, so will have to fend off those attacks.

Armstrong would of course dearly love to win on the Ventoux; he's gone close here, but not take the victory.

This morning, there was a very interesting scrap shaping up for the final podium positions. Unless he crashes, has a dramatic form collapse or gets isolated by the winds, Alberto Contador looks set to win. But second and third is very much up for grabs, and those placings will be settled today. Here's the overnight GC:

1 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 77:06:18
2 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:04:11
3 Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana 0:05:21
4 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Garmin - Slipstream 0:05:36
5 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana 0:05:38
6 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:05:59
7 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas 0:07:15
8 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin - Slipstream 0:10:08
9 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Française des Jeux 0:12:37
10 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:12:38

As you can see, there are five riders within three minutes of Andy Schleck's second place...

These riders are in for a tough day in the saddle...they'll be dealing with strong winds while they try to build their advantage and then, with plenty of effort in their legs, will have to get up the climb at the end. If all goes to plan they'll have a big enough lead to hold off the climbers behind, but there's no guarantee of that.

The peloton is now 5'05" back... This group is pulling steadily clear.

The chasers joined up with those up front, so there are sixteen leaders. They are: Hayden Roulston (Cervélo Test Team), Juan Manuel Garate and Joost Postuma (Rabobank), Tony Martin (Team High Road), Christophe Riblon (Ag2r la Mondiale), Aleksandr Kuschynski (Liquigas), Anthony Geslin (Française des Jeux), Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis), Daniele Righi (Lampre), William Bonnet (BBox Bouygues Telecom), Maxime Bouet (Agritubel), Cyril Lemoine and Albert Timmer (Skil-Shimano), Mickael Delage (Silence Lotto), Ruben Perez Moreno (Euskaltel Euskadi) and Jose Ivan Gutierrez (Caisse d’Epargne).

You can read another seven tips/predictions, as well as each person's tips for top three on the stage and top three overall here: www.cyclingnews.com/features/tour-journalists-offer-ventoux-and-gc-predictions

Juliet Macur (New York Times - USA) said: "I don't want to be boring but I think Alberto will win both the stage and the yellow jersey. I'd like Bradley to win tomorrow so that it’s more exciting with Lance, but I think he'll get the final podium place."

Peter Cossins (Freelancer and former editor of Procycling magazine - UK) went for a rider who had a great Giro but was a non-GC contender here:

"I'm going to be different and spice it up a bit and go for Denis Menchov for tomorrow’s stage. He's won twice on the Ventoux in the Dauphiné. Wiggins won't get ahead of Armstrong but he'll be close to him. Both of them will be dropped by the leaders and Menchov, obviously."

Cyclingnews got some very interesting predictions from some people on the Tour about today's stage. Bonnie D. Ford (ESPN - USA) said that she thought that things might not be as dramatic as some suggest.

"My instinct says that it could be quite anti-climactic. I don't think anyone will try and go for a kamikaze move. People will be protecting their place within the peloton. I know Armstrong would very much like to win the stage and he'll go if he's got the legs but not if it's going to jeopardise his podium place.

Albert Timmer was first to the top, followed by Kuschynski, Garate and Martin.

The gap is now 48" to the chasers, and 1'52" to the peloton. Stand by for the order over the top of that climb...

Three others set off in pursuit, namely Mickael Delage (Silence Lotto), Ruben Perez Moreno (Euskaltel Euskadi) and Jose Ivan Gutierrez (Caisse d’Epargne). After ten kilometre of racing, the thirteen leaders were 45” ahead of the three chasers, and 2’10” over the peloton.

At that point the riders were on the first climb of the day, the category three Côte de Citelle. The summit comes 14km after the start of the stage.
 

13 riders went clear after just three kilometres of racing. The names? Hayden Roulston (Cervélo Test Team), Juan Manuel Garate and Joost Postuma (Rabobank), Tony Martin (Team High Road), Christophe Riblon (Ag2r la Mondiale), Aleksandr Kuschynski (Liquigas), Anthony Geslin (Française des Jeux), Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis), Daniele Righi (Lampre), William Bonnet (BBox Bouygues Telecom), Maxime Bouet (Agritubel), Cyril Lemoine and Albert Timmer (Skil-Shimano).

There were 156 riders at today’s start; two finished behind the time limit yesterday, the ever-active Amets Txurruka (Euskaltel-Euskadi), who had been one of the most aggressive riders earlier on in this Tour, and his team-mate Alan Perez Lezaun.

The Ventoux has played a huge part in Tour history and legend, and is probably the most feared climb in the race. You can read more about it here: www.cyclingnews.com/features/mighty-ventoux-set-for-tours-final-battle

Today's stage also has two bonus sprints, at Les Piles (km 48) and at Mormoiron (km 138.5), in the shadow of the final climb. Mark Cavendish had a great win yesterday but said afterwards that he had given up thoughts of taking the green jersey this year; he is 25 points behind Hushovd in the standings. It will be interesting to see if either of them go for the points today.

1, Thor Hushovd (Cervelo Test Team) 260 pts
2, Mark Cavendish (Team Columbia - HTC) 235
3, Gerald Ciolek (Team Milram) 148

Some Twitter comments are pretty interesting. "On our way second last TDF stage," wrote Cadel Evans. "It's a BIT windy. This will be interesting! Me? My legs will probably be 'bien cuit' after yesterday."

Commentator Phil Ligget added to this: "Oh Boy - the wind on top of Ventoux is gale force and the big trucks have had to go back down. 500,000 expected to stand on the slopes."

Today's stage is going to be a cracker - it's a relatively short (but very tough) 167 kilometre race from Montelimar to Mont Ventoux, the Giant of Provence. There's a total of five climbs - three category three ascent, one cat 4 hill plus the big one, the gruelling ascent to the top of the Ventoux. Factor in those winds and there are going to be some very tired riders this evening.

Garmin Slipstream CEO Jonathan Vaughters told Cyclingnews that he thinks the climatic conditions are going to play a big part. "The wind today is going to be a huge factor," he said. "It's going to make it very hard for the riders, and especially for those with aspirations of trying to attack."

Good morning and welcome to coverage of the penultimate stage of the Tour de France. It's the big showdown, the final frenzy in this three week event; while the race will conclude tomorrow in Paris, today is the day when the GC will be settled. With high winds forecast and the hugely punishing ascent of Mont Ventoux on the menu, we are sure it's going to be a fingernail-chewing few hours ahead. So, drag up a comfortable chair and stay with us while we relay all the action!

But if today was exciting, just wait until tomorrow! The much-dreaded Mont Ventoux is the scene of Saturday's battle, and Lance Armstong has said it will be a war.

Let's hope for some fantastic racing tomorrow, so join us then as we all climb up above the tree line!

Thanks for reading along today.

Well, wasn't that a more exciting stage than expected? And what a finish! Not at all the escape group coming through that we all predicted, but an honest-to-god sprint.

Popovych and Pellizotti lead a group over the finish line, 9:30 down.

Here's our Top Five on GC, after today's stage:

1 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 77:06:18
2 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:04:11
3 Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana 0:05:25
4 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Garmin - Slipstream 0:05:36
5 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana 0:05:38

No changes in the overall, but did Amstrong pick up a few seconds on Wiggins?

A very fast stage today, with an average speed of over 46 km/h.

Didn't we say today was a stage for an escape group to come through? And that the sprinters wouldn't have a chance today? Hmm.....

Cavendish won by not quite a full bike length. Hushovd was second, and Ciolek third.

Martin lreads and leads and leads. Cavendish goes with Ciolek and hushovd tight behind him. But there is no stopping the Manxman!

The last curve. Martin still leads.

Ballan is caught. Martin leads Cavendish, with Hushovd right behind.

The rain is getting heavier. Balland ties to go solo, as the field catches Lefevre.

A straightaway now, and the field gives gas as it sees the two so close ahead....

The road is slick, and we have a number of traffic circles and turns stil to come.

4 km to go, and one Milram rider leading four Columbias.

Ballan has his teeth clenched as he gives his all.

Officially 11 seconds for the two leaders, but it looks like less.

Milram has moved into the lead of the chase group. Linus Gerdemann takes the lead work.

Four Columbia riders at the head of things, followed directly by Hushovd. Their group has some 40 or so riders in it. The rain is getting heavier.

he two leaders continue to look back nervously.Three Columbia riders fly down the mountain at the head of the field. Sanchez has given up his chase and is waiting for the field

Cavendish leads the peloton on the descent.

Here's an unpleasant surprise: it has started to lightly rain.

Luis-Leon Sanchez jupms out of the peloton on the descent.

Ballan crosses the line first, and now he and Lefevre start the descent. Martinez was third over.

Big crowds as Ballan and Lefevre approach the top of the climb.

Menchov is at the head of the peloton, keeping the pace high. Rabo wants the win for Freire, and hopes to keep things fast enough to drop those pesky rivals like Ciolek, Hushovd and Cavendish.

Ballan and Lefevre share the lead work, as the gap climbs to 19 seconds.

Behind Hushovd is Milram's Peter Velits. And behind Velits is, of course, Ciolek.

Four Columbia riders including Cavendish are now riding ahead of Hushovd.

17 seconds for the two leaders.

The duo builds their lead up slowly to 13 seconds.

The Frenchman hangs on to the Italian's rear wheel.

The World Champion gets away and quickly catches Lefevre.

Cavendish is still right up there. He just dumped a bottle of water over his head.

Ballan attacks!

One side of the road is full of parked cars, and there are lots of fans on this mountain.

Lefevre continues to battle valiantly and holds on to his narrow lead.

Teammates Sastre and Hushovd ride side by side.

Even Mark Cavendish is near the front of the peloton on this climb! He is being accompanied by Tony Martin, who keeps looking back to make sure the Manxman is still there.

He is 10 seconds ahead of the peloton, where Contador is sitting in fifth position.

It is Lefevre.

Cervelo and Rabobank lead the way up the mountain. A Bbox rider jumps out.

Pellizotti is pretty far back. But he doesn't have to worry about mountain points today.

Popovych is the next to fall off the back of the peloton. But he is certainly not alone.

The peloton is now totally fallng apart. But don't worry, all the top favourites are all near the front.

The peloton is moving very fast today, also ias it starts up the climb. That means we see more and more riders falling off the back.

This stage will end with a bang, as the Col de l'Escrinet appears at km 162. This category two climb is 14 km , with a gradient up to 4.1%..

Duque has now passed through the whole peloton and fallen off the back.

The road is still flat, but the landscape is not. The mountains are beckoning in the background.

Liquigas, riding for Ballan, pulls the peloton along and catches Kern.

It is starting to cloud up. We hope this doesn't mean rain.

Duque has been caught and his terammate Christophe Kern promptly attacks.

Duque is now alone in front, hanging on to a 19 second lead, as all the others are now back in the Rabo-led peloton.

Best young rider, of course, is Andy Schleck, who is second in GC. Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) trails him by three minutes and Roman Kreuziger of the same team is nearly 10 minutes down..
 

Everybody just passed the last intermediate sprint of the day, and they are now preparing to start up the final climb of the day. We expect lots of attacks shortly!

Lots of nervous look-over-the shoulder by the front five.

Only 17 seconds now, and the leaders will be swallowed up.....

The field turns away from the river banks and moves into the next village. Less than a minute between the groups now.

Lance Armstrong had mixed emotions after yesterday's time trial: disappointed that he only finished 16th, but happy that he moved back on to the podium. You can read more comments here:  www.cyclingnews.com/news/armstrong-in-podium-place-after-tour-tt

The field has now caught the large chase group. Evans immediately falls back to the rear of the peloton, and does not look happy.

Franco Pellizotti of Liquigas has apparently decided that the polka-dot jersey goes will with his long blond curls. He has held the King of the Mountains jersey since Stage 13, with 196 points. Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel), who wore the polka-dots before the Italian, has 118 points, while third-placed Pierrick Fedrigo of Bbox has 99 points.

They are now flying by the Rhone River, a beautiful broad, calm, blue river.

The lead group of five has pulled away from its former companions, who are now 1:22 back. But breathing down their necks is the peloton, only 8 seconds away. Milram and Rabobank continue to lead the chase.

The five in front now have a 47 second lead over the chasers, but the group isn't giving up. There are constant attacks out of the group. The peloton is now only 1:41 back.
 

Big Thor Hushovd of Cervelo TestTeam disagrees with Kermit the Frog that “It's not easy being green”, and is proud to wear the Points jersey. He leads Cavendish by 30 points, with Caisse d'Epargne's Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil in distant third with 126 points.

The five leaders are working well together, and the trailing 14 are trying their hardest to catch them again.

Nope, not Evans after all. Let's try again, especially as they have been joined by a fifth rider: Popovych, Millar, Arrieta, Gutierrez and Duque.

The four riders in the lead are Duque, Arrieta, Millar and none other than Cadel Evans.

They have 11 seconds.

As the gap falls to under two minuts, the lead group falls apart. We have Duque, Millar, Arrieta and one other a bit ahead of the others.
 

Having said that, of course, the lead continues to drop and is just barely over two minutes now.

Trossov has dropped out of the lead group, so it is down to 19.

The group's lead got up to nearly three minutes at one point, but seems to othewrise hold steady between 2:20 and 2:45. This group is far too high-powered for the field to let it get away, and there are some hungry sprinters/Classics riders who think that this is “their” stage.

A couple of horseback riders on a plowed field accompany the peloton for a while. The ground acutally looks very dry.

Milram has moved up to help with the chase work. This would also be a likely stage for Gerald Ciolek.

The leading group rides by a large field full of sunflowers, one of the traditional “pretty pictures” from the Tour.

The yellow jersey has been firmly sitting on Alberto Contador's shoulders since stage 15, but the rest of the top rankings continue to bobble around. Going into today's stage, here's the top six:

1 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 73:15:39
2 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:04:11
3 Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana 0:05:25
4 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Garmin 0:05:36
5 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana 0:05:38
6 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:05:59

Andy and Fränk Schleck were both happy with their results yesterday, and pledged to keep on fighting. They want to hold on to Andy's second place overall and would dearly love to pull older brother Fränk up on the podium, too. More on the story here: www.cyclingnews.com/news/schleck-happy-with-tours-time-trial

Rabobank is doing a team time trial at the head of the peloton. They are riding for Oscar Freire, who would seem also to us to be a good candidate for the win today.

It's a lovely sunny day today, no rain and drizzle like in yesterday's time trial. And they are in a fairly flat section right now.

Thor Hushovd has a 30 point lead in the competition for the points jersey, but he can't yet be sure of winning it in the end. Will he go for more intermediate sprint points today, to ensure that Columbia's Mark Cavendish doesn't snatch it away in the end? Read more about it here: www.cyclingnews.com/news/hushovds-quest-for-points-not-over

Two countries have four stage wins. Great Britain has four, all from Cavendish, while Spain has four wins from three riders. France has three wins from three different riders. Switzerland, Norway, Denmark, Russia and Luxembourg have won each.

Who is missing from this list? Most notably Belgium.....

Rabobank, having missed out on the break, has moved to the head of the peloton. The gap is now 2:45.

Let's make that three wins for Astana, because of course they won the team time trial.

So who has won so far in this Tour? Let's look at the teams first. Columbia leads the way, with four wins, all from sprinter Mark Cavendish. Saxo Bank is tight on their heels, with three wins, from three different rider. Astana has two wins, both from Contador. Cervelo and Bbox also have two wins per team. And four teams have one stage win: Agritubel, Caisse d'Epargne, Katusha and Euskaltel.

Which leaves 11 teams still looking for a victory here....
 

Is Cadel Evans going to leave Silence-Lotto a year early and go to another team next season, as the rumours say? "Rumours are just that - rumours. Actions speak louder than words. Let's see. There's another week and another month and there are plenty more races this year," said Evans after yesterday's stage. You can read more about it here: www.cyclingnews.com/news/evans-maintains-perspective-in-face-of-rumours

Which teams missed the break? Cervelo, Saxo Bank, Rabobank, FdJ, Bbox, and Milram.

The lead group now has 2:20 on the peloton. The advantage at the moment has to go to AG2R and Caisse d'Epargne, with both teams having three riders in the break. Quick Step and Katusha have two each. In all, we have 14 of the 20 teams represented.

Defending champion Carlos Sastre has had to bury his dreams of winning or even standing on the podium this year. He finished 70th yesterday, and is now 14th overall. "The time trial was very hard because we had to stay very concentrated and couldn't move out of the position," the Cervelo TestTeam rider said.

Like so many others, he is looking to tomorrow's stage. "Now we have Mont Ventoux, which is perhaps my last chance to do something in this Tour.”

We have 168 riders at the start today. Only six teams are still complete with all nine riders: Silence-Lotto, Garmin-Slipstream, Columbia-HTC, Liquigas, Cofidis and Bbox. Seven teams have lost one rider, six teams are two down, and the worst hit is Agritubel, which has lost three riders.

The 20 riders in front now have a 1:50 lead.

The group's lead has picked up again, and is back up to 1:30.

Here we go: Lequatre went over the mountain first, followed by Roche and Duque.

The group goes over the top with a mere 40 second lead over the peloton. Sorry, we don't yet know who picked up the mountain points.

We are rapidly approaching the second climb, the Côte de la forêt de Chambaran at km 40.5. It is a 3.1 km climb with a gradient up to 6.4%, an is also a category four climb.

Our start town of Bourgoin-Jaillieu is famous for its rugby team, the CS Bourgoin-Jaillieu. Players Julien Bonnaire, Marc Cecillon, and Stephane Glas all come from here. And for another sports note, it is the hometown of Brahim Asloum, world boxing champion and Olympic gold medal winner.

Meanwhile we have had the first intermediate sprint. Dugue took the 6 points, followed by Roche (4 points) and Chavanel (2 points).

Behind them, Milram, Bbox and Rabobank are heading the peloton.

update situation

How about an updated list of those in the escape group? We are now told we have these 20 riders:

Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto), Yaroslav Popovych (Astana), David Millar (Garmin), Kim Kirchen (Columbia), Jose Luis Arrieta, Nicolas Roche and Christophe Riblon (AG2R), David Arroyo, Luis-Leon Sanchez and Jose Ivan Gutierrez (Caisse d'Epargne), Leonard Duque (Cofidis), Simon Spilak (Lampre), Carlos Barredo and Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step), Geoffrey Lequatre (Agritubel), Daniele Bennati (Liquigas), Stijn Vandenbergh and Nicolai Trussov (Katusha), Jonathan Hivert (Skil-Shimano) and Ruben Moreno (Euskaltel).

And their lead is now 1:30.

Bonnet has caught up with the group and they have now pulled away, with a gap of more than a minute.

Six more riders have moved up to the lead group: Nicolas Roche, Daniele Bennati, Jose Gutierrez, Sylvain Chavanel, Stijn Vandenbergh and Jonathan Hivert. William Bonnet is giving chase.
 

What do you think? A large escape group, a small group or even a solo winner? Or will the most unlikely happen and the sprinters will thunder in for the win? You can discuss it at www.forum.cyclingnews.com

Garmin's Jonathan Vaughters warns that anybody too tired out from yesterday might fall apart here. “It’s also a day where a weary or sick GC rider can collapse.”

Now they tell us 11 riders, and some pretty big names at that: Cadel Evans, Yaroslav Popovych, David Millar, Kim Kirchen, Jose Luis Arrieta, David Arroyo, Luis-Leon Sanchez, Leonard Duque, Simon Spilak, Carlos Barredo, and Geoffrey Lequatre.

But they have only a 20 second lead.
 

Now we hear it is actually 17 riders, including Cadel Evans!

The group has now grown to 12, and has a slight lead of 10 seconds. Sorry, we don't know any names yet.

The first climb came today right from the start. At only km 6.5, they will top out on the Cote de Culin. This category four climb is only 2.6 km, and has a maximum gradient of 5.6%. Hupond took the points, followed by Loosli and Martinez.

Now we have a split in the peloton, with a group of 10 slightly ahead of the rest of the gang.

That's it, the first attack is over and Hupond is back in the peloton. Who will be the next to go?
 

Frederik Willems (Liquigas) and Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis) gave chase, but the peloton caught them. Hupond is still alone up front.

It didn't take long for the action to start today. Thierry Hupond of Skil-Shimano has taken off on the first attack. The little Dutch team has been very active in the Tour so far.

And they're off! The 19th stage has now officially started.

We expect to see a break today, and we wouldn't be surprised to see a group or an individual come through to the end.

The major difficult with today's stage is tomorrow's stage. Mont Ventoux will make or break the podium, and lots of riders are already concentrated on that, either on how to make a break and try to win, or simply how to survive. But they need to remember to ride today, too!

Thanks for having tuned in again today. Tomorrow's stage to Aubenas will be exciting once again with a Cat 2. climb just 16 kilometres before the finish - a perfect spring board for a late attack. We'll be there again for you! Have a nice end of the day, wherever you are!

Wiggins is fourth at 5.36, Klöden fifth at 5.38. On the Ventoux, the battle for the podium will be on - but can anyone dethrone Contador at this point? Very unlikely.

On the overall, Contador seems to have no more rivals after today. Andy Schleck is second, at 4.11. Armstrong third, 5.25 back...

What a victory for the young Spaniard. He really showed his superiority on all levels today.

Contador gets it, by three seconds!!!

The stage victory is tight between Cotnador and Cancellara!

Now his younger brother gets in. 50.15 minutes - Andy loses just 15 seconds to Armstrong. What a performance!

Fränk Schleck gets into the finish in 33th position, 51.04 minutes.

He lost 1.04 minutes on Armstrong.

Contador speeds down the descent, very fast. If he wins this TT, he will really have proven that he's not only the best climber, but also the best time triallist - incredible. All of this under a huge amount of pressure from the media and his team....

Wiggins moves ahead of Klöden by 2 seconds on GC.

Armstrong powers away to the finish. His pedalstroke is not very smooth anymore. He is giving it everything, but he only gets 15th, his exact time being 50.00 minutes.

Andy Schleck has lost 47 seconds on the top of the climb - not that much at all!

Klöden comes in: 49.24 - eighth at the moment.

Here comes Contador over the top. 36.50 - new best time after 28.5 kilometres! The Spaniard is blowing this race to pieces!

Wiggins is fifth in Annecy: 49.13 is his time. He lost the TT on the descent and the final part - maybe he went too fast in the beginning?

Fränk Schleck has lost some time until now. He gets to the top of the climb in 22nd position, 38.37.

Contador posted second best time after 25 kilometres, three seconds behind Ignatiev.

Here comes Armstrong, sprinting up the final 100 metres throught the crowds: 12th at 38.02. He's suffering.

Armstrong is 27 seconds back after 18 clicks. He may not win this one today...

Klöden comes over the climb's summit: fifth at 37.36. He can't get anywhere near his rival Wiggins.

Wiggo comes to the top of the climb.... 37.20 - fastest time at that point!

Fränk Schleck passed the 18km-split 44 seconds behind, in 11th position. Losing some time already.

Contador posts a new best at the first split - he is 18 seconds faster than Wiggins!

The Garmin rider is starting the Bluffy climb. This hurts a lot. It's not very steep here though - not yet.

Sastre finishes - 52.17, a current 59th placing. More disappointment - but maybe the Spaniard keeps himself for the Ventoux?

Wiggins is 9 seconds down on Klöden on GC, but he is ahead of him now on the road. What a ride!

20.29 minutes for Armstrong at the first check. Nine seconds slower than Wiggins!

Armstrong looks like he really wants this stage - can he do it?

Armstrong has already made up 5 seconds on Fränk Schleck on the classement général virtuel.

Wiggins posts a new best time after 18 kilometres, 20.20, one second faster than Ignatiev!

Contador uses a bigger gear than Armstrong. He's shown great time trial abilities before, a discipline the Spanish climber has seriously improved in recent years.

Armstrong's high cadence, however, has always served him well, too!

The overall leader is off, all in yellow! Flat out straight away.

Armstrong looks like he's seated a bit lower than in previous Tours, going very fast.

Contador takes a last sip from his bottle before getting his countdown.

Wiggins is powering along, and looks very efficient. He should score a great result today.

Fränk Schleck is off, followed by his brother. No mistakes allowed for them, if they want to remain within grasp of the final podium in Paris!

Armstrong's back locks like a cat's, with his shoulders considerably lower than the upper part of his back. He has such a unique racing style.

Oh - there are a few drops coming down again!

Armstrong is on the ramp, while the Schleck brothers await their turn together. Andy holds himself up on a barrier, and Fränk holds his brother's other arms for balance. Both look extremely concentrated.

Armstrong is off, and the crowds yell...

Andreas Klöden (Astana) has started. The German is also a great time triallist - he will be setting the reference times for his teammates Armstrong and Contador. And try to get some time back that he lost yesterday when Contador attacked...

Armstrong's TT bike is being examined by the UCI commissaires, as Bradley Wiggins takes the start - he is THE climbing revelation of this year's Tour.  Will he jump from sixth to a possible podium placing again today?

TT specialist, GC and white jersey contender Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) is off. The Italian should be motivated for a great performance - if he can't beat Andy Schleck on the overall, he can at least demonstrate his superiority in the race against the clock.

We're entering the hot phase of the race now. How much time will the Schleck brothers have to concede to their Astana rivals? What will the order of the pack look like before the great finale on the Mont Ventoux? We will soon find out.

Now it's Christian Vande Velde's turn. He looks focused.

Linus Gerdemann finishes with a time of 50.41.

Christophe Le Mevel (FDJ) has rolled off the ramp. He will be trying to defend his top ten placing on GC, he is currently ninth.

George Hincapie (Columbia) is using a Camelbak, with the drinking tube sticking out of his jersey.

The road is starting to dry up, but it's still a bit slippery on some stretches of the course, especially the descent from the Bluffy climb. No more rain though - cross your fingers!

Moreau finishes, tongue out as usual. Sixth, 49.15 minutes is his time. He's still up there with the best...

Sanchez finishes strongly, fifth behind Cancellara at 41 seconds. A very solid ride for the 24-year-old.

49.44 is the time Evans posts on the finish line. We're not sure if it still rains on parts of the course - might have been just a short shower.

Actually, it seems like it only rains down on Annecy - the south part of the loop around the like is still dry.

People are taking their umbrellas out - it started raining seriously now! This will change the whole outcome of this TT...

Evans sprints to the top of the hill... and becomes fifth: 37.52 mintues. He's really dug deep on the climb!

Some Aussies still cheer him on on the climb. He looks better now, like he's found some rythm.

Evans cannot redeem himself today, either. His splits are okay - along the lines of Millar's - but he's done so much better in the past. It can't be easy to fail one's objectives like he has done this year.

For a while now, clouds have started to darken the sky, and a few drops can be felt in Annecy right now. Hopefully it won't be a thunderstorm!

Former French time trial champion Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) is also on his way. He will be aiming at a top result here, but can't be too happy with his Tour de France, as he failed repeating his stage win of last year.

Kirchen is on the toughest part of the climb now - pushing down hard.

Tony Martin is not too happy with his sixth placing. He would have wanted to achieve a top ten result, but "with the overall favourites still to race, chances are not so good," he said in the finish.

Luis Leon Sanchez (Caisse d'Epargne) has signalled to his DS that his earpiece is not working. The stage 8 winner is not a bad time triallist - he would want to have some information on his performance.

Columbia's Tony Martin made up some time in the descent and the final flat, finishing sixth behind Cancellara at the moment.

Larsson is third, 30 seconds behind his teammate.

Kim Kirchen (Columbia) has just passed Pellizotti - two quite different speeds here...

Larsson continues his very rescpectable ride. He got third on top of the Côte de Bluffy, 14 seconds adrift of Ignatiev, and has hzeld onto that placing in Annecy-le-Vieux.

Christophe Moreau is off, showcasing his golden glitter time trial helmet. The whole Agritubel team wears these helmets - rather funky.

Polka dot jersey Franco Pellizotti is taking it easy. No points here for him today. He is all white with red dots - down to the socks.

Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) has embarked on his journey. The Australian is not having a good time at this Tour, far from it. Maybe he can make up for his lost hopes in September at the Vuelta...

Columbia's Tony Martin is also doing well. He's fourth at the second time check.

But Saxo's Gustav Erik Larsson is pulling off a great performance: he just posted second behind Ignatiev at the second check, 17 seconds behind. Better than his teammate Cancellara at this point!

Finally, Zabriskie paid his efforts a bit in the final kilometres. But he's still fourth behind Cancellara at the moment, 59 seconds down. Millar is third. Great performance by the two Garmin riders!

Zabriskie crosses the summit of the Bluffy climb 28 seconds behind Ignatiev, where Cancellara was 11 seconds behind. If he continues like this, he'll beat his teammate Millar by a few seconds.

Voeckler is still 10 metres behind Zabriskie. He might get dropped though once they reach the flatter part towards the finish, but right now on the climb, the Frenchman is not letting go!

Zabriskie is passing Bbox's Thomas Voeckler now. The small Frenchman tries to stay behind the American - albeit not in his slipstream, that is not allowed.

Zabriskie was third at the second time check, 20 seconds down.

Millar gets third! 38 seconds off Cancellara at 49.11 minutes - a great ride for the Scottish Garmin rider.

The climb towards the end of the parcours totals 3.7 kms, by the way. It is a serious bump that will break any TT specialists' rythm. The rest pf the circuit is very flat and rolling.

Zabriskie gets out of the saddle. He is on the climb called "Bluffy" now - no bluffing possible here, It is the race of truth. There are lost of spectators enjoying the fine weather.

David Millar (Garmin) is also doing a great ride, third/fourth in the first time checks, at about 25 seconds behind Ignatiev.

His teammate Zabriskie just passed Igor Anton (Euskaltel) at an impressive speed!

Ha - we still have a new best time! Cancellara's motor need a bit more time to warm up, and he has bested Ignatiev in the finish by 12 seconds. His total time: 48.34 minutes, more than 50 km/h average.

Garmin's Dave Zabriskie is also powering out on the loop around the lake now. He will be trying for a top result as well, and it's looking good so far.

The sun is out on Annecy now, and there is very little wind, so the conditions are perfect to let pure power speak. Zabriskie has his hands folded one on top of the other on inside extensions.

Did you know that the first time trial raced in the Tour de France was a prologue in 1967? Speaking of history, the Australian organisation The Cycling History Collection has just launched a range of 15 images from the 1930 Tour from original lanterns that originally belonged to Sir Hubert Opperman, the first Australian to race the French Grand Tour in 1928.

Back to the present: Cancellara remains second after 25 kilometres, with his time unchanged - 18 seconds back on Ignatiev. The Swiss former time trial world champion has done a huge amount of work for his teammate Andy Schleck lately - maybe this can explain his performance.

Surprise! Cancellara gets "only" second at the first time check, 18 seconds behind Ignatiev. Wow. Either the Russian delivered an extremely good performance, or the Swiss pwerhouse doesn't have such a good day. Or both...

Christian Vande Velde also thought that Wiggins will be a major force in today's race against the clock. "He’s going to kill people in the time trial," he told Daniel Benson at the start. "Time he lost yesterday, he’ll gain back."

'Wiggo' shouldn't have lost his abilities in the time trial, even though he lost 6 kgs in an effort to improve his climbing skills. He is currently sixth, 4.53 minutes back on race leader Alberto Contador (Astana). The Schleck brothers, now placed second and third, are nevertheless expected to lose some time today.

Millar's teammate Ryder Hesjedal has written in on his Cyclingnews blog last night. He expects the team's GC leader, Bradley Wiggins, to pull off another great performance today and hopefully take back that time he lost in yesterday's Alpine queen stage.

"You’ll see him [Wiggins] on fire today in the time trial. He missed out on a TT win by just one second in the Giro and was bitterly disappointed. Today should be a different race. He’ll be looking to claw back as much time on some of his rivals and climb back up the leaderboard. Sparks could really fly," Hesjedal wrote, as teammate Dave Zabriskie was already fast asleep beside him in the hotel room.

The next time trial specialist is David Millar, starting in a few minutes. The Scot will have a good reference in Cancellara riding just a few kilometres in front of him.

Today's top favourite, Fabian Cancellara, has just started. Let's see how much time he'll put into Ignatiev...

Rogers finally got in fourth - but with the same time than Grabsch (50.09 minutes.)

Hincapie also commented on the outcome of stage 14, when he was in a breakaway and could have taken the yellow jersey - but finally missed out on it by five seconds.

"Disappointed I didn’t get it [yellow]. I’m not the sort of person to start wars in the press or anything so I don’t want to reflect on who did what or why. I’m just disappointed that I was so close and that it was one of my last opportunities to wear yellow," he told Cyclingnews today.

The Astana team had been controlling the break at some two minutes, which is why AG2R finally decided to pull in an effort to save Nocentini's jersey. "As I’ve said before, anyone can watch the race and come up with their own options as to what happened. I have mine and care to keep them to myself. Maybe there were some questionable decisions made by other teams in the sense that they had no benefits in keeping me that close so that’s just racing. You can’t ever predict or sway other people’s tactics."

Rogers holds his third position behind Ignatiev on top of the Côte de Bluffy. He should be taking Grabsch's place in the finish.

Daniel Benson also talked to George Hincapie, who's due to start at 3.44pm. Hincapie still suffers a lot from his crash in stage 16, but has decided to continue the race.

"It’s about survival," he said of his hopes for today. "I don’t know if can even get down in the time trial position. It’s about survival and to get better in the next few days. I rode the last 70K injured yesterday but I was able to ride, I was in pain but I could get out of the saddle. I'm hoping I can do the same in the next few days."
 

Columbia's Michael Rogers is 49 seconds behind Ignatiev at the first time check in Doussard. Clement continues his fine ride, holding his third position after 25 kilometres. The climb will hurt, though.

The scenery around lake Annecy is stunning, with mountain tops peaking all around the 14km-long lake.

In the team bus area, Cyclingnews' managing editor Daniel Benson talked to Columbia's Kim Kirchen, who will be out on the course at 3.12pm. Kirchen said that he was still recovering from yesterday's efforts. "I had a bad day yesterday. Today’s course holds no surprises but I won't be going at full gas as it’s important to be fresh for the next few days. I had a bad day yesterday but Tony Martin will do a good ride today. It’s a day for the specialists."
 

Ignatiev has averaged 49,83 km/h on this course. The best riders will probably ride faster than 50 km/h later on.

Rabobank's Stef Clement has taken Terpstra's third place at the first time split.

At the moment, no-one is coming near the top three's time splits in this race. We have Ignatiev leading in front of Grabsch and Terpstra. Cancellara is only starting to warm up on the rollers, he will be on the course in about 50 minutes.

It seems like Pate's tremendous result at the fourth time check was actually a software error! Sorry about that.

The TT world champ gets second in the finish. His time is 50.09 behind Ignatiev's 48.46.

Wow! Danny Pate from Garmin has made up a lot of time coming off the climb. He's posted a brilliant 44.50 minutes at the fourth time check, beating even Ignatiev there. And his first splits weren't even listed in the top five...

Ignatiev's finish time is 48.46. He should be able to hold this against his German rival.

Grabsch may be strong, but it's not his day today. He remains second at the third split, 1.22 minutes behind Ignatiev. All this pulling for Mark Cavendish must have taken its toll, understandably.

At the moment, Sébastien Augé (Cofidis) and William Bonnet (Bbox) also have to wait in the finish as they are second and third respectively behind Terpstra.

Ignatiev is getting a bit of pressure from behind: Bert Grabsch (Columbia), the current time trial world champion, is placing second behind him in the first half of the course. Ignatiev only leads by some 20 seconds...

While we watch the riders set off on the course one by one, we can't help but wonder what Lance Armstrong is going to annouce this evening. The seven-time Tour winner has set up a date with the press at 6pm local time to reveal his plans for next year...

To French newspaper L'Equipe, Armstrong said yetserday that he would be "better in 2010" - then definitely going for an eighth victory? Likely against Alberto Contador, who might not be part of the American's team next year.

Mikhail Ignatiev of Katusha is on his way to take Terpstra's hot seat. He pointed at 20.21 minutes at the first split, taking over the lead there. Ignatiev is a powerful rider - he has been in many breakaways since the start of this Tour, always trying to go solo in the final kilometres.

Terpstra has finished, keeping his lead. His time is 50.45 minutes. Good job!

Eisel gets over the Côte de Bluffy in third position behind Terpstra. It is a short hill, not too steep, and shouldn't be too much of a problem on this otherwise very rolling circuit.

Terpstra continues to lead at the third check with a time of 38.58.

"Spartacus" Fabian Cancellara is the 77th rider to get underway around the lake today. He will be pushing down the start ramp at 1.42pm local time. He is sure to crush these first times to pieces...

Bernhard Eisel from Columbia is getting into the groove. His first split wasn't too good, but now he is third at the second time check.

William Bonnet from Bbox is also doing well. He is only 10 seconds back on Terpstra after 18 kilometres.

Niki Terpstra from Milram is currently the fastest rider on the course. He is in front of Steven de Jongh (Quick Step) at the two first time checks.

But the four stages yet to be completed still promise a lot of action for the peloton. Starting with today's: On top of the overall battle between the likes of Alberto Contador (Astana), the Schleck brothers And anf Fränk (Saxo Bank), Contador's teammates Andreas Klöden and Lance Armstrong, as well as the dark horses on Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) and Bradley 'the wig'  Wiggins (Garmin), be sure to see other great time triallists at their best in the hopes of a stage win today.

For example... Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank). The winner of the Tour's stage 1 in Monaco will definitely put the hammer down again this afternoon. Will anybody really be able to match him? Read our rating of today's favourites.

158 riders are still in the race, hoping to make it to Paris this Sunday. The three weeks of racing have been intense as always, so many of them only have one goal left: survive until the Champs Elysees.

We have four intermediiate time checks before the riders return into the city: the first one is in Doussard (km 18), the second in Talloires (km 25), the third on top of the Côte de Bluffy - the only climb on this parcours  - (km 28.5), and a fourth in Annecy-le-Vieux (km 37).

We will keep you updated on the riders' progress on their way around the famous lake of Annecy.

The weather in Annecy is a bit cloudy, but still nice with temepratures in their mid 20's. The first rider that has left the start ramp in downtown Annecy was Yaheni Hutarovich from Française des Jeux. Tyler Farrar from Garmin-Slipstream is now up there.
 

We'll leave it there for now - complete results will be in shortly, then a longer report later on. Tomorrow's the time trial, and another very decisive day... Should be pretty interesting, to say the least!

Thanks for reading... Come back tomorrow for more live coverage from this great race.

Stage 17 results and report here: www.cyclingnews.com/races/96th-tour-de-france-gt/stages/stage-19/results

Vive le Tour!

General classification:

1 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 72:27:09
2 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:02:26
3 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:03:25
4 Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana 0:03:55
5 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana 0:04:44
6 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Garmin - Slipstream 0:04:53
7 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas 0:05:09
8 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin - Slipstream 0:08:08
9 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Française des Jeux 0:09:19

Here's more details about the stage result: 

1 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 4:53:54
2 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana
3 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank
4 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas 0:02:18
5 Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana
6 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana 0:02:27
7 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Garmin - Slipstream 0:03:07
8 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Agritubel 0:04:09
9 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin - Slipstream
10 Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 0:06:10
11 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Française des Jeux
12 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Team Columbia - HTC 0:06:12
13 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas
14 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
15 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Team Katusha
16 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Silence - Lotto
17 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française des Jeux
18 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
19 Stéphane Goubert (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:06:15
20 José Luis Arrieta Lujambio (Spa) AG2R La Mondiale 0:06:19

Andy Schleck is now second overall, 2'26" back, while his brother Frank is third overall. He's 3'25 down.

Armstrong (@3'55), Kloden (4'44) and Wiggins (4'53) are fourth, fifth and sixth overall prior to the time trial. All three are expected to beat the Schlecks, so there could well be another reshuffling..

Provisional results: 

1. Frank Schleck (Saxo Bank)
2. Alberto Contador (Astana)
3. Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank)
4. Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas)
5. Lance Armstrong (Astana)
6. Andreas Kloden (Astana)
7. Bradley Wiggins (Garmin-Slipstream)

Andreas Kloden was 43" ahead of Wiggins, so he moves ahead of him in GC. The new GC is coming up soon...

This was the GC yesterday....it'll be changed today, needless to say...

1, Alberto Contador Velasco (Astana) 67 hours 33 mins 15 secs
2, Lance Armstrong (Astana) at 1 min 37 secs
3, Bradley Wiggins (Garmin - Slipstream) at 1 min 46 secs
4, Andreas Klöden (Astana) at 2 mins 17 secs
5, Andy Schleck (Team Saxo Bank) at 2 mins 26 secs
6, Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) at 2 mins 51 secs
 

Wiggins finishes, 3'09" back... So he didn't lose a massive amount of time..

We are waiting for Wiggins...

They have dropped Kloden... Nibali leads it out.... Armstrong sits on, doesn't go for it. 2'17 for those two, Kloden at 2'24...

Armstrong and Nibali caught Kloden....they are racing in towards the finish..

Not sure if Contador tried to sprint...he grimaced, looked like he dug in...so I guess so.

Frank Schleck gets it! Contador second, Andy third...

Here we go....

Andy Schleck on the front, Frank second....they should let the wheel go, frankly, force Contador to close it.

The red kit approaches

One kilometre to go...under the banner.....

Kloden is still alone, 2'04" back. Armstrong and Nibali are 2'16" behind...no idea where Wiggins is, in terms of time

Four km's to go for Armstrong and Nibali

Two kilometres to go.....

Andy is doing most of the work....They need to keep gaining time, but also think of the sprint.

Three kilometres to go! Who will win? 

3km for Kloden now

Now Frank Schleck manoevres Contador into second position, but that doesn't last long...the yellow jersey wants to mark both of them.

Nibali looks annoyed, Armstrong not doing enough work. He gestures with his hands.

Now Frank Schleck manoevres Contador into second position, but that doesn't last long...the yellow jersey wants to mark both of them.

Nibali looks annoyed, Armstrong not doing enough work. He gestures with his hands.

5km to go..... Still motoring downhill, with plenty of sweeping curves to be negotiated.

Nibali will help Armstrong are not too far from Kloden now

Now there's 27" between Kloden and Nibali/Armstrong...

Contador is losing a little ground on some of the corners, but it's not much.. He's having no problems keeping in contact.

Nibali catches Armstrong... great riding...

Kloden chases alone, but he's losing time all the time. Andy Schleck and his brother are working...Contador was sitting second wheel for a while, but waved the others through.

Armstrong is 2'14" back with 10km to go. He's going to catch Kloden, who is 1'45" behind. The two of them will work together.

Contador is just sitting on, not contributing. Ideally one of the Schlecks should let the wheel go and force him to close it. Do that a few times and they will be able to attack him.

10km to go for Brothers Schleck....and Contador

Armstrong is chasing hard...Kloden is losing time to the leading trio.

They are under the 10km to go banner...

Contador is talking to the two Schlecks...no idea what was discussed. Anyone lip read?

The three leaders are on the descent now...

Armstrong goes over the top, 2'06" behind... He's still a minute behind Kloden, and not sure if he'll take that back on the descent.

2.17 back to Armstrong from Kloden

Armstrong is chasing now and will try to join up with Kloden. The German is really suffering now as he goes over the summit. He's 1'14" back here...

Armstrong has attacked Wiggins...Nibali is chasing...

Contador hasn't tried since that jump. Hard to know if he's suffering or saving energy for tomorrow's TT.

They are getting close to the top, then have a high speed descent towards the finish. The two brothers will take turns attacking him on the way down, no doubt.

Kloden is now just over a minute back, while the Wiggins group is 2'32" down. They are reeling him in...

Kloden rolls under the 15km to go banner

This climb is really steep....they are grinding their way upward, metre by metre.

Contador keeps looking back all the time... Kloden is gone, 45" back...hard to see him returning...

Kloden is now 35" back, while the Wiggins/Armstrong group is now 2'14" down...they are sliding back...

Andy Schleck grits his teeth as he drives for the summit

Looks like Contador is suffering now...his head is dropping... hard to tell..

Andy S. leads, gritting his teeth. Kloden is 24 seconds back now....

1 kilometre to the summit of the Colombiere

The two Schlecks take over, content to put time into Kloden. Now Contador goes alongside Andy S. to dissuade the chase....Andy isn't worried at all and keeps going. They are doing the right thing....Contador has no team-mates now..

16.4 km to go in stage 17

Kloden gets dropped... Andy Schleck chases with Frank on his wheel. Contador looks back, sees Kloden has cracked and he waits. He might be scared of being isolated with descent still to come...

Contador goes! He's clear....

Frank Schleck is sitting on Contador's wheel...he looks comfortable, perhaps he's waiting for the Spaniard to have a go...

Andy Schleck remains on the front.. They are 1'37" ahead of the Wiggins group, so the gap is going up.

Wiggins is doing all the riding here.

Vande Velde has blown...he's gone, finally.. Great ride, though. Wiggins leads from Armstrong and Nibali.

Chavanel has been dropped by the chase group.

Contador talks to Kloden...he moves up onto Andy Schleck's wheel... He's going to go soon, methinks...

Andy Schleck looks down at the pedals, willing himself onwards. They will have hoped to have dropped the yellow jersey, but haven't done that as yet. They've got to keep pushing on...no easing back at this point.

Andy Schleck takes over from brother Frank at the front of the leading group

The Schlecks are looking back at the Astana riders...Frank takes over as they pass the 5km to the summit sign.

Vande Velde is doing a great ride, matching the pace of the two Schleck brothers.

Twenty kilometres to go...four against four...  Five kilometres of climbing left, then 15km downhill to the finish...

Frank Schleck leads...he looks stronger than his brother today, at least in terms of grimmaces (or lack of them). Now Frank takes over. The gap is 1'20"...

Contador is out of the saddle a lot...Kloden is seated beside him.

Big crowds on the Colombiere, the roads are drying out after earlier rain

The gap between the two groups is 1'19"... The third group on the road has 3'17".

Vande Velde is doing great work for Wiggins...completely selfless... He's recovered very well from his crash in the Giro...not quite at the level of last year, but that's completely understandable...

Contador talks to Kloden, who shakes his head. The hunch is that the maillot jaune will attack on this climb...we'll see soon.

The chasers catch Nibali...so four against four again.

Nibali has thundered off on the descent... The two Garmin riders lead Armstrong down.

Up front, the four leaders are on the Col de la Columbiere... Andy S. leads, with Contador on his wheel.

Armstrong is hanging back slightly on the descent. The surfaces are not great.

Further down, the roads seem more dry.. That's good...the images of Jens Voigt's unfortunate crash are still fresh on the mind.

Frank Schleck led his brother, Contador and Kloden over the top of the climb, so the points went in that order.

Andy Schleck is pushing it on the descent. He wants to maintain the gap to those behind, so that they can continue to gain on the next climb.

The four are descending now... Kloden nearly hits Frank Schleck's wheel... He stays upright.

Sastre stops with a puncture...

One climb to come now: the Col de la Colombiere

Vande Velde got up to his team-mate Wiggins, Armstrong and Nibali. He's back on the front of that group, pushing hard. They are 1'07" back as they near the summit.

They are there now...Nibali attacks! He gets a gap before the descent.

Wiggins is a pursuit rider, and used to measuring out his effort. He seems to be calculating, not going too deep. Don't forget there is one more climb to go..

The Schlecks are now riding to gain time on the others.. Contador looks composed and, at a guess, will attack on the final climb. But the Schlecks are doing the right thing in persisting. Contador only has one team-mate left - Kloden.

Nibali fights his way back to Armstrong and Wiggins

Wiggins sits on Armstrong...he looks comfortable now... He goes to the front. Nibali is clawing his way back to them.

There is a short descent, and then the last climb of the day... We hope there are no crashes...

Armstrong sits behind the two Garmin riders...they are now 55" back, with Sastre now at 1'51".

Armstrong attacked....Wiggins goes with him....

Vande Velde is doing a good job of pacing Wiggins' group as Andy Schleck still leads up front

Sastre is with Pellizotti. Andy Schleck leads up front...Frank has gone to the back of that quartet. Is he under pressure, or will he jump?

The chase group, at 40", is Vande Velde, Wiggins, Armstrong, Nibali and Van Den Broecke.

Andy Schleck continues to lead the front group

Contador looks focussed, not under pressure. The other three are grimmacing... Kloden is looking better now than before.

The four leaders are 25" ahead now, with Sastre 1'13" back. Frank looks strong...

It's raining now...that descent will be hairy..

Vande Velde is chasing for Wiggins..

Uran has now dropped out of the Armstrong/Wiggins group

Kloden is grimacing...Frank looks strong, Andy under pressure. They need to keep going...even if they haven't distanced Contador and Kloden, they are putting time into the others. The Armstrong/Wiggins group is 25" back.

KOM Pellizotti has dropped off the Sastre, Barredo group

Wiggins and Armstrong have slipped back to a group with Nibali, Uran. Now Zabriskie and Vande Velde have joined to help Wiggins pull back the gap, it looks about 9 seconds at the moment.

Van Den Broeck has been dropped...four up front... Wiggins, Vande Velde, Armstrong, Rigoberto Uran and Nibali are about ten seconds back.

Wiggins is now leading the chase, with Armstrong on his wheel. Up front, Andy Schleck stalled to get his brother back on. He's riding again now, with Frank, Contador, Kloden, Van Den Broeck also there.

Behind, Wiggins has been joined by Vande Velde, so that will help him.

The yellow jersey group now numbers five riders: Contador, Kloden, Andy Schleck, Frank Schleck and Van Den Broek

Frank Schleck goes now. Wiggins looks to be marking Armstrong.

Armstrong is back with Wiggins, then Frank Schleck went. Wiggins couldn't respond...

Andy Schleck attacks again. Contador jumps on his wheel as does Kloden.

Most of the break has been caught. Frank Schleck leads behind, with Contador on his wheel. Andy was suffering, but had a break. Now he goes! Contador covers it, but the others have been dropped. Kloden gets up to them. Three together...

Van den Broeck is ahead, alone, but the others are coming up to him. They are just 17" back.

Sastre is being dropped and is wtih Pellizotti. Frank Schleck attacked and Armstrong went him; then Andy went, and was covered by Contador. Armstrong was dropped momentarily but got back on, as did Wiggins.

Correction - Frank and Andy Schleck are still here, along with Armstrong, Contador, Wiggins, Vande Velde and Kloden. They've caught Sastre.

Sastre goes again...he's with Voeckler now... Sastre is giving his all. He's not getting far, though..

The riders' faces are raw emotion now - Sastre huffing and puffing with his face a smiling grimace, the faces behind him are determined, strained. All of these expressions will be captured in our wonderful photo galleries. You can see some examples here.

Hmm...it looks like Andy Schleck has been dropped...let's confirm that... looked like the white jersey was back there..

Hushovd is gritting his teeth as he's passed by the very determined Carlos Sasttre. Hushovd goes backward quickly as the attacks begin to fly.

The Saxo Bank chase is not letting Sastre get any distance. They're closing in, and catching remnants of the breakaway. Sastre isn't giving up yet though!

Sastre is pedaling an angry pace, fueled by the snub of the press and the ASO which did not give the defending champion his proper due in the race programme. Saxo Bank is still at the front setting pace - no counters yet.

Attack! Carlos Sastre has gone on the base of the Romme, he's marked by an Agritubel rider.

Hushovd doesn't want to have anything to do with Barredo's pace. He sits up, the Spaniard goes on and maintains his gap over the big chase group. The bunch behind is closing in quickly  - just 1'34 now.

The French president, Nikolas Sarkozy is in the race caravan today. He'll be surely treated to the best the Tour de France has to offer on the climbs up ahead. The Romme and Colombiere will be the site of a huge battle for the GC between Astana, Saxo Bank and the Garmin-Slipstream boys.

Hushovd has been caught by a rider who took a flier from the groupu. It's Carlos Barredo of Quick Step. He comes by Hushovd and taps him on his mighty hip to tell him to get on the wheel. The size difference between these two riders is striking - and kind of funny, too.

Hushovd doesn't seem interested at all in trying to tackle the final climbs at his previous pace. He's soft pedaling, letting the group come up to him. He's only 27 seconds ahead now.

Second across the line from the first chase was Kern (Cofidis) ahead of Voeckler (Bbox). The peloton behind is still being led by the Saxo Bank boys who will look to attack the Astana leaders Contador and Armstrong on the difficult mountains ahead.

Hushovd is shaking out his mighty quads which must be screaming after the load he's put on them in the mountains today. He's passed through the final sprint bonus of the day and his Cervelo team car comes along side to tell him he can go back to the bunch now... the gap to the chasers is down to 58 seconds.

The gap is falling, falling, falling. Hushovd is maintaining a minute lead to the chasing group, but the yellow jersey bunch is closing in - now 2'42.

Incredibly, the battered and bruised Denis Menchov has made it back up to the breakaway. The Giro winner might like to know his nearest competitior in that race, Danilo Di Luca, has been declared positive for CERA by the UCI. Di Luca tested positive twice - before the Cinque Terre time trial and before the Mt. Vesuvio stage.

Contador and Armstrong are riding close together in the peloton. Apparently yesterday was the first time the two of them had spoken to each other during a stage of this year's Tour...he had downplayed the friction between himself and Armstrong earlier in the race, but the non-communication suggests that this was not the case.

The peloton now summits, 3'10" back. Irish champion Nicolas Roche (Ag2r La Mondiale) is at the back and suffering after a long day up the road yesterday, but he hangs on. He was fourth yesterday but dropped his chain right before the sprint...otherwise he would have been a good bet to have taken his second runner-up slot in his first Tour.

He'd love to get a stage win in the race but it's going to be hard now; he won't win the TT, and would need a big lead going onto the Ventoux. That leaves Friday's stage as his best chance...of course, it will depend on how his legs are that morning.

Hushovd is very near the top now. His lead is falling all the time, but he reaches the KOM line and won't lose much time on the descent.

Now Pellizotti goes over, leading Martinez and Kern. They are 1'09 back.

---------

Situation:

Thor Hushovd (Cervélo Test Team)

Sandy Casar (Française des Jeux), Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas), Dave Zabriskie (Garmin Slipstream), Jurgen Van den Broeck (Silence Lotto), Ruben Perez, Egoi Martinez, Gorka Verdugo (Euskaltel Euskadi), Rigoberto Uran (Caisse d’Epargne), Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step), Remi Pauriol and Christophe Kern (Cofidis), Geoffroy Lequatre (Agritubel), Denis Menchov (Rabobank), Maxime Monfort (Columbia HTC), Marzio Bruseghin (Lampre NGC), Pierre Rolland, Thomas Voeckler (BBox Bouygues Telecom), Jose Luis Arrieta (Ag2r La Mondiale), George Hincapie (Columbia HTC), Linus Gerdeman (Milram) at 1.09

Peloton at 3.26
 

There's 14 downhill kilometres from the summit of this climb until the intermediate sprint in Cluses. Hushovd can then relax and cruise to the finish. Although cruise is probably not the right word when you've got two category one climbs and weigh over 80 kg...

Hushovd is just over 2km from the top of the climb. His shades are lifted above his eyes, and he's in and out of the saddle to coax his big frame along. He's definitely not the rider the spectators expected to see leading the race today - he's doing a very good job.

Behind, the chase group is 1'38" back.

Contador looks good....will he put on another demonstration today? He needs to increase his buffer on riders such as Wiggins and Armstrong before the TT, even if he should be stronger than both on the Ventoux.

The peloton is on the climb and several riders, including Evans, have gone out the back.

Astana are now on the front, pulling the group along.

Menchov had to stop for a wheel change...he'll hope the remainder of the stage is less complicated, in terms of crashes and mechanical issues.

Hincapie has been having problems with his bike...he stopped and got a new machine after the mechanic was unable to fix the problem on his initial machine. It looks like the derailleur was bent...seemed scuffed too.

Hushovd is 6'04" clear and is climbing the Cote d'Araches. We don't expect him to win the stage, but he has a good chance of taking the next intermediate sprint points. The chasing group is two minutes back now.

O'Grady remains on the front of the bunch. Cancellara took over a while ago but now it's Stuey.

Menchov had a bit of help getting back up to the group...the mechanic held onto his bike and 'inspected' his brakes while the car zoomed along. After about 30 seconds of that he swung away. Shortly afterwards, he picked the wrong line around some traffic furniture and had to hop (at high speed) up onto a traffic island...looked risky. Anyway, he's back up in the group, fine expect for a dirty jersey. He's got a bit of blood on his left leg but nothing major.

The view ahead of the break as they head through the feed zone is one of pure, unadulterated Alpine beauty. Jagged, rocky peaks loom ahead...

Behind, Carlos Sastre is back at the team car getting some lube sprayed on his chain.

Poor Amets Txurruka, the unfortunate victim of that slippery bend, is back in the main peloton and will be getting some attention for road rash on his arm we think. He's going backward rapidly.

Indeed, Hushovd's lead has gone out to two minutes now. Menchov came through his crash OK and is up and chasing back onto to the group.

Hushovd has one category two climb ahead of him, the Araches, before he can put his descending skills to good use toward the second sprint bonus of the day in Cluses. That crash in the chasing group will give the Cervelo rider an advantage of few seconds.

The sun is coming out and drying up the roads... but that hasn't helped Menchov at all since he hit a paint strip in a turn in town and crashed again! Poor Denis, he's having the roughest Tour of his life. Definitely a huge contrast from the Giro... well, except of course for that crash in the final time trial.

The directors in the team cars will be aware of the wrecks ahead and will be telling their riders to be careful on that bend. Fortunately, the apex of the turn has an earthen berm which would stop any rider from plummeting down into the valley below.

Crash! That same corner where Hushovd nearly went off road claimed a few riders from the chase group. Txurruka went down,  but is getting a new bike. Looked as if Menchov hit the deck, too.

The Tour de France is certainly far from over, and there is no guarantee that Contador will keep this yellow jersey today or even on Sunday in Paris. Saxo Bank appears to be intent on doing something today, and are controlling the front of the peloton with Cancellara and O'Grady.

Up front, Hushovd is hurtling down the descent like a madman hoping to stay clear for the second sprint bonus of the day. We will dare to say the chasers behind won't be too concerned to catch him.

Woah! Hushovd overcooked a bend and nearly did a Frank Schleck Tour de Suisse 2008 - one more second and he'd have been up and over the barricade. He locked it up, went into the grass and quickly got back onto the road without too much delay.  Then, he made a gesture as if to say it was no big thing!

Sandy Casar started today 5'40" back, so that's quite possibly one reason why Saxo Bank are riding. That, and putting Astana under pressure.

The group is 1'31" back from Hushovd, while the peloton is 5'42" behind.

Hushovd really is going well in this Tour; there's not many sprinters who would attack on a mountain stage, let alone one as tough as this...

Hushovd now takes maxiumum points at that intermediate sprint. He's 5'27 ahead of the bunch, and doesn't appear under any pressure. He'll push onwards, grab some scoff in the feed zone and then aim to get over the next climb and take the points in the valley.

Hushovd gestures to the TV cameras, holding the green jersey and appearing to say 'this is mine'. He may well be aiming to build a substantial points lead before Paris, so nobody can say Cavendish' disqualification won him the competition.

This descent is fun! There's loads of switchbacks near the bottom, so Hushovd is arcing right and left in quick succession. Could be hairy in the bunch, though.

Hushovd remains ahead, alone, with the chasing group together and O'Grady/Cancellara at the front of the peloton. All are descending now.

Here's the current situation:

Thor Hushovd (Cervélo Test Team)

Sandy Casar (Française des Jeux), Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas), Dave Zabriskie (Garmin Slipstream), Jurgen Van den Broeck (Silence Lotto), Ruben Perez, Egoi Martinez, Amets Txurruka, Gorka Verdugo (Euskaltel Euskadi), Rigoberto Uran (Caisse d’Epargne), Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step), Remi Pauriol and Christophe Kern (Cofidis), Geoffroy Lequatre (Agritubel), Denis Menchov (Rabobank), Maxime Monfort (Columbia HTC), Marzio Bruseghin (Lampre NGC), Pierre Rolland, Thomas Voeckler (BBox Bouygues Telecom), Jose Luis Arrieta (Ag2r La Mondiale), George Hincapie (Columbia HTC), Linus Gerdeman (Milram) at 1.05

Peloton at 5.01.
 

Cancellara clipped a spectator's flag...he seems fine, but was pretty annoyed. Some spectators really need to think of the riders...grrrr....

O'Grady is in the group with Kirchen, Rogers and Martin. He's really suffering today.

Hushovd goes over the top of the climb. The group behind appears to be more or less back together, although it ruptures temporarily when Pellizotti sprints for the KOM points ahead of Kern and Martinez.

The group behind is split, with Pellizotti plus several others ahead.

Up front, Hushovd signals for his team car. He grabs a bottle, which is not particularly sticky.

Tony Martin is at the back of the peloton. He might be waiting for another team-mate, perhaps...not sure..

Yes, he and Rogers appear to be with Kim Kirchen, who might be in difficulty. He had said yesterday that he thought he was coming back into form. www.cyclingnews.com/news/resurgent-kirchen-rides-back-into-form

This was the points classification this morning. Hushovd will add 12 points to his total if he gets today's two sprints....that should really make things look good for his maillot vert ambitions.

Meanwhile his closest rival Mark Cavendish (Columbia HTC) is drifting backwards on the climb. Hushovd has underlined that this classification isn't won only in bunch finishes.

1, Thor Hushovd (Cervelo Test Team) 218 pts
2, Mark Cavendish (Team Columbia - HTC) 200
3, Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Caisse d'Epargne) 126

The day's second intermediate sprint comes at km 126, after the descent of the second category Cote d'Arches.

Still Saxo Bank on the front, trying to turn the screw a little. It's not flat out, by any means, but they want to put pressure on Astana and the other teams.

Chavanel is now jumping away from this group. Hushovd is heading downhill, but it's just a temporary respite on this climb.

Chavanel has been joined by Kern, Pellizotti and Martinez. They are 1'50" behind Hushovd, who is 5'47" ahead of the Saxo Bank-led peloton.

O'Grady's rear wheel is sending a splume of water into the faces of his team-mates....it's a grim day out there, folks.

Stuart O'Grady and Fabian Cancellara are now leading the main bunch. Meanwhile the group behind Hushovd continue onwards up the climb.

His Cervelo has green on it, as do his Zipp wheels.. He's gone with white and black shorts, though...

The race leader rejoins the group now, taking off his jersey at the back of the peloton.

Hushovd pushes onwards, getting plenty of cheers from a (surprised) crowd.

He's now on his way back up...the group should wait, as he's the race leader.

Contador has dropped right back and is looking for his team car...He's got a bike problem.. Ah, rear wheel...slow change too.

Here's an idea of today's climbs. Hushovd is alone on the second of these.

Km 18.0 - Cormet de Roselend (Category 1) 18.1 km at 5.7 %
Km 56.0 - Col des Saisies (Category 1) 15.1 km at 6 %
Km 111.5 - Côte d'Araches (Category 2) 6.3 km at 7 %
Km 140.5 - Col de Romme (Category 1) 8.8 km at 8.9 %
Km 154.5 - Col de la Colombière (Category 1) 7.5 km at 8.5 %
 

Hushovd is over 11km from the summit, and is 2'55 ahead of the Contador peloton. That group is quite big.

Hushovd doesn't trust his climbing abilities enough and has gone ahead of the others. He wants to get a head start on this climb, the category one Cold des Saisies.

Behind, Alberto Contador struggles momentarily to take off his race jacket. Kloden comes alongside and offers to help, but the Spaniard gets it sorted.

Hushovd will aim to get over this next climb with the leaders, then go for the bonus sprint.

They are 2'20 ahead of the peloton, and rolling down a wet descent. The sun has come out, though...

There are now 22 riders up front, with Hushovd, Voeckler, Hincapie, Martinez and others having got across in recent kilometres. Here's the list of names:

Sandy Casar (Française des Jeux), Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas), Dave Zabriskie (Garmin Slipstream), Jurgen Van den Broeck (Silence Lotto), Ruben Perez, Egoi Martinez, Amets Txurruka, Gorka Verdugo (Euskaltel Euskadi), Rigoberto Uran (Caisse d’Epargne), Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step), Remi Pauriol and Christophe Kern (Cofidis), Geoffroy Lequatre (Agritubel), Denis Menchov (Rabobank), Maxime Monfort (Columbia HTC), Marzio Bruseghin (Lampre NGC), Pierre Rolland, Thomas Voeckler (BBox Bouygues Telecom), Thor Hushovd (Cervélo Test Team), Jose Luis Arrieta (Ag2r La Mondiale), George Hincapie (Columbia HTC), Linus Gerdeman (Milram).

Good going - Hushovd and Voeckler have made it up to the front group. Hushovd is motivated by the thoughts of taking more points for the green jersey competition...there are two bonus sprints today, at Praz sur Arly (km 75.5) and Cluses (km 126).

The gap is 1'15". That's really impressive - the two tore across to the group.

This descent looks very slippery - the riders are taking care heading down it. It's raining fairly hard now.

'Spotty' Pellizotti adds to his points, with Casar and Chavanel next over.

Behind, Thomas Voeckler (BBox Bouygues Telecom) and Thor Hushovd (!) jump clear of the peloton on the climb. They are over the top now.

Evans is at the back of the bunch, but having a rough day.

Gerdemann (Milram) tried to get clear of the peloton but he just doesn't have the gas to stay away. He's not riding as well as he should in this year's race.

Up front, the break is nearing the top of the climb. Pellizotti will aim to add to his total. He's looking good for the overall KOM win at this point.

Alberto Contador may be aiming to take a little more time out of all the GC riders today, though, just to make sure he has a comfortable advantage going into the TT.

Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel Euskadi) has attacked from the bunch and is trying to get across to the chase group. He was in contention for the mountains classification but Pellizotti has a big lead now.

Here's the standings as of this morning:

1, Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas) 159 pts
2, Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Euskaltel - Euskadi) 101
3, Pierrick Fedrigo (BBOX Bouygues Telecom) 97
 

Lance Armstrong started the day 1.37 back and, with a mainly flat 40.5 kilometre time trial coming up tomorrow, he is within striking distance of Alberto Contador. He's ruled out going for the Tour win, though. www.cyclingnews.com/news/lance-armstrong-rules-out-tour-de-france-win

Astana continue to lead the group behind, with several Garmin riders right behind them.

Maxime Monfort (Columbia HTC), Marzio Bruseghin (Lampre NGC) and Pierre Rolland (BBox Bouygues Telecom) are the chasers.

There is a chasing group 35 seconds behind the leaders...bear with us.

The ten leaders are now 1'15 ahead. The weather looks dodgy...riders are putting on gillets as they head up this mountain. The skies are considerably darker too.

Laurens ten Dam (Rabobank) was down the back but makes his way back up. Meanwhile David MIllar (Garmin Slipstream) drifts backwards...we are not sure if he is in difficulty or waiting for the team car...probably the latter.

A group of riders is clear, including – surprisingly – Denis Menchov (Rabobank). He’s been utterly anonymous thus far in this race.

The ten man leading group is: Sandy Casar (Française des Jeux), Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas), Dave Zabriskie (Garmin Slipstream), Jurgen Van den Broeck (Silence Lotto), Ruben Perez (Euskaltel Euskadi), Rigoberto Uran (Caisse d’Epargne), Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step), Remi Pauriol (Cofidis), Geoffroy Lequatre (Agritubel) and Denis Menchov (Rabobank).
 

Behind, Astana has decided that it doesn't like all the jumping around and is setting a brisk pace. Paulinho and Popovych are on the front.

Luis Leon Sanchez (Caisse d'Epargne) was off the front in a small group but the peloton have caught them.

We hope that Cadel can work out what the problem is and get back to strong form this season; if so, he's got the Vuelta and world championships to aim for.

Cadel Evans is at the back of the peloton and struggling. He's clearly not right in this year's Tour; he said after yesterday's stage that he was going to get medical checks done.

Like many riders who have been going well in the Dauphine over the years, he hasn't kept the same form in the Tour.

To clarify, Gerdemann and Arroyo were caugh prior to Chavanel's pushing clear.

The latter has 12km to go until the summit.

Sylvain Chavanel (Quick Step) is ahead, with three riders further back and chasing. Like yesterday, riders will be hoping to go up the road early on and build enough of a lead to hold off the inevitable fireworks behind.

There's a whole lotta jumping around at the moment, as riders try to get something established.

Meanwhile Laurent Lefevre (BBox Bougues Telecom) is off the back, most likely due to that crash.

David Arroyo (Caisse d'Epargne) and Linus Gerdemann (Milram) are away. Gerdemann has had a Tour to forget, but is hoping to get something out of it.

Meanwhile there was a crash at the back of the peloton, wtih several riders momentarily delayed. As it was going uphill we don't expect any serious injuries.

The riders are not waiting around...several are trying to get clear on this first climb, the 1968 metre Cormet de Roselend. The race started on an uphill - indeed, you'd be hard pushed to find a flat road on today's stage.

For those of you following yesterday's coverage, there was a frightening crash with Jens Voigt at the top of the day's final descent. The Saxo Bank rider lost control of his bike (most likely after hitting a bump) and was hurled to the ground, sliding along on his face. Fortunately it looked a little worse than it turned out; Jens fractured the bone below his eye and suffered cuts to his face and right side, but is expected to make a full recovery. We wish him the best.

The riders are in the neutralised section - now they start! Mark Cavendish was right up front by the race director's car - he knows a tough day is in store.

Tomorrow's stage is arguably the hardest in the race, even if it doesn't finish on a climb. There are five mountains, four of which are category one climbs. Make sure to join us for live coverage of what could be a very important day on the Tour; before then, you can get a full report and results here shortly, as well as all the Tour news.

Thanks for reading!

So it was a good day's racing, even if it wasn't as decisive as it might have been. When the two Schlecks went they put a lot of riders out the back, including Armstrong, but they backed off a little and there was a regrouping.

Denis Menchov has just finished, well over ten minutes down...he's really not the rider he was at the Giro.

Here's the new top 20:

1 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 67:33:15
2 Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana 0:01:37
3 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Garmin - Slipstream 0:01:46
4 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana 0:02:17
5 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:02:26
6 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas 0:02:51
7 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Française des Jeux 0:03:09
8 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:03:25
9 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Cervelo Test Team 0:03:52
10 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin - Slipstream 0:03:59
11 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:04:38
12 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas 0:04:40
13 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Team Columbia - HTC 0:05:05
14 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 0:05:26
15 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française des Jeux 0:05:40
16 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Team Katusha 0:05:56
17 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence - Lotto 0:07:23
18 Luis León Sánchez Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0:08:23
19 Stéphane Goubert (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:09:14
20 Brice Feillu (Fra) Agritubel 0:10:00

Okay, we got word on Jens Voigt's condition - he's got injuries to his head, face and shoulders, and is being taken to hospital. However he never lost consciousness. We hope he has a speedy recovery.

Here's the top six:

Stage 16, Martigny – Boug St. Maurice:

1 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 159km in 4.14.20
2 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française des Jeux 0.06
3 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) BBOX Bouygues Telecom
4 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale
5 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Silence - Lotto
6 Amaël Moinard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne

So Astarloza gets it, six seconds ahead of Casar, Fedrigo, Roche and the others.. Moreau led Contador in, 59" back.

Cadel Evans has just finished in a big group, 3'54" down.. Wow...he's lost more time today. Hard luck to the Aussie.

He gets it...looks like Casar or Fedrigo got second, with Roche fourth... The Contador group came in 59" back....

Astarloza is flying along....he's going to get it... The others have joined up...

Astarloza goes now....he's got a big gap....

Moinard attacked...he's caught...

Still a small gap between them...it will be close...

They are about to join them....

Jurgen Van den Broeck (Silence Lotto), Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas), Amael Moinard (Cofidis) and Mikel Astarloza (Euskaltel - Euskadi) are now just a handful of seconds ahead of Pierrick Fedrigo (BBOX Bouygues Telecom), Sandy Casar (Française des Jeux), Stéphane Goubert (AG2R La Mondiale) and Nicolas Roche (Ag2r La Mondiale) .

Looks very much like the win will come out of the eight riders up front...four leaders now, with four chasers ten seconds back. The leaders are working well again... The peloton is 1'05" back.

The leading quartet might be waiting for the chasers...not sure why, but they are not pushing as hard.

The four leaders are holding off the chasers for now....can they get across? Roche is a fast finisher if they do....but it's still 14"...

The second chase group is now 15" back...

So it looks like the stage win will be between the first eight riders.. Marchante was also there but he crashed out of the chasing group.

The Contador group is 1'18" back...surely too much to close?

Here's the update on things: 
Jurgen Van den Broeck (Silence Lotto), Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas), Amael Moinard (Cofidis) and Mikel Astarloza (Euskaltel - Euskadi)

Pierrick Fedrigo (BBOX Bouygues Telecom), Sandy Casar (Française des Jeux), Stéphane Goubert (AG2R La Mondiale), Nicolas Roche (Ag2r La Mondiale) at 0.12

Alberto Contador, Lance Armstrong and Andreas Kloeden (Astana), Andy and Frank Schleck and Jens Voigt (Saxo Bank), Bradley Wiggins, David Zabriskie and Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Slipistream), Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas), Laurens ten Dam (Rabobank), Nicolas Roche (AG2R) and Rigoberto Uran (Caisse d'Epargne), Carlos Sastre (Cervelo), Nicolas Vogondy (Agritubel) and Christophe Le Mevel (Française des Jeux) at 1.22
 

The Contador group are now 1'31 back...others have got up to them.

He may have had a front tyre blowout. The Saxo Bank riders seem to have had quite a few punctures.

Damn...Voigt went down on the descent...couldn't see why that happened. He hit the road, the cars behind jammed on and stopped in time. No idea how he is, or why he fell.

The four leaders push onwards, holding a lead of 1'55" over the Contador group. Several others from the original break are inbetween.

They have 25km to go...

So the climb wasn't as decisive as we might have thought...the Schlecks split the group, but then backed off a little.

There are several others inbetween, then 2'04 back a large group containing Alberto Contador, Lance Armstrong and Andreas Kloeden (Astana), Andy Schleck and Jens Voigt (Saxo Bank), Bradley Wiggins and Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Slipistream), Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas), Laurens ten Dam (Rabobank) and Rigoberto Uran (Caisse d'Epargne went over the top.

The leaders on the road are: Jurgen Van den Broeck (Silence Lotto), Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas), Amael Moinard (Cofidis) and Mikel Astarloza (Euskaltel - Euskadi).

They are going over the top, with Pellizotti, Van Den Broeck, Astarloza and Moinard crossing in that order.

The Contador group have caught several others who were in the break, including Voigt. They are now just 2'17 back...

Armstrong is riding very strongly now...he's dropped the others, and has gone past Frank Schleck, who was dropped.

Now Wiggins attacks, pushing on. Contador marks him. Armstrong is now back up with the others. That group is Contador, Armstrong, Kloden, Wiggins, Nibali and the two Schlecks.

Armstrong jumped out of the group and is trying to bridge. Kim Kirchen (Columbia HTC) has got up to him.

Armstrong jumped again, but has been caught by Vande Velde and Rigoberto Uran (Caisse d'Epargne). They are pushing onwards.

Armstrong has jumped from that other group...

Astaraloza is coming across to Pellizotti and Van Den Broeck... Contador's group is 2'11 back, while Armstrong's group is 47" down.

That group contains Alberto Contador and Andreas Kloeden (Astana), Andy and Frank Schleck (Saxo Bank), Bradley Wiggins (Garmin-Slipstream), Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas). Armstrong's group is 34" back now...

Schleck pushes on with Contador, while Wiggins is just behind them. Both Schlecks are there, Frank setting the pace. Kloden is there, while Evans and Armstrong have been dropped and are quite far back.

Moinard and Marchante are chasing the other two.

Behind, Andy Schleck attacks! A few others are there, but not Armstrong...

Pellizotti and Van den Broeck are opening up a big gap on the chasing group, which is getting smaller and smaller as this climb goes on.

Pellizotti and Van Den Broeck are now pulling well clear of the others...it's getting steeper here, and much more open too.

Just 2'54 now... Chris Anker Soerenson drives the pace.

Up front, Pellizotti and Van Den Broeck push on ahead, followed by Moinard. Arrieta is just behind, with the others within shouting distance.

Moinard now attacks...this break is more or less together still...thinned out a bit, but no major gaps.

The Contador group is down to about 30 riders...no attacks as yet, but Saxo Bank are driving the pace along.

Tony Martin and David Millar have been dropped...

The break is now just 3'24 ahead...might not be enough...

Van Den Broeck pulls over, finally, and Fedrigo goes through. The break is shrinking. So too the peloton - Saxo Bank are really ramping up the pace.

Under Van Den Broeck's pressure, this break has split.

There's a flatter section and the break has regrouped, wtih Roche up there again. They are going through the town of La Thuile.

Van Den Broeck and Pellizotti are leading the first part of the break, which is splitting again.

Meanwhile, Menchov has been dropped. He's a shadow of the rider who won the Giro. Moncoutie is also blown, as is Tony Martin.

Lefevre ha s been joined by Pellizotti and Trofimov. Meanwhile the heavier riders Voigt and Roche are slipping back somewhat.

14.7km to the top...Lefevre has a slight lead, but they are coming back to him.

Saxo Bank to the front of the peloton! Getting things ready for a Schleck move, methinks...

Lefevre has now attacked out of the break! He's trying to get to the top ahead of the others, realising that they need to gain time on the peloton.

Dmitry Muravyev has gone back to the doctor's car to get ointment put on his knee...obviously it's troubling him.

Meanwhile Sebastian Lang (Silence Lotto) has jumped out of the peloton. Is he getting ready for an Evans attack?

Maxime Monfort has been dropped - his Columbia HTC team-mate Michael Rogers is waiting for him.

The break continues up the climb, while riders such as Cancellara are being shed by the peloton.

They are now on the climb. Roche took the second bonus sprint ahead of Vogondy and Verdugo. They are 4'23 ahead. This climb is crucial for the break, needless to say.

So, prior to the start of the category one Col du Petit Saint Bernard, here's the lead group: Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas), Vladimir Karpets (Katusha), Jose Angel Gomez Marchante (Cervelo Test Team), Jurgen Van den Broeck (Silence Lotto), Jens Voigt (Saxo Bank), Laurens ten Dam (Rabobank), Gorka Verdugo, Mikel Astarloza, Igor Anton (Euskaltel Euskadi), Sandy Casar (Française des Jeux), Pierrick Fedrigo, Laurent Lefeve (Bouygues Telecom), Peter Velits (Milram), Amael Moinard (Cofidis), Nicolas Vogondy (Agritubel), Yury Trofimov (Bbox), Nicolas Roche, Stephane Goubert (AG2R). There's eighteen riders there.

 * * * * * 

SITUTATION

Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas), Vladimir Karpets (Katusha), Jose Angel Gomez Marchante, Jurgen Van den Broeck (Silence Lotto), Jens Voigt (Saxo Bank), Laurens ten Dam (Rabobank), Gorka Verdugo (Euskaltel Euskadi), Sandy Casar (Française des Jeux),  Pierrick Fedrigo, Laurent Lefeve (Bouygues Telecom), Peter Velits (Milram), Mikel Astarloza, Igor Anton (Euskaltel), Amael Moinard (Cofidis), Nicolas Vogondy (Agritubel), Yury Trofimov (Bbox), Nicolas Roche, Stephane Goubert (AG2R)

Peloton at 4:08

Grupetto at 11:00

Heading towards the climb, the leading group has 4'23". Not sure that will be enough...depends on what happens behind. If the GC contenders throw down the hammer, the gap will come back quickly. We expect the lead group will split on the early slopes, with the strongest climbers pushing on ahead and trying to keep as much time as possible.

Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank) returns to the peloton after a puncture.

The leaders are about to be joined by the others...

There's long, straight sections here...the chase group should start to see the leaders soon if they get a little closer. That will spur them on. But if things go ballistic behind, the gap won't be enough... They need to put the hammer down soon and build a buffer.

Contador's team leads as they speed past a sculpture of Maurice Garin, the 1903 Tour de France winner. The Garmin squad of Wiggins and Vande Velde sit behind them, keeping their leaders out of trouble.

Jens Voigt is having a bit more luck than on stage 14. He punctured out of the break then, getting a bad wheel change and thus being unable to rejoin.

1'04 for his group, while the main field is 4'39 back now.

Five minutes for the break. The chasers are still trying to get across...it's taking quite a while. There's plenty of strong riders in here, but a group this size isn't always the most efficient or committed.

With Verdugo, Astarloza and Anto in the chase group, Euskaltel Euskadi have a good representation. This could come in handy if things get tactical.

Wow...Carlos Barredo (Quick Step) nearly got clattered by Johannes Frohlinger (Milram). The latter was drinking from his bottle and then hurled it across the road to his right, just as Barredo was rolling by him...
 

The road gets gradually more steep from this point...it notches upwards gradually to the start of the climb.

The peloton is in the feedzone, 4'56 back. Thus far, things are under control for Contador.

 * * * * * 

SITUTATION

Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas), Vladimir Karpets (Katusha)

Jose Angel Gomez Marchante, Jurgen Van den Broeck (Silence Lotto), Jens Voigt (Saxo Bank), Laurens ten Dam (Rabobank), Gorka Verdugo (Euskaltel Euskadi), Sandy Casar (Française des Jeux),  Pierrick Fedrigo (Bouygues Telecom), Peter Velits (Milram), Mikel Astarloza, Anton (Euskaltel), Amael Moinard (Cofidis), Nicolas Vogondy (Agritubel), Yury Trofimov (Bbox), Nicolas Roche, Stephane Goubert (AG2R), at 1:51

Peloton at 4:59

Grupetto at ??

Pierre Rolland (BBox Bouygues Telecom) is in no man's land between the second group and the Astana-led peloton. He's got some wonderful architecture to look at here in Italy, but his focus will be on the road ahead.

Pellizotti and Karpets know that the hammer will go down on the next climb, which is the last of the day. They need a big buffer to ensure they go over the top ahead.

Verdugo took third in the bonus sprint. There's a big gap between each of the groups now, with things consolodating on this flatter section.

The Voigt chase group is 1'44 back, while the peloton is at 5'14".

 update situtation

Susan Westemeyer tells us that a search was carried out today:

Swiss customs officials stopped and searched an Astana team truck today. Team spokesman Philippe Maertens confirmed to the German news agency dpa that the search lasted three hours, but that nothing suspicious was found.

Unlike the other day, when his team-mate had the yellow jersey, Roche is working today as this chase group tries to get up to the leaders. He got a lot of grief from certain riders in the break, but couldn't really work as his team-mate Nocentini was in yellow.

The Italian held on by just five seconds so, as Roche said afterwards, if he had pulled even a few times that could have lost yellow for the team.

This first sprint is after the bottom of the descent, and is followed by the feedzone.... Today's stage is not particularly long but it's important to keep the energy levels up, especially in the mountains.

Wow...a rider threw away a bottle, it hit guardrail and bounced back into the bunch, sliding along the road. Fortunately nobody hit it..

Irish champion Nicolas Roche sits at the back of the chase group, gobbling some food. He said before the stage that he planned to attack and has done so.

Pellizotti and Karpets are 1'31 ahead of the chasers, with the peloton 2'35 back at this point. Those in front need to try to eke out a bigger lead before the final climb.

Contador sits fifth wheel on this downhill, staying out of trouble. It's very fast but the road surface is good...

World champion Alessandro Ballan also chases back on...

Cancellara chases back on on this downhill...he's really very good on these sections.

This descent is long and twisting....sweeping bends with (fortunately) guardrails.

As expected, Pellizotti took the points there from Karpets. Fedrigo jumped from the chase group to get third. The Astana peloton was 2'03" back going over the top.

The two leaders went over the top of the climb a short while ago and are on the descent.

Roche actually bridged across to the Voigt led chase group, which is 1'14" back. The peloton is 1'54" down.

Up front, Karpets leads Pellizotti...this road goes on and on...

Irish road race champion Nicolas Roche (Ag2r la Mondiale) is in a chase group.

Upwards, ever upwards. We mentioned already that the former white jersey Tony Martin is in trouble. The current leader of that best young rider classification might also be under pressure; Andy Schleck is near the back of the peloton. His Saxo Bank team-mate Cancellara is being dropped now.

Moncoutie has been caught now.