Key events
13km to go: Pogacar on the descent. Can Carapaz make up any time on the downhill?
The Col de Font de Cère is the next climb. Pogacar is rapid on the descent but not taking any silly risks.
14.5km to go: Vingegaard is 21sec behind Pogacar.
14.8km to go: All in yellow, Pogacar powers up through the hundreds, no thousands of fans at the roadside. Del Toro is suffering back down the road. Carapaz is about to be caught by Pogacar.
And there he goes. Pogacar leads. Carapaz has no hope of staying on Pog's wheel, such is the crushing nature of this attack.
15km to go: “Is Vingegaard going to put the hurt on Pogacar here?â€
Stupid question. Pogacar attacks! Vingegaard cannot respond. This is Pogacar's moment. He's just 25sec behind Carapaz now.
15.5km to go: Carapaz has just less than 1km until the top of the climb.
16km to go: Piganzoli is now setting a fierce pace at the front. Carapaz's lead has come in to 52sec. Vingegaard rides on his teammate's wheel, then comes Pogacar.
Is Vingegaard going to put the hurt on Pogacar here? The old switcheroo?
16.5km to go: “It looked like UAE were going to totally dominate on this climb, but it's not the case,†says Kelly on commentary. “Piganzoli is controlling for Visma-Lease A Bike.â€
17km to go: Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) is in the front group, and looking strong.
Carapaz has 1min. The pace looks to have dropped a touch in this chase group. Does Pogacar have the legs to attack?
17.5km to go: Carapaz has 3km to the top of the Col de Pertus.
After that, it's the Col de Font de Cère (category three), and then mostly downhill to the finish at Le Lioran.
18km to go: 1min 02 sec for Carapaz.
Vingegaard is looking isolated. He does indeed only have Piganzoli with him.
Now an attack from Prodhomme, Seixas's teammate.
19km to go: Anyone else have Carapaz in Velogames?
He has 1min 08sec now. 18.5km to go.
21km to go: “With this gap, Carapaz might be able to follow Pogacar,†says Bardet of the climbing to come.
So he's not saying that he will stay out front, but potentially that he could beat him with a counterattack?
Apparently, Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease A Bike) also crashed on the descent.
23km to go: That yellow jersey group contains 30 riders.
The lead for Carapaz is up to 45sec! If he's really got his climbing legs on, well, you never know. Or do you?
25km to go: It's 35sec for our lone attacker Carapaz.
A while back, Rob Hatch reckoned that Lipowitz and Evenepoel are in the front group, but with no teammates. I'm sure they'll join forces on the final climb …
28km to go: Carapaz is tearing down the descent on his own. He's got 24sec.
Chris Harper and Tom Pidcock (Pinarello–Q36.5 Pro Cycling) both crashed on the descent.
Harper has blood visible on his hands … Pidcock is back on his bike. I don't think either are badly hurt.
30km to go: Davide Piganzoli, I think, is the final lieutenant with Vingegaard. So he may well be completely isolated on the final category-one climb.
30km to go: I wonder what the political situation is between Lipowitz and Evenepoel at Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe at the moment?
31km to go: Worth remembering how close things are between the likes of Del Toro, Evenepoel, Ayuso and Sexas in the GC. We are bound to see a shake-up in the top 10.
1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 32hrs 17min 04sec
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma-Lease a Bike): +2min 42sec
3. Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG): +3min 27sec
4. Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe): +3min 30sec
5. Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek): +3min 34sec
6. Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM Team): +3min 55sec
7. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe): +4min 00sec
8. Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious): +4min 21sec
9. Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek): +4min 57sec
10. Egan Bernal (Netcompany-Ineos): +9min 12sec
Carapaz has 25sec.
32km to go: It's 34sec for Carapaz. He's got 750m to climb to the top of the Pas de Peyrol.
32km to go: Felix Grosschartner has popped for UAE. They are a man down.
Seixas has three teammates with him in the lead group. Could he be a contender?
Seixas's teammate Benoot drops away.
33km to go: Vaughters points out on commentary that Carapaz is a very good descender, so you may fancy him to keep this lead down to the foot of the Col de Pertus.
33.5km to go: Now 33sec for Carapaz. He grits his teeth and keeps his cadence punishingly high, working as hard as he can to build a decisive gap, or at least one that sparks a bit of panic in the UAE ranks.
35km to go: Carapaz is now among the crowds of fans on the Pas de Peyrol.
They are cheering him on, in the style of grand tour roadside crowds everywhere. There are thousands of them!
The Ecuadorian now has 28sec. It's a superb effort to build that much of a gap. Does he have a hope of making it stick?
35.5km to go: Carapaz has 22sec.
It is great to see someone have a crack … but Pogacar and co remain in complete control, it seems to me.
36km to go: “He's the most talented rider I've worked with,†says Vaughters on commentary of Carapaz. “Richie is sometimes tricky to keep track of … he doesn't like to be directed, he's very much his own man.â€
37.5km to go: Carapaz attacks!
He gaps the chasing bunch.
“He's very instinctive,†says Vaughters, the EF Education–EasyPost manager, who happens to be on commentary. “I don't know if it'll work or not, but it's more fun than watching the same old, same old for the next hour.â€
Javier Romo is caught by yellow jersey group
38km to go: A heroic ride from the Movistar man, solo for the last while, and with his partner Harold Tejada before that. Time for the GC men to do battle in the final part of the stage.
39km to go: Vaughters reckons the Col de Pertus, which is steep from the start, is where Pogacar will go for it.
The gap for Romo is down to 11sec.
40km to go: Again, Romo gets out of his saddle and tries to maintain the gap. But his days are numbered. There were just some shots of some very loud, boisterous fans on the next climb, the Puy Mary – Pas de Peyrol.
40km to go: Just 18sec for Romo up front now.
Vingegaard is present behind the UAE team, marking his man Pogacar. Seixas is also in position with some teammates.
42km to go: I don't disagree with that Ryan, but the image of UAE “throwing haymakers†suggests that the other teams have a realistic chance of landing a punch or two of their own in response. The individual dominance of Pogacar, allied to the crushing superiority of the team collectively, makes that seem impossible.
43km to go: “If we can't see an exciting breakaway fight for a stage I would rather see carnage,†emails Ryan. “It is boring if UAE just ride and protect their lead to the finish. Froome, and he who should not be named, used to do that all the time. Get a lead and protect it. UAE seem inclined to throw haymakers and I am here for it.â€
45km to go: “It's an admirable athletic effort,†says Vaughters of Romo. “But it's not going to come to much.â€
46km to go: Wellens is churning away at the front of the yellow jersey group, getting through a massive amount of work. Up front, Romo gets out of his saddle, powering down the descent to the foot of the Pas de Peyrol.
48km to go: Romo has 43sec on the yellow jersey group. Will Pogacar light it up on the Pas de Peyrol, which is coming up after the Côte de Murat, or the second category-one climb, the Col de Pertus? I bet the former.
49km to go: Robbie McEwen was just on about lactate-carbohydrate gels, apparently the next big thing in nutrition.
“I wonder who the mega-budget team who have apparently hoovered up the supply of this lactate carbohydrate gels could be,†emails Matthew.
On commentary, Jonathan Vaughters was just talking about how much carbohydrate riders take on while racing now, saying that Carapaz has a remarkable capacity to process the stuff.
50km to go: Romo's advantage has grown to 57sec. This is an amazing ride by the 27-year-old Movistar rider.
Lenny Martinez (Bahrain-Victorious) has dropped back to the team cars from some ice.
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.â€
Does he want revenge on Vingegaard?
“Not revenge. But it's a nice stage if we can win today.â€
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.â€
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.â€
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.
