Tour de France stage 11 – Live coverage

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the 11th stage of the Tour de France and another day in the mountains.

Today will see the peloton tackle Mont Ventoux twice in one day for the first time ever.

In around 75 minutes' time, the riders will set off from Sorgues to start 199 kilometres of racing.

Here's our preview of today's stage

The riders are currently signing in at the start of today's stage.

The mystique of Mont Ventoux in Tour de France history

Dual ascents of the Giant of Provence to add to Tour de France history in 2021

Read up on what happened  on yesterday's stage 10 in Valence here

Tour de France stage 10 analysis: Teamwork works

While other teams look disorganised, Deceuninck-Quick Step have shown that with planning and coherence, results come

Lachlan Morton crested Mont Ventoux two days ago and is now  heading for the Pyrenees after finishing stage 14.

Read the latest update on his Alt Tour here

The Tour de France and Mont Ventoux – Gallery

A look back at some of the best racing photos from 'The Giant of Provence'

15 minutes to the start.

A detailed look at the profile today.

Of course, race leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) is the big favourite among the GC today, and he should make more time on his 'rivals' today. It will be interestig to see how AG2R's Ben O'Connor, who lies second at 2:01 but three minutes up on third, does today, too.

However, it is expected that the breakaway could take the stage victory today.

Look out for polka dot jersey contenders Nairo Quintana (Arkea-Samsic), Michael Woods (ISN), Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious) today.

There's a  long list of strong climbers who are far away on GC and could be contenders for the break too, including Guillaume Martin (Cofidis), Sergio Higuita (EF-Nippo), Dylan Teuns (Bahrain Victorious), Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-QuickStep), Simon Yates (BikeExchange), Vincenzo Nibali and Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo), among others...

The riders have set off in Sorgues for an 8km ride through the neutral zone.

Nothing of note going on in the neutral zone. 2km left to run.

Sergio Henao punctures.

199km to go

Here we go! The flag is dropped and racing has begun.

No attacks at the start.

Now the attacks start. Alaphilippe is on the move.

All lined out at the front behind the Frenchman.

Team DSM deny Van Wilder is on the verge of breaking contract

Reports have suggested Belgian youngster could become seventh rider to leave early since 2015

Good to get some helicopter shots of Châteauneuf-du-Pape while the riders are fighting to make the break of the day. Exactly what we want to see right now.

Alaphilippe continues to push on.

Team TotalEnergies are also present up front.

192km to go / 7km done

Greg Van Avermaet (AG2R Citroën) at the front now. Nobody has made it away yet.

Sagan, Haller, Kluge, Alaphilippe all up there.

Simon Geschke (Cofidis) goes off the front but can't get away.

188km to go / 11km done

Jonas Rickaert (Alpecin-Fenix) tries a move off the front. Davide Ballerini (Deceuninck-QuickStep) chases.

Rickaert and Ballerini have 10 seconds.

Bruno Armirail (Groupama-FDJ) is back at the medical car.  He hasn't been well the past few days.

A larger group of riders head off in pursuit of the two leaders.

None of the men on the attack are getting much of a gap.

Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) among those on the move.

181km to go / 18km done

It's all back together now. Ballerini and Rickaert are caught.

Alex Aranburu (Astana-Premier Tech) has a puncture and stops for a wheel change.

Philippe Gilbert (Lotto Soudal) now among those having a go along with Warren Barguil (Arkea-Samsic).

176km to go / 23km done

Jasper Philipsen and an Alpecin-Fenix teammate make a move now.

Alaphilippe and Quintana on the move now. The big guns are going.

Trek's Julien Bernard chases.

The duo have a bit of a gap  here.

Tony Martin is in the ditch. He has crashed pretty hard and has blood all over his leg. He's standing up and is conscious though.

Martin is being tended to as he sits on the side of the ditch now. He's bleeding from his elbow too.

170km to go / 19km done

15 seconds for Alaphilippe and Quintana.

The duo are close to the fourth-cat Côte de Fontaine-de-Vaucluse (1.9km at 6 per cent).

Steven Kruijswijk is attempting to make it across.

Martin is still being treated to at the moment and his race is over.

More riders attack from the peloton. They're 30 seconds down on the leaders now.

An update from Brad Wiggins on the moto, who tells us that Tony Martin has crashed and abandoned. Cheers mate.

Van Aert pushing on with Asgreen, Nibali, Mollema, Izagirre and several others as the riders hit the climb.

Benoît Cosnefroy (AG2R) on the move solo now.

Alaphilippe has dropped Quintana on the climb!

166km to go / 33km done

13-14 per cent gradients in the middle of the hill.

Quintana is caught by the attackers behind. 10 seconds to Alaphilippe.

Riders already dropping at the rear of the peloton.

7km to go to the intermediate sprint at Les Imberts.

Simon Yates and Dylan Teuns lead a new move.

Alaphilippe heads downhill now. He's around 15 seconds up on the riders behind.

Neilson Powless (EF) pushes on in the peloton.

The peloton had split on the climb but the groups are coming back together on the flat.

Anthony Perez (Cofidis), Elie Gesbert (Arkea-Samsic), Neilson Powless (EF), Dan Martin (ISN), Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) on the counter attack behind Alaphilippe, who is 40 seconds up on the peloton.

158km to go / 41km done

Alaphilippe takes the full 20 points at the intermediate sprint.

Powless leads the five-man chase group across.

A six-man group follows, with Sagan and Colbrelli picking up a handful of points in the peloton.

Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix), Wout Poels (Bahrain), Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies)  among those in the second group as the first group catches Alaphilippe.

The leaders hit the fourth-cat Côte de Gordes (2.6km at 5.1 per cent).

Now the peloton is pretty much back with the break group.

Cavendish off the back with Michael Mørkøv now. Philipsen is with them.

Powless dropped from the break.

Martin and Alaphliippe jump off the front.

The jersey holders at the start of the day – Quintana, Pogacar, Cavendish, Vingegaard.

Colbrelli, Thomas, Sagan distanced at the back.

Alaphilippe leads Martin and Perez over the top of the climb.

Pierre Rolland (B&B Hotels p/b KTM) joins the three leaders.

Alaphilippe and Rolland push on down the descent.

Spotted: Jumbo Visma on yet more non-sponsor wheels at the Tour de France

Rest day photo confirms Vision Metron are the wheelset of choice

25 seconds between the leaders and the peloton.

Clement Russo (Arkea-Samsic) has only just passed the intermediate sprint just ahead of the broom wagon. He's eight kilometres behind the front of the race.

It looks like things are slowing up a little at the front of the peloton, which is spread across the road.

Dropped groups are making their way back in, too.

50 seconds to the break.

More attacking now. Julien Bernard and Alpecin-Fenix on the move.

Russo has abandoned the race. That's two riders out today.

144km to go / 55km done

The break is now 1:20 up on the peloton. 

The counter-attack group includes Vegard Stake Laengen (UAE), Julien Bernard, Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo), Nils Politt (Bora-Hansgrohe), Xandro Meurisse, Kristian Sbaragli (Alpecin-Fenix), Luke Durbridge (BikeExchange), and Quentin Pacher (B&B Hotels p/b KTM). they're 40 seconds down.

Kenny Elissonde (Trek-Segafredo), Greg Van Avermaet (AG2R Citroën) and Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) are on the move from the peloton now.

The Van Aert group is 30 seconds up on the peloton. He, Elissonde and Van Avermaet are joined by Pierre-Luc Perichon (Cofidis) and Benoît Cosnefroy (AG2R Citroën).

138km to go / 61km done

45 seconds between the leaders and the second group. A minute back to the Van Aert group. 1:40 to the  peloton.

The chasers aren't making any inroads into the lead breakaway here.

The two chase groups have merged now. They're a minute down.

Ineos currently controlling the peloton, 2:25 down on the break.

The first-cat Col de la Liguière (9.6km at 6.7 per cent) is coming up soon. The top of the climb is 15km away.

Bradley Wiggins: Ineos just don't have the Tour de France firepower they used to

Former winner tips Quintana for Mont Ventoux stage

Pogacar has a mechanical and is coming back to the peloton.

No idea why Ineos are working on the front here. Free ride for UAE today, then.

125km to go / 74km done

3:30 from break to the peloton and the chasers remain a minute behind.

The break is on the climb of the Col de la Liguière now.

Geraint Thomas is leading the peloton for Ineos at the moment. You'd expect Luke Rowe or Dylan Van Baarle to be in that spot here but the Welshman was dropped earlier so it doesn't look like he'd be there to put in work on Mont Ventoux.

Nacer Bouhanni (Arkea-Samsic) is out the back of the peloton alongside Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo).

121km to go / 78km done

The peloton is four minutes down at the moment. The chase group is still stuck at a minute behind the break.

The autobus has formed out the back, with Cavendish in the group 5:35 down and a minute behind the peloton.

Tosh van der Sande (Lotto Soudal) abandons.

118km to go / 72km done

The break is 3km from the top of this first-cat climb.

The chase group has closed in a little to 45 seconds behind.

Final metres of the climb...

Dan Martin at the rear of the group, stands on the pedals.

He jumps past the group to lead the way over the top and grab some KOM points. 

Martin had 0 mountain classification points before today. That's 10 points for him.

Another 10 up for grabs on the first ascent of Ventoux, then 20 on the second. Quintana's 50 points will be safe today.

Miles Scotson (Groupama-FDJ) has abandoned the race.

The Ineos-led peloton lead the peloton over the top of the climb five minutes down. Another 2:30 back to the autobus.

Not a long descent to the base of the first ascent of Ventoux (22.1km at 5 per cent).

107km to go / 92km done

The leaders are around 10km from the start of the climb. It's not the toughest for the first 16 kilometres but ramps up towards the top.

40 seconds between break and chasers at the moment. 

They're closing in though, and the gap is coming down as they approach Sault.

99km to go / 100km done

And now they're all together at the front. 5:20 back to the peloton.

The break start the climb now.

Bernard leads the breakaway on these early slopes. He has Mollema and Elissonde in the group with him.

Ineos continue to lead the peloton.

Spotted: Jumbo Visma on yet more non-sponsor wheels at the Tour de France

The green jersey group is currently 3:40 down on the peloton.

16km to the top for the break on these easier early slopes of the mountain. Thomas still at the front of the peloton.

David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) is already dropping! It has been a terrible Tour for the French squad.

Ignatas Konovalovas abandoned in the crashes on day one. Miles Scotson quit earlier today. Arnaud Démare and Jacopo Guarnieri missed the time cut in the Alps.

Now Gaudu, who lost time to the other top 10 competitors in Tignes, is falling out of contention.

Nairo Quintana is also dropping.

Meanwhile, Tiesj Benoot (Team DSM) and Dan McLay (Arkea-Samsic) have both abandoned, joining Russo, Tony Martin, Van der Sande and Scotson.

158 riders remain, and Victor Campenaerts is reportedly on his own at the back, 14 minutes down.

89km to go / 110km done

Alaphilippe, Van Aert, Bernard, Elissonde, Durbridge, Meurisse, Politt and Perez have jumped away at the front of the break.

23 seconds between the two breakaway groups now.

A shot of today's breakaway from a little earlier on.

Gaudu a minute behind the peloton. Cavendish's group 6:30 back.

The break is five minutes up on the pelotonn, meanwhile.

The final 6km of the climb for the break now as Pacher drops from the chase group.

This is the toughest part of this first ascent.

Dan Martin is also dropped from the break, surprisingly. Stake Laengen is just ahead of him, also dropping.

The lead break group is all together up front.

38.4kph is the average speed so far today.

Thomas is off the front of the peloton and out the back. Van Baarle takes over.

Looks like a decent sidewind hitting the mountain going by the flags.

79km to go / 120km done

Froome among those dropping from the peloton now.

3km to the top for the break. 5:20 back to the peloton.

Still six Ineos men at the head of the peloton.

Bauke Mollema jumps away from Pierre Rolland to try and get to the front group.

Pogačar has several teammates around him in the peloton. No worries for UAE at the moment.

Mollema makes it across. All three Trek riders are in the front group now.

1km to the top.

Alaphilippee sprints off the front to grab 10 points over the top ahead of Perez and Mollema.

Rolland chases alone at 30 seconds.

Through the fog at the top and now down the other side towards Malaucène for the first time.

Richard Virenque was the last Frenchman to lead the race at the top of Ventoux, winnning stage 14 in 2002.

68km to go / 131km done

Ineos continue to lead the peloton down the descent. They're 4:50 behind the break.

Bradley Wiggins: Ineos just don't have the Tour de France firepower they used to

The descent is almost 20km so it's a long way down here. Then there's another 13-14km in the valley through Bédoin to the second ascent.

Around 70-80 riders remain in the peloton.

Tour de France: All the riders who have abandoned on the Mont Ventoux stage

53km to go / 146km done

The break has reached Malaucène now. Several dropped riders, including Dan Martin, have been caught by the peloton.

Around 15km to go in the valley now before the next ascent begins.

4:30 between break and peloton. 1:40 more back to what I think is the Gaudu group.

Seven UAE riders are with Pogacar in the peloton. Ineos' work has had no real effect so far.

The British squad have been in charge of the peloton for just over 50 kilometres now.

2:10 between the break and Rolland after the descent. He's not making it to the front of the race.

43km to go / 156km done

The break reach Bédoin now and will soon be starting the second ascent of Ventoux.

A look at the profile of the climb.

Cavendish and the autobus are 18:50 down currently.

The autobus is a long way from being in danger of the time cut so far today. 

Trek-Segafredo drive ethe breakaway with their three men. They're really going for the stage today.

Perez gives a signal that he's done for the day as he drops from the break.

Meurisse, Durbridge, Alaphilippe, Politt are with Bernard, Elissonde and Mollema now.

The latest update from ultra-endurance rider Jack Thompson, who is trying to ride the whole Tour route from start to finish in 10 days.

The Amazing Chase Diary

37km to go / 162km done

Elissonde jumps from the break as Bernard finishes his work on the front. They're right at the bottom of the climb now.

Ineos continue to control the peloton, five minutes down. Who knows...

Van Aert, Alaphlippe and Mollema chase behind Elissonde. Well, Mollema isn't, obviously. He's just following.

36km to go / 14km to the top

Van Aert jumps away in pursuit. 10 seconds back.

Van Aert is making it across here.

Paret-Peintre, Henao among the riders distanced in the peloton.

Elissonde and Van Aert out front together now.

Mollema is sitting behind Alaphilippe.

35km to go / 13km to the top

Bilbao dropped.

Campenaerts abandons. He was lingering way behind the autobus.

4:55 between the leaders and the peloton, which is still led by Ineos.

30 seconds between the leading duos.

Patrick Konrad drops from the peloton.

33km to go / 11.5km to the top

Mollema jumps past Alaphilippe after riding on his wheel for the first few kilometres on the climb. The Frenchman looks done.

Mollema has 40 seconds to make up.

Valverde is dropped in the peloton along with Higuita.

Cavendish 21 minutes down. Luke Rowe and Soren Kragh Andersen are a further six minutes down, the last men in the race.

Van Aert attacks!

Around 20-25 riders left in the peloton.

Buchmann dropped.

Miguel Angel Lopez the next to drop from the peloton. Ineos keep working.

A far cry from his stunning win at the Mont Ventoux Denivele Challenge not so long ago...

32km to go / 10km to the top

Sepp Kuss and Cattaneo drop.

Van Aert still alone out front.

Carapaz and Pogaccar still have a few men left. Kelderman, O'Connor, Vingegaard, Mas, Lutsenko, G.Martin, Woods also left in the peloton.

O'Connor is at the rear of the peloton now. G.Martin and Woods just ahead.

31km to go / 9km to the top

O'Connor is dropped! He was second in GC at 2:01.

Kwiatkowski is working at the head of the group.

Guillaume Martin is dropping now.

O'Connor has 3:17 in hand over third-placed man Rigoberto Urán at the moment.

Van Aert has 40 seconds on Elissonde and 20 more seconds on Mollema. 1:40 further back to Alaphilippe and another three minutes back to the peloton.

Guillaume Martin back in the GC group but right at the back.

O'Connor is 17 seconds off the back.

Porte and Kwiatkowski still work for Carapaz. Majka with Pogačar.

29km to go / 7km to the top

Van Aert looking good so far. He's around 2km from Chalet Reynard, the point at which the scenery changes on Ventoux.

Porte, Kwiatkowski, Carapaz, Majka, Pogačar, Kelderman, Mas, Lutsenko, Urán, Vingegaard remain in the GC group in that order.

O'Connor dropping behind Bilbao and Cattaneo, who were dropped earlier on but are riding steadily on.

The Australian takes on some gels from his team car.

Ineos' hard work has taken around half a minute out of Van Aert on the climb so far...

28km to go / 6km to the top

Van Aert passes Chalet Reynard.

Alaphilippe is caught by the GC group.

O'Connor 40 seconds down on the GC men. Alaphilippe doesn't try to stay with them.

There's no movement in the GC group as Kwiatkowski and Porte still set the pace. 

27km to go / 5km to the top

Van Aert a minute up now as Mollema closes in on Elissonde.

A shot of Van Aert and the break the first time up the ascent.

O'Connor is managing his effort and sticking within 30-40 seconds. Van Aert retains his 4:20 gap.

Ineos are controlling the pace rather than pushing hard.

Porte's job is done as he drops from the GC group. Kwiatkowski and Majka remain as the super-domestiques for Ineos and UAE.

Pello Bilbao made his way back but is getting distanced once again. Otherwise, the makeup of the group is the same.

Meanwhile, Mollema is with Elissonde.

25km to go / 3km to the top

O'Connor still grimacing as he pushes on. He passes Alaphilippe.

Guillaume Martin drops from the GC group now.

Mas, Woods, Lutsenko, Uran, Vingegaard, Kelderman still with the Ineos and UAE duos.

Majka takes a pull on the front and now he drops back. Kwiatkowski goes back to work.

Now Michael Woods is dropped.

A clear upping of the pace under Kwiatkowski's pull. 3:45 to Van Aert.

24km to go / 2km to the top

3:35 to the front now.

Will Pogačar have a go here? Will anyone?

Racee radio reports O'Connor at 5:35 down. That would be two minutes off the GC group. Has he blown?

Van Aert still not troubled out front. 1:15 up on his pursuers.

O'Connor passes Porte.

Elissonde is pulling Mollema but they're not making any headway.

Big grimace on Kwiatkowski's face as he pushes on towards the top.

23km to go / 1km to the top

Van Aert is in the final kilometre of the climb now.

Enric Mas drops from the GC group.

Lutsenko, Uran, Kelderman, Vingegaard remain with Pogacar and Carapaz as Kwiatkowski ends his work.

Uran at the front now ahead of Carapaz. The favourites pass the 2km to the top marker.

Vingegaard pushes on!

Pogacar chases. Carapaz and Uran just behind.

Lutsenko and Kelderman dropped.

Vingegaard and Pogacar at the front. Carapaz and Uran chase, having been distanced.

22km to go / top of Ventoux

Van Aert is almost over the top.

Vingegaard leaves Pogacar behind!

Vingegaard 2:15 down on Van Aert.

Headwind towards the top as Vingegaard pushes on.

Maybe 15-20 seconds between Vingegaard and Pogacar.

Vingegaard riding into second place here.

No time check to Uran-Carapaz but they look to be around 30 seconds behind Pogacar.

Van Aert makes it over the top 1:15 up on the Trek men and 2:15 up on Pogacar.

Uran and Carapaz closing in on Pogacar.

Vingegaard has half a minute as he nears the top.

20km to go

Vingegaard makes his way over the top. 

40 seconds between Vingegaard and Pogacar. Uran-Carapaz just a few seconds behind.

Just a question of staying upright for Van Aert as he heads down the descent en route to victory.

Uran and Carapaz catch Pogacar at the start of the descent.

The two south Americans have reason to chase down Vingegaard. Pogacar less so, but still he won't want to take any risks.

17km to go

Van Aert still 1:15 up. Vingegaard is 10 seconds down on the Trek duo and has 30 seconds on the chasing trio.

Reports of Cavendish group being 32 minutes down. Kragh Andersen and Rowe around 40 minutes down.

14km to go

Pogacar, Uran and Carapaz riding together in the chase.

No change up front.

Lutsenko and Kelderman are together somewhere. Not sure on the gap to Uran-Carapaz-Pogacar.

20 seconds between the Lutsenko and Pogacar groups.

Vingegaard 15 seconds behind the Trek duo and 25 up on the Pogacar trio.

Van Aert took 40 KOM points over the top, by the way. He's on 44 now, in second place behind Quintana.

10km to go

The race situation is pretty static on the way down the descent. Inside the final 10 for Van Aert.

Vingegaard losing time now. 25 down on the Trek duo and under 20 on Pogacar's group.

7km to go

Kenny Elissonde won the most combative rider of the day.

6km to go

1:25 for Van Aert ahead of Mollema-Elissonde.

3km to go

Vingegaard under 10 seconds ahead of the Pogacar group now. He might get caught, which will have been the only real change in the situation on the way down the descent.

2km to go

Van Aert riding to the line now.

Pogacar and Uran top the speed charts on the descent at 97kph. Carapaz at 96kph.

1km to go

Van Aert inside the final kilometre. Stage in the bag.

Wout van Aert wins stage 11 of the Tour de France!

Jumbo-Visma get their win, a day after Van Aert finished second in a bunch sprint.

Elissonde leads Mollema home to round out the podium at 1:15. A shake of the hands as the finish.

Vingegaard is caught in the final kilometre.

Pogacar leads the quartet home at 1:41.

Lutsenko and Kelderman at 1:56.

The time cut clock is running. 47:40 after Van Aert is the limit.

Mas finishes 3:01 down. Bilbao another 27 seconds back.

Guillaume Martin at 4:05.

5:35 for O'Connor as he drops off the podium.

Cavendish's group is currently around 45 minutes down. It will be another battle to get in before the time cut if that's correct.

Rowe and Kragh Andersen will be even further behind...

Van Aert celebrating his win today.

O'Connor drops to fifth on GC now. Still, there's under a minute covering second place through to sixth.

Here's what Van Aert had to say after his win today...

"I'm at a loss for words, it's so stupid to say. Of course I did not expect to win this stage before the Tour de France. Yesterday I already believed in it, I asked the team to be the guy to go for the breakaways. It's one of the most iconic climbs in the Tour, in the world of cycling. Maybe it's my best victory ever.

"Of course it's emotional. Personally, it was really hard to come to this Tour at a proper level. In the first week we had so much bad luck with the team and even today we lost again Tony Martin in a crash. This is so nice – if you keep motivated and keep believing in it then someday it will work out. I'm really proud."

Pogačar even more secure at the top of the standings now. He's 5:18 ahead of second-placed man Urán.

Here's our stage 11 report with brief results and a gallery

A shot of today's winner Van Aert working his way up Ventoux earlier.

Time cut update...

Here's what yellow jersey Pogačar had to say after that stage.

"It was a hard place all the climb, in the end Vingegaard attacked and I couldn't follow all the way up. It was just a little bit too much. I exploded a little bit but managed to save it in the end with Richard Carapaz and [Rigoberto] Uran. We worked together and we managed to save the day.

"I had to stay calm, just find a new rhythm. I knew it was not very long to the top. I set my pace and just tried to finish at the top with still good legs to push to the downhill. I managed to end well on the downhill. It was a good day."

Tour de France: Tadej Pogacar shows weakness on Mont Ventoux

Race leader cracks slightly for the first time in this year's race

37 riders left to finish with under 10 minutes to go before the time cut...

Nine left now, 6:30 to go.

Sagan, Colbrelli among the latest to finish.

Nacer Bouhanni, Luke Rowe and Søren Kragh Andersen still out on course with four minutes to go.

Bouhanni has finished.

A minute to go before Rowe and Kragh Andersen are out of the Tour...

And the timer runs out. Luke Rowe and Søren Kragh Andersen have missed the time cut today.

Tour de France: Which GC riders lost time on the Mont Ventoux stage

Pogacar shows cracks for the first time in this year's race but holds yellow

Ah, actually Kragh Andersen just snuck home in time by four seconds!

Luke Rowe, however, has yet to fininsh. Race over for him.

Our full stage 11 report is up now if you want to read about today's events

Nairo Quintana went on the attack early on today, but in the end he couldn't add to his mountain classification points haul. Here's what he had to say after the stage...

"My early attack along with Julian Alaphilippe was a great effort for me. I had my rivals for the KOM classification on the back of my mind, and I decided to anticipate my move hoping some riders would bridge across from the bunch on the first climb. In the end, that didn't happen and, soon after the intermediate sprint, a break went away and I couldn't make it.

"Knowing there was a big group ahead and that Ineos was playing for the GC from the bunch, I decided to ease up and save some energy for the upcoming days. I feel well. There will come days on which I will be on the break. Heat doesn't play against me: I'm used to it."

Here's our story on the time cut ins and outs today.

Mark Cavendish beats Tour de France time cut on Mont Ventoux as Rowe misses out

Today saw the sixth stage of the Giro d'Italia Donne, where Emma Norsgaard sprinted to victory.

Click here to read our report on the stage  and click here to read our news item on Marianne Vos chasing her 30th stage win at the race

Jumbo-Visma play down Vingegaard's chances of toppling Tour de France leader Pogacar

Dane drops Pogacar close to Ventoux summit in Slovenian's first sign of weakness in Tour

Pogacar still the strongest in the Tour de France, says Ineos director

'We wanted to put some pressure on and potentially go for the stage' says Rasch

GC analysis: Tadej Pogacar knocked off stride on Ventoux but still on track at Tour de France

Yellow jersey manages moment of crisis to extend overall lead

O'Connor battles through 'hardest in-race moment' to stay in Tour de France top five

Australian suffers badly on Ventoux but remains in GC contention

Tour de France: Wout van Aert claims 'best victory ever' over Mont Ventoux

Belgian champion targets further stage wins while helping Vingegaard

Procycling analysis: Van Aert masters the Ventoux breakaway

Wout van Aert's navigation of the breakaway made him the winner of the Tour's showpiece stage

Urán moves up to second in Tour de France after steady Mont Ventoux ride

Colombian veteran takes over from O'Connor as Australian cracks

That's all from us today. We'll have more news from the Tour during the rest of the evening and through the night, too. 

Be sure to join us again tomorrow for more live coverage and news from stage 12!