Key events
161km to go: The early leaders are reeled in by the bunch. Thwarted in his lengthy breakaway attempt two days ago, Krists Neilands is next to try his luck with an attack.
162km to go: Fred Wright and Alberto Bettiol were first to leap across to join Pedersen and were followed by Mathieu van der Poel.
They’re racing on stage 12
168km to go: Gogl gets a new wheel and a push back to the peloton from a Tour motorbike pillion passenger, Christian Prudhomme waves his flag, his car accelerates up the road and the riders begin racing. The road starts going upwards immediately and Mads Pedersen is the first to launch an attack.
The roll-out continues: Alpecin–Deceuninck rider Michael Gogl punctures his back wheel moments before the signal to begin racing is given, so there’ll be a delay until he gets his spoons, bucket of water and puncture repair kit out.
Mathieu van der Poel: Rated as the best lead-out man in gthe business, the Dutch Alpecin–Deceuninck rider was nowhere to be seen as his teammate Jasper Philipsen sprinted to his fourth bunch sprint win in this Tour yesterday. He has revealed he has been suffering from an illness over the past two days and simply didn’t have the energy to help his teammate yesterday.
“It’s not going worse so I hope I can improve from today on,” he said this morning. “I will see how the legs feel but I have already got my voice back. It’s not that I’m really sick but I’ve had some sort of infection. My sleep is OK but I’m not feeling 100 per cent. We’ll see how it goes today.”
Rolling, rolling, rolling … The roll-out continues and with over half the race concluded, it seems remarkable that Jakobsen is only the eighth rider to leave this year’s Tour. I’m happy to stand corrected but going on memory alone, the rate of attrition usually seems to be a lot higher.
Today’s roll-out has begun
Stage 12: The riders are meandering through the neutral zone and will be given the signal to begin racing in approximately 10 kilometres time.
Fabio Jakobsen has abandoned
The Soudal-Quick Step rider and European champion has withdrawn from the Tour, stating that his knee is not recovering from the injuries he sustained in a crash towards the end of stage four. He says he has no chance of making it to Paris and has decided to abandon.
“Due to my stage four crash, and after discussions with the team, we decided it’s better for me to stop my Tour de France journey here,” he said. “At this point it seems impossible for me to get to Paris, as I am not recovering, and my body is not healing from the crash.
“I’m very sad to leave the Grande Boucle, because I had big goals for this race and wanted to be at my best with the team. I will now take some time to recover and clear my head, and hopefully be back at my best later this season.”
Roanne, today’s starting town: “The town is renowned for its extraordinary number of starred chefs, inspired primarily by the Troisgros family,” explains the Tour handbook. “But Roanne has also made waves on the basketball court, its Chorale team winning the French championship twice, in 1959 and 2007.
“The following year, Roanne hosted a Tour start for the first time and in doing so provided Sylvain Chavanel with an instinct for victory, the Frenchman claiming his first Tour stage success in Montluçon at the end of one of his trademark breakaways. Since then, Roanne was the setting for a Wout van Aert time trial success in the 2019 Critérium du Dauphiné.”
Christian Prudhomme on stage 12: “The formation of the breakaway will be one of the critical moments on this hilly stage,” writes the race director in the Tour handbook. “As the race passes through the vineyards that produce the Beaujolais vintages, there could well be a lot of action before the climbs of the Croix Montmain and Croix Rosier. The uphill finale may well produce an excellent sprint contest between a small group of riders.”
Who’s in what jersey?
-
Yellow: Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma)
-
Green: Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
-
Polka-dot: Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost)
-
White: Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates)
Philipsen powers to fourth sprint win
Stage 11 report: Jasper Philipsen took his fourth win of this Tour de France, claiming stage 11 from Clermont-Ferrand to Moulins by sprinting clear of his closest rival Dylan Groenewegen, of Team Jayco AlUla, in the final 100 metres. Jeremy Whittle reports from Moulins …
The top five on General Classification
-
Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) 46hr 34min 44sec
-
Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates) +17sec
-
Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) +2min 40sec
-
Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) +4min 22sec
-
Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) +4min 34sec
Stage 12: Roanne to Belleville-en-Beaujolais (168.8km)
William Fotheringham on stage 12: This is the sort of stage the Tour organiser, Christian Prudhomme, loves, peppered with medium-difficulty climbs where anything can happen. Stage hunters such as Julian Alaphilippe, Magnus Cort and company will love it, and overall contenders who have flopped thus far will see a chance for redemption. But for a team trying to control the race, it will be a nightmare in the Beaujolais vineyards. For fans, it could be grand cru.
