Tour de France 2014: Stage 17

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January 1 - July 27, Saint-Gaudens, France, Road - WorldTour

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 Welcome to live coverage of stage 16 of the Tour de France

 Welcome to coverage of stage 17. The riders are still signing on and we're only 20 minutes away from the start. 

The sun is out for the riders today. It's the shortest stage of the Tour de France but it packs a punch with three first category climbs and a summit finish on the hors categorie Pla d'Adet. Here is what the riders have to tackle today.

Yesterday saw a big shake-up in the general classification, as the race was ripped apart on the Porte de Bales. Vincenzo Nibali still looks strong in the yellow jersey, but behind him there were some very big winners and losers. Here's how the GC looks today.

The GC battle was just one fight out on the road. 21 men managed to make it into the breakaway during yesterday's stage. By the time they hit the final climb, it has been reduced to a select group of five. In the end it was Michael Rogers who took his first Tour de France stage victory, his third Grand Tour stage win this season. He was very emotional at the finish and you can read what he had to say here. 

We have at least one non-starter today in Simon Gerrans. The Australian crashed on the opening stage when he got in a tangle with Mark Cavendish and has been suffering ever since. You can read the full report here.

It's a short neutral zone for the riders today, at 3.7km and we should expect the flag to drop for racing proper in about 5 minutes. 

And we're off, 124.5km of racing begins.

There is a giant 80 points available in the mountains competition today and it all hangs in the balance with a single point separating Majka and Rodriguez. Here is how it looks before we hit the first climb. 

Along with Simon Gerrans we have another non-starter in Reto Hollenstein. The IAM Cycling rider crashed in the first kilometre yesterday and rode the remainder of the stage with air trapped in his lung. The full report is here. 

Right from the word go we've got eight men out front with an 18 second gap on the peloton. They are Cyril Gautier (Europcar), Tom Jelte Slagter (Garmin-Sharp), Martin Elmiger (IAM Cycling), Yukio Arashiro (Europcar), Nicolas Edet (Cofidis), Biel Kadri (AG2R-La Mondiale), Jens Voigt (Trek Factory Racing) and Sergio Paulinho (TInkoff-Saxo).

115km remaining from 124km

You may recognise a few names from yesterday's breakaway out there today. Cyril Gautier was in there and is wearing the red dossard of the most combative after his plentiful attacks on the final climb. Tom Jelte Slagter was also in the escape yesterday

109km remaining from 124km

In their chase of the break, Katusha set off a speed camera as the fly along at 65kph. It might be fast, but they're not shutting this one down. 

Of this group of eight riders out front, three have won stages in the Tour de France. Most recently was Biel Kadri, who was the first French stage winner of the race with his victory on Gérardmer La Mauselaine. The AG2R La Mondiale rider also spent a day in the polka dot jersey. 

Jens Voigt is another of the stage winners in this escape group. The 42-year-old is the oldest rider in the Tour de France peloton and is riding his last Tour. He has won two individual stages in 2001 and 2006 and also rode to team time trial success in 2001 with Crédit Agricole. 

The last of our stage winners is Tinkoff-Saxo's Sergio Paulinho. Like Voigt, he has a team time trial win to his name. He also took an individual stage win in 2010. His team are on a high this week after two stage wins. Can he make it a third?

95km remaining from 124km

Alberto Contador left the race just over a week ago, after he broke his tibia in a crash. The Spanish rider was looking to make his return to racing at the Vuelta, but it looks like he may have to wait. Daniel Benson spoke to directeur sportive Bjarne Riis about Contador's recovery.

News filtering through that Simon Spilak has abandoned the race. That will be a big blow for Rodríguez. The Katusha rider was competing in his first grand tour since the 2011 Giro d'Italia. 

While Spilak abandons, his team continues to drive a fast pace. The gap is coming down a little to 52 seconds and it's looking less likely that these men will be able to hold them off on the first climb. 

Paulinho looks like he's short of fluids and he asks the Europcar team car for a drink. 

84km remaining from 124km

The LeTour.fr webstie reports that it is a stomach bug that has forced Spilak out of the race. NetApp's Zak Dempster is currently receiving medical assistance after being stung by a wasp. He is not the first to suffer that at this year's race, QuickStep's Alessandro Petacchi also had to suffer through when he was stung on the face.

Away from the Tour de France, the Commonwealth Games are about to begin in Glasgow. Bradley Wiggins will be making his competitive return to the track tomorrow when the track programme begins. The multiple Olympic champion is raring to go. 

76km remaining from 124km

The other teams in the peloton were happy to let Katusha do all of the work, but as the leaders have been slowly brought back we can now see more riders trying to move into the front. Majka will have his eyes on Rodríguez and we can expect something from both of them on this climb. Other riders who have missed out will also be looking to get into this break. 

74km remaining from 124km

Serpa attacks

Jose Serpa has a dig off the front, he is followed by a large number of riders, including Rodriguez. The Spaniard takes up the pace on the front of this mini breakaway. 

Rodriguez's pace is too much for some. Only two men can stick with him, Frank Schleck and Mikel Cherel. 

In the lead group, Tom Jelte Slagter has been dropped. He was in the break yesterday, but couldn't follow the moves on the Port de Bales.

We've got a lot of attacks coming off the peloton, which has already been blown to pieces. Our original escapees look like they may be caught by the chasers. 

Rodriguez has caught up with the leaders with around 20 other riders, including Majka. Not what he would have wanted. 

71km remaining from 124km

Less than 5km to the top of the first climb and we've got 21 riders out front again. I will try to bring you the names as quickly as I can type them. 

There have been a number of attacks from this lead group and we've lost a few riders. Only 18 remain in the group and here are the names of 15 of them.

There has been a split in the front group, six riders are now out front. They are Nicolas Roche (Tinkoff-Saxo), Bauke Mollema (Belkin), Joaquim Rodríguez (Katusha), Kristijan Durasek (Lampre Merdia) and Alessandro de Marchi. 

Apologies that is five riders out front, with 21 following them. The five out front have 40 seconds on the yellow jersey group and 23 seconds on the chasers. 

 David Lopez is also with this front group and they are about to crest the first climb of the day. 

Rodriguez springs out of the front group and takes the full points at the top of the climb. Majka doesn't get any and Rodriguez re-takes the classification lead. 

Luke Durbridge gets tangled up with a Movistar soigneur and goes down pretty heavily. Durbridge gives the soigneur a shove before remounting his bike. The soigneur eventually gives him a push to get the Australian going again. 

Ok, here we go. Things look like they've settled down out front and the chasers have caught up with our leaders to make a group of 22 out front. Here are the names for you

56km remaining from 124km

Kiryienka's is gradually building a substantial gap on the chasers. He's already on the second climb of the day. 

Valverde back with the team car and it looks like he's having a mechanical issue with his saddle. 

And Valverde makes a change of bike, the problem with the saddle is obviously too much to fix on the move. He is passed by a struggling Michal Kwiatkowski swigging on a can of coke. 

71km remaining from 124km

There are a few GC riders in this chasing group today, including Mollema and Rolland. However, Nibali is not too concerned with them. Mollema had a tough day int he mountains yesterday and slipped to 10th in the general classification. You can read about Belkin's hard day out here. 

Kiryienka continues to power up the Col de Peyresourde and his advantage has gone up to 1:39 on the chasers. Can he hold it? Let us know what you think on @Cyclingnewsfeed or @SadhbhOS

Bauke Mollema has a dig out of the chasing group and he is followed by Visconti, Van Den Broeck, Durasek and Roche. 

Biel Kadri pulls off the back of the chasing group and gets seen to by  the mavic neutral service and it looks like it could be an issue with his gears. 

Finally the team car makes it up to Kadri and he's back on his way.

47km remaining from 124km

Behind him Van Den Broeck has now injected the pace. It is the GC men that are keen to keep this going along as they've got the most to gain if this break succeeds. The pace has had its victims and Gautier has been dropped. He is chasing back on with Kadri after his mechanical.

Now it's Nicolas Roche going for it, but he is quickly shut down by Herrada, who races past him and makes his own attack. 

46km remaining from 124km

45km remaining from 124km

The yellow jersey group are taking it easy at the moment and the gap has gone up to 4:54. Behind Kiryienka the two chasers are 1:50 in arrears and have around 30 seconds on the next group on the road. 

Roche and Herrada continue to close the gap, but it is not at an alarming rate. It is now down to 1:37. Roche is an experienced Tour de France rider, but Herrada is making his debut at the race. 

Taaramae is beginning to labour on this ascent and has been shelled from the bigger group of escapees. He's not had the best Tour de France this season. 

42km remaining from 124km

Rodriguez sprints for the KOM and takes four points. Majka can't pass him and riders over in the wheel of the Katusha rider.

Plenty of fans out on the road and we can expect much more near the finish. 

37km remaining from 124km

Two more climbs still to come as the peloton hit the top of the Col de Peyresourde. What do you think? Will the winner come from the break or can the peloton bring them back? Tell us on @Cyclingnewsfeed or @SadhbhOS

This was the result at the top of the second climb. Joaquim Rodríguez moves 9 points clear in the mountains classification with 60 points still up for grabs today.

As the leaders hit the valley the gap between Kiryienka and the Roche group has stalled around 1:15. They may have to wait until the next climb before they can cut into it once again. 

Kadri and Gautier have both lost ground on the third group again, while Tom Dumoulin has also been dropped on the descent. 

29km remaining from 124km

It looks like it's going to be a yo-yo day for a few riders as Taaramae gets spat out again. The riders following Kiryienka are:

Surprisingly, Kiryienka has never won a stage of the Tour de France. The Sky rider has two at the Giro d'Italia and took an impressive solo victory on Peña Cabarga at the Vuelta last year. Kiryienka was the only Sky rider not to complete last year's Tour when he bonked on stage nine and missed the time cut. 

Arashiro is making the pace in the chasing group. He's working for Pierre Rolland who is looking to make it into the top 10 once again, his third Tour stage win would be nice too. The Japanese rider has cut Kiryienka's advantage to 1:09.

26km remaining from 124km

Kiryienka's adavatage has fallen below the 1 minute mark for the first time. He's still got 4km to the top of this climb. 

FDJ's efforts are paying dividends, there is now only four minutes to the leader and three to the chasers. It's a good effort, but are they showing their cards too early?

24km remaining from 124km

Even the stone faced Kiryienka is looking like he's struggling on this climb. The steepest sectino comes at the top and he is on it right now. His gap is only 41 seconds. 

Van Den Broeck attacks near the top of Val Louron and the gap to Kiryienka is down to 15 seconds. It's only a matter of time before he is caught. 

22km remaining from 124km

The catch has been made and Kiryirenka has been caught just metres away from the top of Val Louron

Rodríguez sprints for the mountains points. Majka tries to go around the Katusha rider, but he doesn't have the legs. Rodríguez takes full points again with Majka in second. 

It looks like Van Den Broeck has been dropped from this group and we only have 13 men out front. They are 2:49 ahead of the yellow jersey group. 

Pinot has no teammates with him as AG2R drive the yellow jersey group, which has been reduced to around 15 riders. Can Bardet exact his revenge on Pinot today?

18km remaining from 124km

Bardet is really hammering it down this climb in trying to get rid of Pinot. He lost a lot of time yesterday. The Frenchman doesn't look too smooth on the descent though and is all over the bike. 

Jurgen Van Den Broeck is back with the leading group on this descent. He's been having illness troubles of late, but it looks like he's over it. 

Vincenzo Nibali saw his yellow jersey flash in front of his eyes as he overcooked a corner in Azet. The Italian has a quick re-shuffle of position on the bike and carries on regardless. 

14km remaining from 124km

As we reach the valley before the final climb, the gap to the leaders is only 2:12. On a climb like the Pla d'Adet, the gap could disappear very quickly. 

11km remaining from 124km

An update on Bardet's progression and he's got 30 seconds on Pinot and the yellow jersey group. 

Rolland has got Roche, Moinard and Visconti with him. with 10km to go. 

We're not only the final climb and the four leaders have a small gap of 16 seconds. 

9km remaining from 124km

Visconti is the next to have a go. He looks over his shoulder as Roche chases him. 

Bardet is climbing now and his gap is 27 seconds. It's going to be very hard for him to hold that, let alone extend it, but the Frenchman is determined. 

8km remaining from 124km

Majka attacks and he is followed by Rodríguez and Izagirre, who just sit in his wheel.

The trio are brought back and Schleck takes up the pace setting. He's been looking strong these last few stages. 

Majka attacks and gives himself a helping hand with a TV bike. He has distanced Rodríguez.

7km remaining from 124km

We've got our first time check for Visconti. The Italian has 31 seconds on the chasers. Can he hold this with 6.4km to go?

5km remaining from 124km

Majka attacks the second group while Peraud attacks the yellow jersey group. 

Peraud's attack catches Bardet, who sits on the front and tries to help his teammate. 

There are nine men in the yellow jersey group, including, Bardet, Peraud, Pinot, Valverde and Van Garderen. 

4km remaining from 124km

Peraud covers the attack but Nibali goes again. 

Peraud covers the move again and they are about to catch Van Den Broeck. Peraud could be riding himself into second place here. Valverde looks like he's well and truly gone. 

4km remaining from 124km

Pinot, Bardet and Van Garderen are in a group together, arounf 18 seconds behind Nibali. Another 20 seconds down the road is Valverde who has Ten Dam with him. 

3km remaining from 124km

2km remaining from 124km

Nibali attacks but he can't get rid of Peraud. 

2km remaining from 124km

Visconti can't follow Majka who immediately gets a gap. 

Nibali continues to bring back many of the escapees. They've just swallowed up Mollema and Schleck, but it is just about the GC for them, they won't be able to contest the victory. 

Our white jersey contenders are still glued together as they pass under the 2km to go banner. 

Majka goes under the flamme rouge and winks at the camera. He is looking superlative today. 

The yellow jersey is into the final kilometre with De Marchi and Peraud in his wheel and Rolland in his sights. 

Thanks to the efforts of Izagirre, Valverde has caught the Pinot group as they enter the final kilometre. 

Majka lets out a huge shout at he hits the final ramp and takes his second stage win of the Tour de France

Visconti crosses the line about 29 seconds back on Majka.

For yet another stage Nibali crosses the line with Peraud stuck to his wheel. Will he take second?

Valverde crosses the line 1:35 behind the leader. Peraud was around 1:02 back. It looks like Valverde will hold onto second, but by the skin of his teeth. 

Actually a miscalculation Peraud was only 46 second behind Majka so he has closed the gap a bit more, but stays fourth in the GC

Here is how it finished today

And here is how is looks in the GC after this stage

Bauke Mollema has moved back up the standings after making it into the escape group. Frank Schleck has also slipped into the top 10 while Leo Konig has a bad day and slips out down the classification. 

Tomorrow is the final mountain test for the riders with the Tourmalet and the Hautacam. There is 75 points available, but Majka is in the driving seat in that competition. 

There seems to have been a problem with the timings and a few riders were missing from the standings. Here is a revised GC top 10. 

Jean Christophe Péraud may not have taken second today, but with his time trialling skills it is still a possibility. Of all the GC riders, Peraud is probably the strongest against the clock. 

You will be able to find the full report, results and gallery from today's stage right here. 

That's it for today. Thanks for joining us for yet another great stage of the Tour de France. Tune in tomorrow for the Tourmalet and the Hautacam.

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