7 hours ago
14
Key events
52km to go: Tadej Pogacar looks ready to strike.
Romo, up front, has 49sec on the yellow jersey group, which consists of 95 riders.
“It was a nice stage,” Pogacar said earlier, of his defeat by Vingegaard on Le Lioran in 2024. “Good stage. Much longer than today, much harder. Today is going to be quite similar in the end.”
Does he want revenge on Vingegaard?
“Not revenge. But it’s a nice stage if we can win today.”
57km to go: Romo is taking risks on the descent. He runs wide on a right-hander and brings a concerned yelp from commentator Kirby.
61km to go: Romo hammers down the descent. There is a long downhill now leading into the day’s fourth categorised climb, the Côte de Murat. That’s 5.2km long, with an average gradient of 5.2%.
After that, it’s the category-one Pas de Peyrol, the category-one Col de Pertus, and the category-three Col de Font de Cère still to come.
62.5km to go: Romo powers over the summit of the Col de Prat de Bouc. This is a huge effort from him. He was born in Villafranca de los Caballeros, and they say he used to be a triathlete.
63km to go: I should say we’re on the third categorised climb, the Col de Prat de Bouc: 3.1km long, average gradient 6.5%.
63.5km to go. In the chase group of three, Alex Baudin gets out of the saddle and tries to pick the pace up. it’s no use, though: the Pogacar group, numbering 92 riders, is about to catch them.
64km to go: The gap between yellow jersey group and the front of the race is down to 51sec.
Pogacar rides fifth wheel, looking as focused as ever.
66km to go: Debruyne, Baudin, V Paret-Peintre are now the closest men to our leader, Romo. Healy is back in the yellow jersey group, a minute behind the front of the race.
Whichever way you slice it, this is looking like a GC day, given the work UAE have already done to control it and shut it down.
69km to go: Romo takes five KOM points atop the Col de la Griffoul. He has 37sec on the chasers.
There is a group of 68 that’s been dropped by the main bunch. The are 9min 55sec behind the front of the race. Behind them, the Merlier group is 13min 24sec in arrears.
69km to go: “Kevin Debruyne?” emails Craig.
No. Ramses Debruyne, Alpecin-Premier Tech.
70km to go: “Sean Kelly’s response was telling,” emails Guy Hornsby. “He’s not a man for hyperbole, so when he says he doesn’t like somewhere, you suspect it was horrible to ride in. With these unrelenting conditions, it’s hard to know how this lumpy stage will pan out, but could we see another Pogacar launch and solo? With the two Cat 1s near the end, and UAE running the peloton, it’s not beyond the realms of possibility. But is it what the public want? Pogacar is a generational rider in supreme form, but I’m not sure ruthless wins gets the romantic in me. It’s not his fault, of course. But I’d love a Ben Healy breakaway win, even if it’s a forlorn hope.”
71km to go: Still about 1.5km to the top of the Col de la Griffoul.
Romo has 49sec on the chasers … Wellens has taken it up for UAE, back down the road, and the gap is falling.
71km to go: Debruyne, Tejada, Baudin, V Paret-Peintre, Braz Afonso, Vervaeke, Plapp, Healy is the chase group.
71km to go: Correction: Healy is in a group of eight chasers, behind Romo, who is out front alone.
72km to go: Warren Barguil is nearly taken out by a team car. He makes his feelings known.
Romo, out front, has 1min 56sec on the bunch. He is about to be caught by Ben Healy … money on Healy for the stage? Unless, well, Pogacar gets involved, which looks likely.
72km to go: What was the highlight of Fred Wright’s rest day?
“I had a Magnum with caramel, the one with two layers,” says the Pinarello–Q36.5 Pro Cycling rider. “The rest day went pretty quickly as they always do.”
73km to go: Vervaeke and Heally have dropped Higuita.
74km to go: Romo attacks Tejada! The famous duo has split!
74.5km to go: “My God, they are doing a magnificent job to hold it at this,” Kelly says of the UAE Team Emirates riders working at the front of the peloton to control the gap.
One of them is Nils Pollitt. He is an absolute machine.
75km to go: The gap between the bunch and the two leaders is 1min 27sec. Very much striking distance for Pogacar.
75km to go: It’s all uphill now until the official start of the Col de la Griffoul.
Back in the peloton, UAE are massed at the front, with Pogacar riding about six or seven back. There can be no doubt about the strongest team in this race.
77km to go: Tejada and Romo, Romo and Tejada. They are working together really well and aren’t showing any interest in easing up and letting those three chasers join forces with them.
78km to go: Tejada and Romo’s advantage has been reduced to about 20sec.
The chasers Higuita, Vervaeke and Healy are not playing around, they want to get in the front group, they can sniff the chance of a stage win.
80km to go: “This is a charming area and not often visited,” offers Carlton Kirby from the commentary booth.
“No, I don’t think it’s a charming area,” replies Sean Kelly. “Having had experience of racing here … I have bad memories, I don’t really like this area of France.”
82km to go: The riders are flyyyyyyying at the front on a fast downhill section. Not literally, but they are moving fast.
The next climb is in the offing: The Col de la Griffoul, category two, 5.9km long, average gradient 6.7%.
84km to go: Bronagh emails: “Wasn’t “Tejada & Romo” a short-lived detective series about a down-at-heel cop and his bear companion?”
Brilliant.
85km to go: Healy, Vervaeke and Higuita have counterattacked and are trying to get across to the leaders, Tejada and Romo.
86km to go: The official feed has just dropped the details of the past 10 Bastille Day stages. Here they are:
2025. Ennezat > Le Mont-Dore - Puy de Sancy. Simon Yates, Great Britain
2024. Loudenvielle > Plateau de Beille. Tadej Pogacar, Slovenia
2023. Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne > Grand Colombier. Michal Kwiatkoswki, Poland
2022. Briançon > Alpe d’Huez. Tom Pidcock, Great Britain
2021. Muret > Saint-Lary-Soulan - Col du Portet. Tadej Pogacar, Slovenia
2020. Tour raced in September
2019. Saint-Étienne > Brioude. Daryl Impey, South Africa
2018. Dreux > Amiens Métropole. Dylan Groenewegen, the Netherlands
2017. Saint-Girons > Foix. Warren Barguil, France
2016. Montpellier > Chalet Reynard. Thomas De Gendt, Belgium
2015. Tarbes > La Pierre Saint-Martin. Chris Froome, Great Britain
87km to go: The group second on the road consists of 23 riders. You can keep tabs on things via the official race centre, if you wish.
88km to go: The bunch rides past a bunch … of cows.
Tejada and Romo have 45sec.
89km to go: Tejada is 26th on GC, 22min 54sec down.
Romo is 61st, 1hr 14min down.
90km to go: Tejada and Romo have 45sec on the chasers, it says here.
91km to go: Harold Tejada sounds like a jobbing 1980s Hollywood actor.
Didn’t he have a minor role in Beverly Hills Cop II?
94km to go: Harold Tejada (XDS-Astana) and Javier Romo (Movistar) have attacked at the front. Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies) was there, but dropped back.
The TV graphics say the leaders have 42sec.
97km to go: The lead group is down to 26 riders.
98km to go: Another crash in the bunch. Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step) took two KOM points on the Côte de Pailherols. Louis Vervaeke, his teammate, took one point.
98.5 to go: Arensman fancies it today, and leads up the first categorised climb.
99km to go: Guyonnet, Frigo, Guernalec and Haller dropped by the front group.
99km to go: The gap is being held at a minute.
99km to go: French fans celebrate a big day.
100km to go: The gap is 1min.
On the radio, the UAE Team Emirates sports directors say this situation is “perfect”.
Girmay has been dropped by the peloton. Alaphilippe is back there too, a group of 22 riders who are 2min 20sec behind the bunch.
100km to go: The front group is breaking up on the climb. At the moment, Guyonnard is the only one dropped, I think. So it’s 30 riders:
Jegat, Debruyne, Tejada, Arensman, Ion Izagirre, Vauqelin, Baudin, Higuita, Garcia, V Paret-Peintre, Hirschi, O’Connor, Braz Afonso, Van der Poel, Gregoire, Romo, Zimmerman, Cepeda, Vervaeke, Abrahamsen, Plapp, Healy, Wright, Frigo, Guernalec, Haller, Velasco, Nicolau, Thomas, Azparren.
103km to go: The gap is 49sec.
104km to go: Van der Poel winning this stage would be a power move. He obviously fancies it, if he’s in the front group.
If Van Aert could win on a double ascent of Mont Ventoux …
104km to go: The Côte de Pailherols is 3km long with an average gradient of 7.2%. It’s uphill for a while before that, too.
105km to go: The break now has 46sec. So while UAE Team Emirates are obviously looking to control at the front of the bunch, they were not trying to shut it down.
106km to go: A crash in the bunch. A few riders down including Kamil Gradek (Bahrain Victorious) and Jake Stewart (NSN) … at first glance it doesn’t look too bad for anyone, thankfully.
107km to go: Thyman Arensman (Netcompany-Ineos) and Ben Healy (EF Education–EasyPost) would be decent bets for the stage if this group can stay away.
107km to go: Front group: Jegat, Debruyne, Tejada, Arensman, Ion Izagirre, Vauqelin, Guyonnet, Baudin, Higuita, Garcia, V Paret-Peintre, Hirschi, O’Connor, Braz Afonso, Van der Poel, Gregoire, Romo, Zimmerman, Cepeda, Vervaeke, Abrahamsen, Plapp, Healy, Wright, Frigo, Guernalec, Haller, Velasco, Nicolau, Thomas, Azparren.
