Hello, and welcome to my TED talk.
It's stage 15 of the Tour de France and we have a real mountain feast on the menu with arguably the toughest mountain finish of the race coming up. It should be the biggest face-off that we've seen from the GC contenders in the race so far with three massive climbs and the summit finish on the Grand Colombier. We'll have live text coverage throughout the day, so sit back, relax and enjoy the stage.
The official start is about an hour away, or just under, but there's a long old neutralized zone today. There's plenty of news to catch up on before the start though and a few quotes from riders as they sign on. First, lets take look at the GC standings coming into today's sure to be epic stage.
So Roglic has a decent but not extravagant lead over his main rivals but that could all change today on the final climb. Even though the riders climb the 'easiest' of the four sides to the summit, it's still a long brutish climb and the gaps could be huge. Of course we had this climb in the Tour de l’Ain, or Tour de Ian as I for some reason constantly type out, and the gaps was small but today's summit finish comes after two weeks of racing.
There are actually a few more famous Ians that you think. Ian Thorpe, Ian Wright, Ian Brown, Ian Rush, Ian St. John, Ian McKellen, Ian Hislop. Ian Boswell!
But back to today's stage and we have those three climbs. We kick off with the Montée de la Selle de Fromentel, a first cat climb 11.1km in length. It's tough and we'll see some splits there but it comes about 100km into the stage. Then we have a rapid descent, before going straight up the first cat, Col de la Biche. That's just under 7km in length but there are some sections that are incredibly steep. Then it's another fast descent before the final 17.4km Grand Colombier, a HC climb.
The Jura mountains though are spectacular and we should see some incredible scenery today from the CN blimp, as we start to power it up. The roll out is in about 20 minutes with the official start coming at around 12:50 CET. That means you've got enough time to make a brew and enjoy Alasdair Fotheringham's Tour de France stage 15 preview.
And a quick reminder to bookmark our Tour de France hub page, where you can find all our TDF news, reports, features, interviews, and results. We update it everyday so it's always jam-packed with content.
The intermediate sprint today at Le Bouchage, which comes well before the climbs, will be interesting. Sagan needs to claw back more points on Sam Bennett but there's only so many times he can draw on his team, and the terrain out of Lyon may not inspire another ambush. However, a break could still go all the way today.
The yellow jersey Roglic is near the front ahead of our roll out. Last night he was peak Roglic in his press conference, giving very little away ahead of today's stage.
And near the end of stage 14 there was a late scare for Richie Porte who had a flat ahead of the final climb. Luckily, body double and all-round nice guy Kenny Elissonde was on hand and gave his leader his bike. Hear from Porte, just here, or read our analysis about his last TDF as a leader, right here.
We're about to head out from Lyon for stage 15 of the Tour de France. A length neutralized zone though as we scamper away from all that nasty road furniture but then we should see some attacks. Fingers crossed we have a proper race ahead of the intermediate sprint.
And just like that, we're off and heading towards the official start. Gorgeous blue skies today in Lyon and not too much wind around either, so perfect race conditions.
Kung is up near the front and riding next to Roglic. Will the FDJ rider go again today? The mountains aren't his thing but if a few climbers want cover in an early break before the climbs, then Kung would do an excellent job. FDJ needs to take something from this race after Pinot's GC big collapsed and a stage win or two would do very nicely. Procycling's dep ed, Sophie Hurcom has lined out all the teams still needing to salvage their race, right here.
And...
Rojas near the front for Movistar, other than a crash we've not really seen much of him in this year's race but Movistar need to do more than just win the teams' classification in this year's race. They've not taken a win since the first few weeks of the season and Mas is clinging onto a top-ten place right now, and EF are back in the lead of the teams' standings.
We saw a late attack from Bernal yesterday but Sean Yates, who used to call the shots at Team Sky from the car has been critical over his old team's tactics. He's raised some serious questions over their efforts and who is running things. Here's our story.
Just over 2.3km to go in the neutralized zone. Told it was long... but King Kung is still at the front and he's looking intent on being in the break again. Will Pinot go with him?
We are out of the city though and on wider roads, which is a relief and the flag is about to drop. Direct Energie want this, they've got several riders on the attack and now Kung goes. Cousin is the next rider to try. Were' racing stage 15 of the Tour de France, 174.5km to the summit of the Grand Colombier.
Rolland has joined Cousin but Juul Jensen is trying to get into the action as Politt then tries his luck but so far everything is being chased down. CCC go next.
It's Trentin. He goes over the top and Rolland, Cousin and two more riders have gone with him. I can see a Lotto rider chasing though. Is that De Gendt?
It's not. But there are around 8 riders with a very small lead at the moment. Bennett has gone off the front with Sagan. Interesting. Very interesting.
EF have a rider in the move but no Movistar but it's all coming back together with 4km raced already. This has been a breathtaking start to stage 15 of the Tour de France as we see Trentin go again and then Alaphilippe attacks. That will crush Sagan as sees the Frenchman immediately get a gap.
Alaphilippe has a slender lead as we see Dan Martin and a gaggle of riders try and chase. QuickStep are being aggressive but in doing so they're actually trying to defend Bennett ahead of the intermediate. We can see Pedersen in the counter attack. He clearly wants to get in move so he can tell us about it in tomorrow's race blog.
Kluge is leading the chase as Alaphilppe keeps the pressure on but finally the move has been shut down. 166km to go.
So many quality riders are trying to get into the break of the day but so far we've not even had any time gaps because everything is being chased down. Trek and CCC are trying to kick things off again.
Juul Jensen goes once more but Jungels chases him down with Chaves on his wheel. Six riders have a gap but Pedersen is leading the chase.
A pause and then Juul Jensen accelerates once more. Who will bridge over? Five riders are trying just that right now.
Crash. Higuita! That's a bad one, he looked back, Jungels went across his front wheel and the Colombian is on the deck. They were both trying to get in the break.
Higuita wasn't looking forward but Jungels' move was more than just a normal swinging off. No intent, obviously, but Higuita didn't see that coming in the slightest.
The EF Pro Cycling rider is back on his feet, and on his bike but the medical car is next to him. He looks ok at the moment but a big scare for him and his team early on stage 15 of the Tour de France.
And now Sagan and Bennett find themselves off the front as they mark each other but they're now back in the bunch, which is all together with 156km to go. Now Hermans makes a move as we see Kristoff at the back of the bunch. Juul Jensen makes it over to Hermans but the bunch are about to bring this all back together again. 20km raced already.
Higuita still back in the cars, his left side cut to ribbons after that fall. That's such a shame and such a needless fall. They're all needless but you know what I mean... Rolland has just attacked.
154km of racing and Rolland has a gap but several teams are going after him now as we see Sagan watching Bennett like a hawk.
Just five seconds for Rolland, who won one of the best ever stages in the Tour back in 2011. ISN are leading the chase though and it's all back together as we see Sagan go again and Bennett is with him.
Trentin finds himself on the front and three riders are clear as we see Sagan on the front of the peloton with Kevin Reza leading the chase. And Sagan goes again but Bennett is once more on his wheel.
Sagan, interestingly, is doing this all on his own. No teammates from Bora near the front at the moment. To be honest, they're probably shattered from yesterday's efforts as Politt and Van Avermaet try their luck. 148km to go.
CCC go again as we see that Higuita is 1'22 back to the bunch. Meanwhile another move has been shut down.
Five riders go clear with Simon Geschke leading the charge. There is a reaction from the peloton but these guys do finally have some daylight.
Le Tour have reported that Higuita crashed for a second time in the convoy. He is still riding though.
143km to go and is this the break? Trentin and Simon Geschke have a few riders with them and the gap is 14 seconds. The bunch are lined out, so it's touch and go.
The leading seven have 21 seconds, so the gap is going out. We'll have the names shortly as we see Jungels trying to bridge over. Maybe he's worried about Higuita might say when the Colombian comes back after his crashes.
So our leaders courtesy of Le Tour are:
It looks like Mitchelton are chasing having missed out on the move but the gap is only increasing. It's at 28 seconds as we see Jungels isn't going anywhere at the moment.
Yeah the bunch aren't finished yet as we see Impey kick things off again as the gap goes out to 35 seconds. 137km to go as the break continue to build their lead but they're having to work for every second. Mezgec accelerates now.
Wout van Aert shuts that one down though as Jumbo are happy with the break but Mitchelton go again as they try and toss Chaves up the road. The gap is holding right now at 34 seconds. Even Chaves takes a turn. Jungels was caught by the way.
There's then another move from Jensen and even Alaphilippe has a little dig as the gap drops to 32 seconds with 135km to go.
Higuita... his race looks over. He's by the side of the road with Wegelius. The Colombian understandably is in tears. Some claps from the fans but he's getting into a medical car. Such a shame.
And now we see Bauer on the front for Mitchelton as the chase settles down but the gap is at 40 seconds. Movistar and Lotto Soudal also have a man on the front and they look intent on keeping the lead down to around a minute so that they can possibly bridge over on the first cat climb later on. The gap is at 44 seconds with 131km to go.
To say the least, @BobJungels is not my favorite person right now.September 13, 2020
128km to go
Looks like Mitchelton have stopped their chase and the bunch sit up after around an hour of full-on attacks. Jumbo Visma spread out over the front of the bunch and that's that... the break of the day has gone as we head through a feedzone.
Three previous stage winners in the move today. Tough to call who the best climber is though, Rolland if you go by previous wins but Herrada and Gogl have quality too.
Crash and Caparaz is down with a rider from ISN. The Ineos rider is back on his bike with 123km to go and he's forced to chase. That's an early blow to Bernal, who needs to go on the attack today or at the very least not lose time to Pogacar and Roglic.
Kluge was on the front but Tony Martin comes up to him, has a word, he's smiling so it must be friendly, and the Lotto rider eases up. The gap to the break is now at 2'07 and we're 5km from this intermediate sprint.
Carapaz is just assessing his left shoulder. He's clearly in pain but he has made it back to the bunch, which is encouraging for Ineos and Bernal. Trentin should gobble up the 20 points at the intermediate, shouldn't he? Can't see anyone trying to challenge him.
Tony Martin gets on the radio as he sits on the front and sets the pace but the gap is at 2'44 with 118km to go.
Just behind Jumbo, Ineos settle around Bernal as just a few wheels back Sagan marks Bennett. The leaders have three minutes as Trentin just takes the points from Bonifazio.
1km to go for the bunch and Sagan fires a rider up the road to take seven points as he knows he not fast enough to beat Bennett. The Bora rider is caught and Bennett and Morkov take more points on Sagan.
Hugo Hofstetter was in the same crash as Carapaz, and he's just coming back through the cars having had some medical attention.
108km to go and the gap is at 3'59. At this rate the break have no real chance of contesting the finish, they'd need around 6-7 minutes at the foot of the last climb to stand a chance but the gap isn't going out that quickly right now. Jumbo are on the front and they're just setting a steady tempo but it's keeping the leaders in check.
Jumbo come through another feed zone and pick up another round of bottles as the break presses on and moves their lead out to 3'31 with 106km to go. We are climbing but no where near the first major ascent of the day.
Sagan has gone back to the team car and picked up his own bottles.
Chris Froome, currently racing Tirreno has talked to Eurosport and told them that this Tour is Roglic's to lose.
Roglic of course won on the Colombier earlier in the year at the Tour de l'Ain after a late attack that Bernal couldn't follow. Pogacar wasn't at the race, but many expect Ineos to up the pace early today as they look to put pressure on their rivals. They tried that the last time and Roglic got the better of them, so it will be fascinating to see what happens on the final climb today.
96km to go
The break are working well but they're not able to really build on their advantage, so if they start the final climb with 4'22, as they have now, they'll be caught before the finish. So much will be determined by how the peloton ride the first climb. Right now Pogacar is sat no Kristoff's wheel, the winner on stage 1 in Nice, which feels like an age ago.
Herrada and Gogl both have a few KOM points so they might be looking to fight over the maximum points over the first two climbs of the day as we see all the GC teams line out in the bunch: Jumbo, Ineos, Bahrain, UAE, Arkea and then Movistar.
But it's still Tony Martin on the front, who has basically been asked to ride a 120km time trial today as he leans over the bars and settles into today's duties. On his own he's keeping the break at 4'23.
Chris Froome: 2020 Tour de France is Roglic's to loseFour-time champion hopes teammate Bernal can come good in final weekhttps://t.co/WpxvMyJHIP pic.twitter.com/y5IMl0VSy8September 13, 2020
87km to go and Bahrain-McLaren pick up their lunch today. This is possibly Landa's biggest day as GC rider in his career. He cannot afford to lose time today, because if he does his podium chances could be over and he came here with massive ambitions after Bahrain built their entire team around him.
The break have pushed their lead out to 4'31 so it's creeping up there but again they'd need around 6-7 minutes at the foot of the final climb to stand any chance, maybe even more. 77km to go and we are closing in on the first cat Montée de la Selle de Fromentel. It's a beast of a climb, 11.1km in length with an average gradient of 8.1 per cent.
Sergio Higuita abandons Tour de France after crashing twice on stage 15Colombian has suspected broken finger or handhttps://t.co/oxzC8JI5ZH pic.twitter.com/qRxtxiWF6ZSeptember 13, 2020
The break are on the lower slopes of the first climb, as Trentin leads the way. Here we go, with the gap at 4;30. It looks like, and makes sense, that Trentin works for Geschke.
We can expect this break to split on this climb because the stronger riders have to keep the pressure on. We could be down to just 3-4 riders as the peloton race into the top of the climb. 72km to go.
Coquard is on the radio, the first rider dropped on the climb. He has Reza waiting for him though but it's a long way back from here. The Vital car comes up and some words are exchanged. This will be a long day for the Frenchman as we see Bennett slip back but with Alaphilippe for company.
Ewan is also on the back of the Bennett group. If he can hang with this group he'll be fine as we see the road continues to climb and still 10km to go on this ascent.
Montée de la Selle de Fromentel is blowing the race apart as Boasson Hagen, Stuyven and Viviani are also dropped. The pace isn't 'that fast' with the break holding at 4'30 but they're riding quick enough at the front of the peloton. Sagan is in the Bennett group too as up ahead Trentin sets the pace for the break.
Trentin's pace is good enough to keep the break at 4'22 and the entire group in one piece, while Ineos have moved off the front of the peloton. It's all Jumbo, UAE and Bahrain-McLaren.
67km to go
And Geschke attacks right away, he's not hanging around as Rolland goes after him. Herrada is trying to make it a trio.
Mercato has been dropped, as up ahead we have Geschke, Rolland and then Herrada, who just makes it across in time. Geschke continues to push the pace though, still with 67km to go.
Gogl is just a few seconds back and trying to make it a quartet but Geschke isn't going to wait at this point with the gap down to the peloton at 3'45 as another batch of riders have been dropped by the main field.
Hirschi is going backwards but no shame in that. First Grand Tour, won a stage and has been one of the highlights of this year's race.
Ineos have lost Rowe with 66km to go as Bauer goes backwards to as we're down to about 60 or 70 riders in the peloton. Tony Martin is still there and setting the pace, so it's a steady tempo.
Oss and Schachman are dropped, Cataldo as well as Gogl still sits a few seconds behind the leaders - Rolland, Geschke, and Herrada.
Van Garderen has dropped back too, which is a bit of a surprise as the leaders drop Herrada. There's about 1km between the remnants of the break and the peloton.
Yesterday's stage winner and Impey are the next two to slip back, with the green jersey group two minutes behind the yellow jersey.
Finally, after almost 100km on the front, Martin has been dropped and that means Gesink takes over as Jumbo lift the pace with around 2.5km to go on the climb.
Herrada has made it back to Geschke and Rolland and their lead is back up to four minutes as Dumoulin looks around to see who is with the Roglic group.
The leading trio still have 1km to go until they reach the summit as Buchmann is dropped.
Gogl probably won't come back on the climb but he should make it back on the descent as we see Trentin is now caught by the main field. GVA has just been dropped. Nieve also dropped. Wow. And Carthy.
The Jumbo Visma pace setting isn't that fast but it's just relentless and there are already a number of casualties. Who will be the first GC rider to really strruggle?
Polanc - still out of contract - moves to the front for Pogacar and Ineos have a few riders at the back of this group. Up the road, Gogl makes it four leaders, just before the summit.
Bernal is there but he only has one rider with him, Kwiatkowski. That's not a great look with some many climbs to come. And Amador, Carapaz, and Van Baarle are dropped. All three of them with 63km to go. That's huge.
The world champion has been distanced but the big news is that Ineos are in big trouble right now and Kwiatkowski is the only rider left with Bernal. I think Van Baarle might have come back though, as there's another Ineos jersey near the back as Polanc sets the pace.
Now Wout Van Aert moves up and that Ineos rider at the back was Sivakov and he's struggling too. The yellow jersey group is down to about 25 riders. 60km to go.
They crest the summit and there are just three Ineos riders left. Bernal is the rider at the back of the group as Castroviejo comes back to make it four. Just!
Herrada was first over the climb, by the way as we hurtle down the descent.
Still two massive climbs to come and with 58km to go the gap is at 3'14. That's not going to be enough.
Van Aert is leading on the descent - his incredible Tour de France continues - as Jumbo Visma boss this stage. There's still a long way to go though with a first cat climb and a HC ascent to come.
Gogl has forged a small gap on the descent and so he starts the Col de la Biche with a few seconds over Rolland, Geschke, and Herrada.
Kwiatkowski is at the medical car. Is that for him or a teammate? He hasn't fallen as Gogl extends his lead to 30 seconds. The peloton is at 3'19 with Gesink on the front doing all the work. Wout Van Aert is on his wheel.
Four Ineos riders are back in the yellow jersey group as Gogl moves his lead out to 51 seconds.
It's all coming back together though as Gesink rips into the leader's advantage as the main field - or what's left of it, start the second climb.
We have six Jumbo riders on the front at the moment but the danger man is Pogacar, who asked his slim-downed team to set the pace on the previous climb. A sure sign that he's feeling good. Gesink is doing a huge job at the moment as we see Pinot at the back. It won't be his day.
Landa only has two men with him, that's a bit of a surprise this early but it's the same numbers around Pogacar as we see Martin struggling at the back . The Cofidis rider then tries to move up, coming around Pinot.
50km to go
How much work can Gesink do, because he was also on the front over the last climb? 4.5km to go on this climb.
Gogl is doing a great ride on this climb when you consider he was dropped on the last ascent. He's still got 55 seconds but Jumbo are coming. And it's all over for Geschke with 49km to go. He's off the back and Herrada is dropped as Rolland gives chase.
Gogl is putting in the best ride that we've seen from NTT in this year's race as we continue to climb. 3.7k to go until we reach the summit as Gesink gets out of the saddle once more. It looks like he's on the ropes though.
Rolland is closing though on Gogl, with the gap down to 30 seconds, so a catch might be made before we reach the summit. Gesink takes off his shades, wipes away the sweat and then gets back to work. He's been immense so far.
48km to go and Pinot has been dropped. Gaudu is with him but the younger Groupama rider gets the nod to carry on. Up ahead and Rolland is closing and closing fast. The peloton are at 2'23.
Over in Tirreno, xxxxxx xxx xxx xxxx has won. You can find our report, and results, right here.
47km to go and Gesink has peeled off and that means Wout Van Aert is next up and with 2.2km to go to the summit, Rolland has made contact with Gogl.
Ah Gesink is back. He's not done for the day as Chaves is nw dropped by the GC grouo.
Rolland has moved to the front right away and Gogl is hanging on because he wants those KOM points. Herrada is at 20 seconds, and as ever, never giving up.
Sivakov has been dropped. He's just not been able to find his best form since that crash on stage 1 as Gesink stamps on the pedals and Rolland takes on a bidon. Herrada might come back on the long descent but the peloton are closing with the gap down to 2'07.
And Rolland has dropped Gogl with 500m to go until the summit but the bunch are just 500m behind at this point.
And Rollland goes over the top and takes 10 points. Gogl is next and then it's Herrada. Kwiatkowski picks up a bidon for Bernal but he's almost the last line of defense at this point.
Martin is still with the yellow jersey group. Two Martins in fact, with Dan Martin also here. Only Tony Martin is missing.
Even though they've crested the climb the road descends for just a minute and then it goes up again for a while. Then it's the long 16km descent towards the finale as Gogl comes back to Rolland.
Now onto the descent and we have three leaders: Gogl, Rolland and Herrada. They have 1;27 over the peloton with 41km to go.
A few more riders from Ineos have made it back but Bernal was again near the back on that last climb too. Is he bluffing or is he simply struggling? We did see Kwiatkowski go back to the medical car earlier and he didn't crash.
Herrada has lost some ground as we continue to descent before the Grand Colombier, all 17km of it.
Gogl is tearing down the descent and Rolland gives the NTT rider some space, with the yellow jersey group at 1'47. A reminder that all the GC riders are in the Roglic group but we have seen Ineos down to just two riders at one point. They have managed to recover on the descents so far but we have a summit finish coming up.
Gogl might start the climb with a 1'40 lead but that would never be enough. He's continuing on the descent and setting a furious pace though, as it looks like Herrada has gone by Rolland. 33km to go.
No it's still Gogl, Rolland and then Herrada on the road. The peloton are at 2'00 so we should see Gogl take the combativity award, unless Rolland returns and does something special on the final climb.
Mechanical for LL Sanchez, who needs a new rear wheel. He'll be back in the valley, as he's a super descender. Up ahead and Rolland is in hot pursuit of Gogl as the road flattens out.
Further down the road and the Jumbo Visma train pick up Geschke as Rollland catches Gogl with 29km to go. The peloton is at 2'03. Here we Gogl.
Gesink, who else, is still on the front and driving the pace. Surely, surely he'll peel off at the foot of the next climb. At the start of all this Ineos were the second team in the bunch but Bahrain and UAE are now ahead of them. The signs are really not good for Bernal at this point.
Herrada has just been swept up by the bunch with 24km to go, while the two leaders have extended their advantage to 2'11. Nice work from Gogl and Rolland.
Dan Martin gives his left quad a shake at the back of the group. If he has the legs for the stage win then he has to go really early. Big ask though with so much on the line with just 4km to go until we reach the base of the Grand Colombier. The gap to the two leaders is at 2'09.
Inside the final 20km to go and there's no let up in the bunch. You might expect the pace to ease as riders quickly regroup but Jumbo Visma are just setting a punishing pace with Wout Van Aert on the front.
And it's Gesink still on the front in fact as we see Roglic with teammates all around him. Pogacar is far from alone with still two riders from UAE there. Bernal also has numbers but what do they have left in their legs after already struggling. Quintana, Landa, and Porte are all here too. And Lopez, not mentioned him yet today.
Gogl and Rolland are almost on the climb but their advantage is down to 1'49. It's a nice little seven per cent opener.
And we're climbing the 17km Grand Colombier and Gesink is still here. Incredible as the gap to the leaders drops to 1'44.
Gesink, finally pulls over and Wout Van Aert takes over. G Martin needs a new bike and that's surely his day done. 16km to go,
Martin is coming back through the cars but this is going to really cost him as we see the yellow jersey group drop to about 20 riders almost immediately.
15km to go and the gap is down to just 1'15.
Rolland has dropped Gogl as we see Martin slowly coming back to the leaders. He will do it but this has cost him a lot. Jesus Herrada his saviour.
Up the road and Rolland has 1'09 with 14.9km to go as Van Aert continues to set the pace. Gaudu has been dropped and D Martin is out the back too.
Wout Van Aert dropping pure climbers is something else as few more riders slip backwards. Meanwhile Bernal just has one teammate left.
Barguil can't handle the Van Aert pace, and he's gone out of the back and Polanc. We've got about 20 riders left with 13.8km to go.
Gogl has just been caught as G. Martin at last makes it back to the Roglic group as up ahead Rolland has only 25 seconds.
Quintana is about to be dropped. 13.3km to go and he's right at the back, and he can't handle the pace from Wout Van Aert.
Just 13 seconds for Rolland and Bernal is about to be dropped too.
They've gone. 13km to go and Bernal and Quintana have both been dropped. Game over for both of them if they're going to be dropped this early.
Bernal is really struggling. Is it that back injury because he can't hold the pace and the gap is growing. He can't even follow Quintana at the moment.
Bernal has lost 21 seconds already but that's going to be minutes at the finish and he might not even be inside the top ten after today's finish. Quintana has formed an alliance of sorts with Bernal as they both try and limit their losses. Bernal has two riders with him but it's all about limiting his losses as we see the defending champion shaking his head. Bernal's challenge is ending today.
Bernal is now at 38 seconds as he shakes his head again as Van Aert continues to set the pace. Uran, Porte, Lopez, Pogacar, Landa, Roglic, Dumoulin, Mas, they're all here.
Adam Yates is also in the mix as Bernal pulls alongside his teammates. He's lost a minute already as a few more riders drop back, including Ellisonde.
Well over 10km to go and Barguil and Quintana have left Bernal on the mountain, while we still have four Jumbo Visma riders in the lead group. The Bernal group is at 1'37.
Van Aert pulls over and now Bennett takes over with 8.7km to go. Landa and Movistar still have numbers at this point but no attacks yet. Martin has been dropped again and Daniel Martinez. It's going to be all change in the GC today, apart from the top-two as things stand.
Lopez still has a teammate but Pogacar and Porte are alone as Martin starts to lose even more ground as Bernal's group goes out to nearly two minutes.
Quintana is at 1'28 behind the yellow jersey, so his GC bid is being torn up too as Bennett continues to set the pace.
Still 7.7km to go on this climb but still no attacks from the big favourites as Porte sits on Roglic's wheel. Landa's two men in the group, Bilbao and Caruso are doing well to hang on at the back of the group.
7.1km to go and Yates has attacked. Bennett tries to up the pace but that's a bold move from the Mitchelton rider. He's 1'42 down on GC so Roglic won't panic as we see Bennett start to fall backwards.
Yates has pulled out nine seconds already as Dumoulin takes things up at the front of the yellow jersey group with 6.5km to go.
Bernal now at 2'24 but it will be closer to four minutes at the finish as we see Caruso has been dropped. Dumoulin is clawing Yates back slowly, with the gap at 5 seconds.
About a dozen GC riders left and Dumoulin once more comes to the aid of Roglic, even with Kuss still there. 6km to go,
It will be 12 riders left when Yates is caught and that's now. 5.7km to go.
The road levels for a short while and Uran is lucky as he was struggling there for a moment. Now it kicks up again with Dumoulin still on the front. Only one attack so far.
3'23 for Bernal now. He'll be outside the top-ten for sure as Dumoulin gets on the radio before rising from the saddle again.
Bernal just can't find any power at all as up ahead Dumoulin drives the pace with Roglic on his wheel. 3.4km to go.
Bernal again shaking his head, it's either the back or he's sick. Or both as we approach the final 2.8km of the climb. Pogacar has to move soon.
Three from 12 in this group are Jumbo riders as Dumoulin lines things out once more. The pace is so high that no one can attack at the moment but Pogacar still looks fresh.
2km to go as we see Quintana at 2'42 but Bernal way further back.
Still three riders from Jumbo on the front and they've totally neutralized the climb so far, with only Yates able or willing to attack. He burnt off Bennett but that was about it.
Mas looks at Valverde but the veteran just stares ahead with 1km to go and it really kicks up in a minute.
Who will go first? It's Roglic with 600m to go.
Pogacar on his wheel but gaps have been created. Kuss takes over.
Porte attacks.
Roglic is on his wheel with Lopez and Pogacar. We're down to four.
It's going to be sprint and Pogacar takes the stage, and Roglic is forced into second.
It looked like Porte was third and Lopez took fourth with the rest of the GC contenders coming in a few seconds later. Roglic couldn't drop Pogacar there and the UAE rider is chipping away at the race leader's advantage.
It's only 4 seconds for Pogacar but it all counts and mentally that's a big win for him, and his second stage in this year's race. Martin is only just coming up to the line.
Three minutes have ticked by though and still no sign from Quintana or Bernal.
Here comes Quintana, over the line 3'51 down on today's stage winner.
You can find our race report and results, right here.
Here are the top ten results from today:
Uran is now up to third overall and Bernal is out of the top ten, but he's not even finished the stage yet.
Bernal comes over the line 7'21 down on Pogacar.
And here's the GC standings after today's stage:
1 Primoz Roglic (Slo) Team Jumbo-Visma 65:37:07
2 Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates 00:00:40
3 Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Pro Cycling 00:01:34
4 Miguel Angel Lopez Moreno (Col) Astana Pro Team 00:01:45
5 Adam Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott 00:02:03
6 Richie Porte (Aus) Trek-Segafredo 00:02:13
7 Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Bahrain McLaren 00:02:16
8 Enric Mas Nicolau (Spa) Movistar Team 00:03:15
9 Nairo Quintana (Col) Team Arkea-Samsic 00:05:08
10 Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 00:05:12
Let's hear from today's stage winner Tadej Pogacar:
We thought today was really a stage first to go in the breakaway we had Marcato but then Jumbo just set the pace really high all day and made it a really difficult stage. In the end, I was waiting for a sprint. I’m so happy to win again.I think Jumbo was really prepared for today. In my point of view, there was no sense to attack.I don’t know what happened [to Bernal] but Jumbo did a really hard pace today and some riders paid for it.For the moment [Roglic] seems unstoppable but today Bernal cracked and maybe another day I will crack or Roglic. We don’t’ know in a three-week stage race. There are still opportunities.
Here is our reaction piece on Egan Bernal and how his Tour challenge is over.
Let's hear from stage winner Primoz Roglic:
"For sure, I also wanted to win today. The team did a really great job but in the end I was a little too short. It was a good day for us. The guys were really flying today. Chapeau to each and every one. So far we are really doing a great job here in the Tour. It's not an individual sport, cycling, for a really top performance you need a strong team around you. It would be better if I had gained four seconds but I was a little too short, and he was better today. I'm happy with how it went. Now, tomorrow a rest day and we start the final. {on Bernal losing time} I don't bother so much with others - who is doing well or bad - it's better to keep the focus on ourselves, it's the only thing we can manage. So far it's going really well."
We've looked at how the GC picture has changed after today's stage, and you can read our story right here.
A bit of extra news and Bob Jungels has apologised for taking Higuita out of the Tour in a crash. No intention in his actions but a sad day for EF and their Colombian national champion. The story is right here.
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