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Key events
17km to go: Onley sits sixth wheel. No, then Gall (Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale) moves up with a teammate or two. Scotson and Paret-Peintre are there with him.
17.5km to go: Narvaez is on the front now for UAE. Adam Yates has been dropped by the front group, or rather has dropped back and is struggling to keep the pace. Pogacar is loitering with intent.
18.5km to go: Roglic is, as Rowe predicted, cooked.
Oh well. He gave us some excitement – the dream of a daring solo stage win – and isn’t that what really counts?
20km to go: We’re about to hit the final HC climb of this year’s Tour!
We? They.
Wellens leads the way into the foot of the climb. Narvaez is on his wheel, then it’s Pogacar in yellow. This looks ominous for, well, everyone else.
21km to go: Wellens, having caught Roglic, looks across and gives him a subtle wave of respect. He doesn’t lift his hand off the handlebars but nonetheless the gesture is clear.
22km to go: Onley, Scotland’s hope for the podium, has one teammate in the group of favourites: Thomas van den Broek. One way or another we are going to see fireworks on the road to La Plagne.
24km to go: Only 11sec for Roglic. Wellens has shut this down efficiently, to say the least. Kelly, on commentary was just saying he doesn’t see why Roglic should work for Lipowitz, as he won’t be able to help him that much on the final climb anyway.
“The fourth edition of the Tour de France Femmes begins in Brittany on Saturday with defending champion Kasia Niewiadoma facing a range of new challengers as Demi Vollering seeks to avenge last year’s cruel four second defeat on Alpe d’Huez.
While the Polish star has stated her wish to win back-to-back Tours, Vollering, who moved to the French team FDJ Suez at the end of last season, is determined to again conquer the race she won in 2023.”
27km to go: It’s a group of 26 with the yellow jersey. Pogacar has Adam Yates, Narvaez and Wellens with him.
Vingegaard has Simon Yates and Victor Campanaerts. I don’t know where Sepp Kuss is, but he’s not in the yellow jersey group.
28km to go: “If Roglic rides the valley full-gas, at the bottom of the climb, he’ll be pretty much cooked,” opines Luke Rowe. “He should sit up, save what energy he can, and help Lipowitz on the final climb.”
But what about panache, Luke??
30km to go: The front of the race is now on a flat section of about 10km. Roglic, out on his own, is powering on towards the base of the climb to La Plagne. However, with a gap of 40sec, he surely doesn’t have enough time to resist the attacks that will surely come among the GC favourites from behind.
32km to go: Roglic grabs a drink and something to eat from a team helper. He looks as focused as a hitman with a bag of cement and a map to the river, as Sid Waddell once said.
33km to go: “The noise of those disc brakes is horrendous!” emails Denis.
They are a bit screechy.
34km to go: The commentators were just saying that these conditions – half wet, half dry – are the most difficult and dangerous for descending. The point being it’s unpredictable, from what corner to the next, how much grip you’ll get on the road.
36km to go: And what, if anything, can Visma do to Pogacar on the final climb?
39km to go: Roglic is going all-out for the stage win. Surely, we have to say chapeau to Roglic and Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe, in going for glory? They could end up with a stage win and keep Lipowitz on the podium too. What does Onley have in the legs for the final climb? How has Lipowitz recovered after yesterday’s exertions?
40km to go: Roglic is flying down the descent. The gap between the front of the race and the yellow jersey group is a minute. Back down the road, Vauquelin is 2mins down.
48km to go: “I’m surprised by Matt White’s comments on The Pog,” emails Roland. “At not quite 27 years old, if he merely shows as much longevity as his countryman The Rog, he could well be around at the very top for some time to come … Unless of course the next big thing (Seixas, Onley, Lipowitz?) soon develops and gobbles him all up.”
50km to go: There is now a long, long descent to the foot of the final climb. It’s 35km to 40km before the climb to La Plagne begins.
At this stage, while there is some activity in the race, it’s relatively serene. Safe to say that will not be the case on the final climb. Will Onley or Lipowitz have the legs to attack?
51km to go: Martinez heads through the KOM point having bravely battled back into the front group. He takes five points in the polka-dot jersey standings.
52km to go: Martinez is back! Just in time for the KOM point … He looks left towards the camera, nearly breaking the fourth wall, but quickly looking ahead again and focusing on the task at hand.
53km to go: Roglic and Paret-Peintre are out front together now. Martinez has been dropped but is only a handful of seconds behind.
53km to go: UnoX-Mobility are riding, trying to get their man Tobias Johannessen up into seventh on GC. Kevin Vauquelin has been dropped from the group of GC contenders.
54.5km to go: “He can do everything,” says Matt White of Pogacar. “It’s been a pleasure to watch him over the past couple of years and I’m sure he’s got a couple more years left at the top as well.”
“Pogi is flamboyant, he is super exciting,” says Rowe. “He is always going to be loved for what he does. He does it with panache, with class and style.”
55km to go: All the riders are now on the second climb, the Cormet de Roselend. It’s 5.9km long at 6.3% average gradient.
The gap between yellow jersey group, and breakaway group, has fallen to 25sec.
56km to go: There is heavy rain falling at the finish.
57km to go: “I live in Thailand, so not many opportunities to watch cycling live,” emails Ann. “But went to the Singapore crit (yes, yes, I know about crits), mainly so I could see my hero Mark Cavendish is his last ever event.
“Lots of opportunities to meet riders – but as an, erm, “elderly” woman I’m not familiar with taking selfies; messed up the one with Cav, but he did say “oh, bless!” when I told him I’d been cheering for him since the HTC days!
“Tried to take a selfie with Primoz – but I knew there was something wrong, and said “I’ve messed this up, don’t know how to take selfies” – he said “Don’t worry, I’ll do it,” and lent over to press the button on my phone. I actually had it set on video – “Oh we make a little video together!” he said. Lovely man!”
I too am a big fan of Roglic. I interviewed him once, briefly, at a small race in Spain. He was nice. Go Primoz!
60km to go: There is a bit of up and down now before the second climb kicks up: the Cormet de Roselend (1,968m), a category-two.
Lots of action on the road, with Roglic, Paret-Peintre and Martinez leading the rest. They have 35sec on the maillot jaune group.
64km to go: Martinez wins the KOM points on the Col du Pré, the first of three categorised climbs on this shortened stage. Roglic isn’t interested in sprinting for them and Paret-Peintre is just happy to be there. If a bit out of breath.
64.3km to go: Valentin Paret-Peintre has put in a huge effort to get over to Roglic and Martinez. The gap has grown to 50sec in front of the yellow jersey group.
65km to go: The yellow jersey group is 82 riders strong. Pogacar, Vingegaard, Lipowitz, Onley, Gall and Vauquelin all there. The gap to the break is being held at about 36sec.
66km to go: Roglic and Martinez power on, working together, now a little over 2km from the summit of this HC climb.
“Onley can’t afford to get involved in this chase at all,” commentator Sean Kelly says of Roglic’s efforts for Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe early in this shortened stage.
Paret-Peintre is chasing the front two, only 7sec behind.
67km to go: “Rogla wants to shake up the GC, but you have to be smart.” That is the message to Martinez from the Bahrain Victorious team car, over the radio.
67.5km to go: The penultimate kilometre of the climb is 11.3% average gradient, says Hannah Walker on TNT Sports.
Wellens is still working on the front of the yellow jersey group. Marc Soler is there too, working for Pogi.
68km to go: Roglic is full of beans again, spinning a small gear with a high cadence and leading his fellow attackers up the climb.
Martinez then takes it up with Roglic on his wheel.
69km to go: Valentin Paret-Peintre makes it to the front, creating a five-man escape group.
There are lots of switchbacks coming on the ascent in the next 5km.
69km to go: Roglic, Rubio, Armirail and Lenny Martinez are now out front on their own, a group of four.
70km to go: Tim Wellens is riding on the front of the yellow jersey group, working for his team leader Pogacar. The lead group has 25sec.
In regard to Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe, Rolf Aldag said earlier he was pleased to have tactical flexibility with third and fifth in GC. It would be possible, of course, for Roglic to have licence to go for the win and Lipowitz still to have plenty of support in his battle with Onley.
71km to go: The Milan group, off the back, is 2min 16sec down on the front of the race already. Just over 7km to go to the top.
Roglic goes on the attack at the front of the race.
“It’s strange, in these three week Tours, you see the same guys going in the moves,” Matt White says of Roglic. “When someone comes into form at the back end of a grand tour, they get multiple opportunities to show their wares.”
72.5km to go: Warren Barguil is dropped from the front group.
Presumably, Roglic isn’t going to do exactly what he did yesterday, and freestyle to an attempted stage win, leaving Lipowitz (and presumably teammates) to do their own thing?
73.5km to go: It’s 10sec or so for this front group.
A reminder that Thierry Gouvenou of ASO said this climb, in his opinion, is the most difficult of this year’s race.
74km to go: The commentators mention that Onley and Lipowitz, predictably, are riding alongside each other.
75km to go: There is a big group off the front. Roglic, T Johannessen, Jegat, Healy, Arensman, Barguil, Campanaerts, Scotson, Rubio, Storer, Valentin Paret-Peintre, Armirail, Stannard are all there. But it’s about 18 riders there.
The pace at the front is putting plenty of riders into the red back down the road.
76km to go: The bunch hits the first climb. Abrahamsen is caught. Alex Baudin attacks … then Julian Alaphilippe … and Primoz Roglic is up there, too!
78km to go: “Greetings from South Carolina AKA Caroline du Sud,” emails JW Dunn.
“Heard on team radio that someone said something to the effect of ‘teams don’t want Pogacar to win green’. Any thoughts on this?
“Certainly seemed like there was not much of an effort to keep Milan from getting maximum points on the intermediate sprint. Same today?”
Indeed, there wasn’t much of a sprint at that intermediate, but personally I think that’s because Lidl-Trek had controlled it so well before, and Girmay and co. know that Milan has their number in a straight, mid-stage sprint.
I also think Steven de Jongh’s message on the radio yesterday, about teams not wanting Pogacar to win green, may have been a bit tongue in cheek? Even if there is truth in it too.
79km to go: Jonas Abrahamsen of UnoX-Mobility (who else?) has clipped off the front on his own. He has 10sec.
Jonathan Milan wins the intermediate sprint
Top 3 at Villard-sur-Doron:
1) Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek)
2) Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty)
3) Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies)
That makes Milan’s lead 95 points in the green jersey classification.
82km to go: Only a kilometre remaining until the intermediate sprint …
Lipowitz is being moved up to a prominent position in the peloton – the first climb, the Col du Pré, starts just 5km from the sprint.
83km to go: A problem for Alexey Lutsenko (Israel–Premier Tech). A puncture, it seems. Bad timing to say the least if he was hoping to get in the break, as he has done on previous stages.
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