Tour de France: stage 12 – Live coverage

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of stage 12 of the Tour de France. Today is stage 12, the longest of the race.

Today the peloton heads south-east towards the Massif Central, taking in 218km and four categorised climbs along the way. It's likely to be a day for the breakaway specialists today.

It could be another day for Jérôme Cousin to get out front. He was last in the break on stage 8, also making it away on stage 3.

There are plenty of other candidates for the break today, Thomas De Gendt, Marc Hirschi, Max Schachmann prime among them. Take a look at some of the men who could be on the attack today below.

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The riders have rolled out of the start and are heading through the neutralised zone now.

It's the first time Chauvigny has hosted the Tour de France, while Sarran hosted one stage finish before – all the way back in 2001 when Jens Voigt took victory. The peloton finished almost 26 minutes down that day.

218km to go

Racing is now underway as the flag drops. 161 riders start stage 12.

Ryan Gibbons (NTT Pro Cycling) and world champion Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) are among the first riders to attack.

210km to go

Luis León Sánchez (Astana) is having a go.

He's away with three other riders – Imanol Erviti (Movistar), Nils Politt (Israeel Start-Up Nation) and Max Walscheid (NTT Pro Cycling).

JJ Rojas (Movistar) Niccolo Bonifazio (Total Direct Energie) and Alexey Lutsenko (Astana) are caught up in a crash at the end of the peloton. Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) is also held up. All look OK, though.

The four breakaway men are 35 seconds up the road at the moment. There's no real reaction in the peloton. Is this it, already??

202km

The peloton aren't letting the quartet get away fully. Still 30 seconds between the two groups.

Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) is on the front of the peloton. The intermediate sprint comes up in 30km.

Green jersey holder Sam Bennett is right behind him with a Deceuninck-QuickStep teammate.

198km to go

Ineos and Jumbo-Visma take the front and immediately the pace slows and the gap goes back up to 40 seconds.

Hopefully the teams don't bend to the will of the two GC behemoths here. Otherwise, there's not going to much to talk about for some time...

The gap is 50 seconds now but riders in the peloton are attacking again, Pedersen among them.

192km to go

Mathieu Burgaudeau (Total Direct Energie) jumps away and gets a small gap.

Danish champion Kasper Asgreen (Deceuninck-QuickStep) has joined him. Several more riders are attacking behind.

Bora-Hansgrohe lead the peloton with Deceuninck-QuickStep close behind.

185km to go

1:30 between the break and peloton. The two chasers are somewhere in between.

A minute from the break to Burgaudeau and Asgreen.

16km to go until the intermediate sprint. Are Bora-Hansgrohe controlling the peloton in anticipation of that? Or are they keeping the break in check for a potential Sagan stage win?

Two-time stage winner Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) is back in the cars. It doesn't look like he's hit the deck so it was likely a wheel change or other minor mechanical.

175km to go

1:50 between break and peloton now. The two chasers aren't making much headway.

Bora-Hansgrohe are certainly keeping the men out front on a tight leash today.

We're a couple of kilometres away from the intermediate sprint. The break will grab the big points but can Sagan recoup some on Bennett?

Asgreen and Burgaudeau are exactly midway between the break and peloton. Chasse patate.

9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 points available for the peloton at this intermediate sprint.

Politt rolls through at the front of the break to take maximum points there.

166km to go

Asgreen and Burgaudeau pass through a minute later.

Bora-Hansgroh and Deceuninck-QuickStep lead the peloton on the run-in.

Bennett takes 9 points ahead of Mørkøv. Sagan takes 7 points as Matteo Trentin (CCC Team) grabs 6.

51km covered in the first hour of the stage. 50km to go until the next obstacle of the day, the fourth-categeory climb of the Côte de Saint-Martin-Terressus.

Bennett's green jersey lead is now extended to 70 points over Sagan.

We'll see what happens later but Sagan could grab 30 points back if he wins today and Bennett finishes outside the top 15.

Bora-Hansgrohe continue to work on the front of the peloton.

The four men in the break are sitting up and waiting for Asgreen and Burgaudeau. The duo are 20 seconds back now, while the peloton is 1:40 down.

155km to go

They've made it across. Six men in the break at the front now.

Bora-Hansgrohe and Jumbo-Visma lead the peloton, now 1:30 down on the six up front.

A swift opening 60km for Sagan...

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140km to go

We're 78km into today's stage. Not much change in the situation at the moment. The peloton – well, Bora-Hansgrohe – is controlling the gap at two minutes, and the six attackers remain out in the breakaway.

A slowing of pace in the peloton as riders take a nature break. The break have 2:35 now.

Today's stage is dedicated to Raymond Poulidor, the eight-time Tour podium finisher who passed away last November. The peloton passes through his home region today.

CCC Team's Ilnur Zakarin has just left the race. He was one of several riders to crash in the neutralised zone yesterday and suffered a fractured rib.

119km to go

The break are nearing the first climb of the day. They're still around two minutes up on the peloton.

And the peloton get the climb of Côte de Saint-Martin-Terressus underway. It's 1.5km long at an average of 8.8 per cent. There's only one point up for grabs at the top as it's a fourth-category climb.

Burgaudeau passes the top of the climb first to take the solitary point on offer. Bora-Hansgrohe lead the peloton across the line 2:25 later.

As I mentioned earlier, Jens Voigt took the win the last time the Tour visited Sarran. The German triumphed from a seven-man break, beating Brad McGee by five seconds at the end of a hot 227.5km day.

"I do remember the stage finish into Sarran very well because in 2001, one of the best years I had, my first Tour de France stage win was here on today’s stage going into Sarran," he said on Eurosport earlier today.

"Pretty tough circuit, back in the day it was super-hot. We had about eight to ten riders break away. Slowly but surely, we did sort it out one after another and in the end it was only Bradley McGee and me left and since I saw the that Bradley is absolutely done, absolutely tired, I had enough time to actually enjoy my win.

"With about 5km to go, I was fairly sure I was going to win. It was a fairly tough uphill sprint, so I was fairly sure I was going to win. It was my first Tour de France win ever and it did change my career and change my life, so only the best memories of today’s stage and it’s a tough one."

100km to go

The riders are past the halfway point of the day now, and pass the 100km to go mark. 2:05 between break and peloton, which is still led by Bora-Hansgrohe.

A nice tribute to Poulidor as the peloton passes through his hometown of Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat.

Another fourth-category climb now – the Côte d'Eybouleuf. It's 2.8km long at 5.2 per cent and offers one point.

The rolling roads continue for a while as the peloton take on some lunch. The next categorised climb, however, starts in almost exactly 50km, 45km from the finish.

Burgaudeau also took the point on offer on the Côte d'Eybouleuf, by the way. His two points today bring him to joint-28th in the KOM standings.

CCC Team have joined Bora-Hansgrohe at the head of the peloton.

The Polish team has been quiet during the Tour. Their top results have come from Greg Van Avermaet, who took third on stage 6 up Mont Aigoual, and Ilnur Zakarin, fourth on stage 8 to Loudenvielle.

84km to go

The gap is coming down gradually at the moment. It's 1:45 now.

It seems certain that the break won't make it to the finish today, and that we'll see a big effort by Bora-Hansgrohe to get the stage for Peter Sagan while also dropping Sam Bennett on the second-category climb in the final 30km of the stage.

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A look at the break of the day, now 1:40 up on the peloton.

CCC and Bora-Hansgrohe continue to work on the front. It'll be interesting to see what the Polish squad get up to in the final. Van Avermaet looks to have good climbing form this Tour, so he'll be in with a good shout.

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67km to go

An upping of pace in the peloton has seen the gap come down to just over a minute. So much for a guaranteed breakaway day.

CCC's Greg Van Avermaet said this about the stage earlier today:

"I think when I saw the book for the first time, I think this stage was always in my mind. It's a super hard stage. A long stage, but one that's difficult to predict.

"I think a lot of guys will try to go in the break, so it won't be easy to get in, but I'll give it a try. So hopefully I'll be in, and I'll have the chance for a stage victory"

A little green jersey stat to keep an eye on for the second half of the race...

51km to go

50 seconds between break and peloton now. 5km to go to the start of the third-cateegory Côte de la Croix du Pey

Kasper Asgreen attacks the break. First move of the day from the men up front.

Despite the attacking – Asgreen still leads the way – the gap is coming down. 25 seconds now.

Sam Bennett is dropped already! Caleb Ewan and Mads Pedersen are with him. The peloton haven't started the third-category climb yet.

Politt is caught by the peloton.

45km to go

We've just passed four hours of racing. Luis León Sánchez and Max Walscheid are caught.

Asgreen and Erviti remain out front as they start the climb of the Côte de la Croix du Pey (4.8km at 6 per cent)

Asgreen is attempting to drop Erviti to no avail. 20 seconds back, the peloton chases.

43km to go

Sunuweb launch an attack from the peloton with Tiesj Benoot and Søren Kragh Andersen.

Movistar's Marc Soler jumps across to the two Sunweb men as Erviti and Asgreen are caught.

Deceuninck-QuickStep, B&B Hotels, Bora-Hansgrohe are also making moves out front.

Now Alexey Lutsenko (Astana) goes.

40km to go

Soler pushes on, dropping the Sunweb duo. A few more riders are coming across to Benoot and Kragh Andersen.

The Spaniard crosses the top of the climb alone.

There are eight or nine riders in the group with the Sunweb men.

Peter Sagan is hanging on at the back of the peloton.

A descent now and then the climb of the Suc au May, which is 3.8km long at 7.7 per cent. The top of the climb comes in 13km, so 26km from the finish.

Soler is caught by the attack group. Benoot, Kragh Andersen are with their teammate Marc Hirschi, Max Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe), and Quentin Pacher (B&B Hotels-Vital Concept).

Lutsenko and Alessandro De Marchi (CCC Team) chase the leaders. The peloton is 35 seconds back.

Another group has joined up with Lutsenko and De Marchi now. Bob Jungels (Deceuninck-QuickStep) and Sebastien Reichenbach (Groupama-FDJ) are there.

Hugo Houle (Astana), Pierre Rolland (B&B Hotels-Vital Concept), Pierre Rolland (B&B Hotels-Vital Concept), Jesus Herrada (Cofidis), Jasper Stuyven and Kenny Elissonde (Trek-Segafredo) are in the chase group, too.

33km to go

20 seconds between leaders and chasers, 40 seconds to the peloton.

Jungels is working on the front of the chase group to close the gap.

The riders hit the Suc au May climb now. It's a narrow road, 3.8km long at an average of 7.7 per cent.

CCC and Jumbo-Visma lead the peloton, 40 seconds down on the leaders.

Benoot and Kragh Andersen have dropped from the lead group as Jungels does from the chase.

Up front, Soler attacks and is countered by Hirschi.

28km to go

Hirschi up front now. Soler and Schachmann chase. The larger chase group further back, then the peloton.

Sagan still hangs on at the rear of the peloton, meanwhile...

And now Sagan is droppd as the road gets steeper. A minute from Hirschi to the peloton.

Alaphilippe has bridged to the second chase group, as Devenyns pushes on in support.

Alaphilippe and co are closing in on Soler and Schachmann. 

With him are Devenyns, Herrada, Reichenbach, Rolland.

26km to go

The Alaphilippe group sweeps up Kragh Andersen. They're 35 seconds down on Hirschi.

Sagan back with the peloton now. They're 1:22 down on Hirschi.

More riders make it across to the Alaphilippe group – De Marchi, Roche, some other riders who were dropped on the climb.

Hard to tell exactly who is in that chase group on the descent as the riders head in and out of the shade.

1:40 between Hirschi and the peloton. 30 seconds to Soler and Schachmann, 55 seconds to the Alaphilippe group.

15km to go

30 seconds from Hirschi to the chasers. Meanwhile, Alaphilippe attacks from 55 seconds back after Devenyns finished his work.

There was very little co-operation from other riders, so off the Frenchman goes. 

Alaphilippe is brought back. Devenyns goes to the front again.

It looks hopeless for the chasers, the peloton are way out of it, and the Soler-Schachmann group are losing time now. It looks like Hirschi's to lose.

12km to go

Hirschi takes on a drink as Alaphilippe has another go.

10km to go

The Alaphilippe group catches Soler and Schachmann.

45 seconds from Hirschi to the chase group. Herrada puts in a dig. Shambolic from the chase group, this. Only Devenyns and one of the B&B Hotels men are actually putting in work on the front.

5km to go

Rolland goes off the front. Nicolas Roche jumps on his wheel. All Hirschi has to do is stay upright at this point.

Back in the peloton, Mitchelton-Scott have been working on the front for a while. Who knows why though. They haven't made a dent in the gap to the attackers.

4km to go

Jumbo-Visma take over at the front of the peloton. No changes up front.

3km to go

55 seconds to the Alaphilippe group. This is over despite riders still putting in attacks off the front.

Alaphilippe looks to have some kind of gear problem and is distanced from the chase group.

2km to go

Rolland tries to attack again, not that it really matters anymore.

1km to go

Hirschi rides under the flamme rouge.

Hirschi wins stage 12.

Pierre Rolland takes second place, 46 seconds down.

Peter Sagan outsprints Matteo Trentin for 13th at the finish. That's 4 points to add to his collection.

Here's the top 10 on the stage.

1 Marc Hirschi (Swi) Team Sunweb 5:08:49

2 Pierre Rolland (Fra) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept 0:00:47

3 Soren Kragh Andersen (Nor) Team Sunweb 0:00:52

4 Quentin Pacher (Fra) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept

5 Jesus Herrada (Spa) Cofidis

6 Max Schachmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe

7 Hugo Houle (Can) Astana Pro Team

8 Sebastien Reichenbach (Swi) Groupama-FDJ

9 Kenny Elissonde (Fra) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:56

10 Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Sunweb

And here's the GC, unchanged after today.

1 Primoz Roglic (Slo) Team Jumbo-Visma 51:26:46

2 Egan Arley Bernal Gomez (Col) Ineos Grenadiers 00:00:21

3 Guillaume Martin (Fra) Cofidis 00:00:28

4 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale 00:00:30

5 Nairo Quintana (Col) Team Arkea-Samsic 00:00:32

6 Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Pro Cycling 00:00:32

7 Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates 00:00:44

8 Adam Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott 00:01:02

9 Miguel Angel Lopez Moreno (Col) Astana Pro Team 00:01:15

10 Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Bahrain McLaren 00:01:42

Here's our short report on the stage, including results and a photo gallery.

Sergio Higuita (EF Pro Cycling) and Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe), who lay at 18th and 20th this morning, finished today's stage at 9:37 and 13:38 down.

The pair are now over 15 and 28 minutes down on GC. Free to go for stages in the Alps?

A few reactions from the finish:

Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-QuickStep): If I’d tried harder to win the stage I would be disappointed.I tried my best but Hirschi  was the strongest today. 

Max Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohhe): Hirschi was unbeatable today. We’d created a strategy for Sagan, with me and then Lennard Kämna to go into the attacks but it  proved to be too hard. 

Marc Hirschi (Team Sunweb): It's unbelievable because I was two times close. Today I never believed I could make it because it was really doubtful. I went full gas the last few hundred metres. It's super nice - I can't describe it, it's hard to find words.

Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma): It was maybe not the easiest - we expected a breakaway to go immediately in the beginning but the guys from other teams were pulling strongly. Again, not really a rest day I guess.

Another day in yellow for Roglič. Tomorrow's stage finishes atop the Pas de Peyrol, a 5.4km, 7.7 per climb with the final 2km averaging double-digit gradients. Should be an interesting finish.

KOM leader Benoît Cosnefroy said that he wanted to make the break today but his legs weren't great. There's plenty of climbing coming up tomorrow though, including a first-category climb after 35.5km. Another try for the AG2R man?

Here's our finish line quotes article from stage 12.

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