Key events
175km to go: This really looks unforgiving for a penultimate stage. No mercy. The gap is 25 seconds. Many will feel they have chances. The first climb beckons and Van Aert leads the peloton up with licence to go for the breakaway.
Away we go in Nantua
And away go the breakaway contenders. Healy, Arahamsen and Schmid are the chasers as Kasper Asgreen decides to take up the cudgels and go for it. His EasyPost team roar him on from the team car.
Wout van Aert on TNT Sports: “Obviously, I feel tired. It’s been tough mountain stages, the weather, long transfers. We’re looking forward to getting to Paris. For sure, I’ll try to be in the breakaway today. Tomorrow is a chance, but you can’t miss an opportunity here in the Tour de France. But breakaway days have climbers in the moves and that will make it difficult.”
Fred Wright: “First part of the plan is to get both of us in the breakaway. That would be a nice start. There’s a 12km climb at the start but it’s nice and steady and I think we could both get in the break.”
There are 14 teams without a stage win in Le Tour 2025. “I’m gonna try” is how Alaphilippe is quoted. A win for France would be welcome.
Here’s the offical map of today’s lumpy, bumpy stage.
Friday saw the last of the mountains, and a second win for Ineos’s Arensman. Bad news for this year’s plucky Brit.
it was a disappointing stage for Scotland’s Oscar Onley, who after surviving almost everything that the Tour could throw at him, fell away from the podium positions in the closing moments, after third-placed Florian Lipowitz attacked to move clear with Pogacar and second-placed Vingegaard.
Onley has given so much, ridden so well but he looked done in after Thursday’s stage; his post-ride interview was not much fun to watch. Full credit for him hanging on so long in the high mountains. So much more to come from him. The difficulty of staying with Pogacar and Arensman is shown by the state of Arensman when he crossed the line on Friday.
William Fotheringham previewed this stage thus:
The puncheurs and breakaway specialists will have been waiting for five days with this one on their minds. The battle for the early break will be intense and the fight for the stage could be epic. As well as our old friends Cort and Healy, this will appeal to about half the peloton, wily one-day specialists such as the Dane Mattias Skjelmose.
NB: Mattias Skjelmose abandoned after a crash last weekend. Ben Healy, over to you?
Preamble
After the mountains, a stage of Classic length and dimensions. It’s been a true test, this year, thin gruel for sprinters and this looks a day for the puncheurs. Who’s the best of them? With Van der Poel gone, Evenepoel gone, there’s perhaps a day for an old dog like Julian Alaphilippe, should he keep his radio. Or, perhaps the best of all, as he is at everything bar the sprinting – and a dig in Paris on Sunday can’t be ruled out – is Tadej Pogacar, all but assured of his fourth maillot jaune to keep. We’re already talking about the Vuelta, in truth and a fifth tour.
The neutralised start is 11.05 UK time. One last dig before Paris.
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