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It is not going to be Brice Feillu in the final shake-up. The Bretagne-Seche rider has dropped away and there are just four riders left in the break as they begin the 14.1km ascent of Col de Palaquit.

It is the first time the Tour has ascended the mountain pass which has has an average gradient of 6.1% on the way up.

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The Europcar team of Thomas Voeckler have taken over at the front of the peloton. No prizes for guessing who is going to be fighting for King of the Mountain points on the Col de Palaquit.

The leaders are just 55 seconds clear as they hit the bottom of the category one ascent.

Peter Wilson:, external How about an update team by team of who is out of the tour #bbccycling soon it will be easier to say who is left. A real open race now.

Garmin-Sharp's Janier Acevedo became the third rider to pull out today - he stopped at the feed zone and, he is the 24th to pull out of this year's race. 174 left racing. And you can keep up to date with them all here., external

It is scorchio in south-eastern France. The mercury is touching 35C in the valleys leading to the Alps. There's a bit of a breeze and it won't be quite that hot when they get to the top of this first climb, 1,154m above sea level.

BBC Sport's Tim Peach:, external We have a winner! @robhayles1 has made it to the top, hopefully @Robhatchtv will be here in time to go on air at 3.

BMC Racing's Daniel Oss has injected some more pace at the front of the peloton, putting some serious hurt on those looking for an easy amble into the foothills of the Alps. The breakaway nine are just two minutes clear now.

BMC are racing for Tejay van Garderen - the American is sixth overall, three minutes, 56 seconds behind leader Vincenzo Nibali. That is lot a time to make up when you're up against a man of Nibali's undoubted ascending and descending talents.

Alex Haworth:, external Nibali to win the stage today I reckon. I can't see him just sitting back and waiting for the others to attack.

Andrew Harvey:, external It'll be interesting to see if Katusha try and catch the break before the Cat 1 or if they're saving it all for Chamrousse.

The pace is still high in the peloton as they continue to whittle away the advantage built up by the nine out front. The lead is down to a touch over three minutes as they race along some relatively flat roads, through the feed zone, and towards the category one Col de Palaquit.

Le Tour de France:, external Daniel Navarro abandonne / Daniel Navarro quits.

The Spaniard, who rides for Cofidis and finished ninth last year has climbed off. No reason given, yet.

Neil McRobie, via text on 81111: The two happiest people after this tour are going to be the winner and the organiser of the Vuelta after all the retirements.

Defending Tour champion Chris Froome, who of course crashed out on stage five, has already hinted he could be heading to the third and final of the season's Grand Tours in Spain, which starts on 23 August. He tweeted a message to Alberto Contador saying he'd see him there, although surgery may stop the Spaniard from riding.

Could it be a good couple of days for the Russian Katusha team? They had a stage winner in Alexander Kristoff on Thursday and the sprinter said they might have a little champagne and a party to celebrate.

If they did, they clearly didn't go overboard because they know they will be working hard for Rodriguez today. They have closed the gap to the leaders to four minutes as they go through the halfway point of today's stage.

BBC Sport's Tim Peach at today's finish:, external Fantastic atmosphere up to top of mountain here in Chamrousse. @robhatchtv & @robhayles1 riding it then commentating!

Hatch and Hayles will provide live commentary from 15:00 BST on this very webpage, although it is for UK listeners only I'm afraid.

I've asked Tim to send a pic of the two Robs as they cross the line...hopefully before the main peloton arrives. And if you are out on the mountain today, send your pics to #bbccycling

Image source, Getty Images

The Katusha riders are continuing to pull the peloton along. They are trying to make this opening 130km or so of the stage as easy as possible for their King of the Mountain Joaquim 'Purito' Rodriguez, keeping him fresh for the two mountains to come.

If you are wondering how he came by the nickname Purito...it stems from when he was a youngster in the professional ranks. His team-mates upped the pace on a training ride in the mountains and Rodriguez rode past them making a gesture like he was smoking a cigar. Purito is Spanish for little cigar.

Simon Hawkins:, external I wish FDJ had told me Vichot was ill with bronchitis before I transferred him into my fantasy team this morning!

Artur Vichot, the former French champion, started today's stage but he has been unable to cope with the fast start and after five days with bronchitis, becomes the 12th rider to abandon the 2014 Tour.

The nine out front have upped their advantage to almost five minutes. They have been pedalling at an average speed of around 43.7km/h for the opening couple of hours and are therefore 87.4km, or so, into the 197.5km stage.

As a reward for his outstanding efforts in Thursday's breakaway, 28-year-old Orica GreenEdge's Simon Clarke:, external Will be wearing the red combative/birthday numbers today. :-)

Image source, Orica GreenEdge

Lots to talk about then today. Will Nibali be content to maintain his advantage or will he be looking to race clear of Porte and Valverde on the race to Chamrousse?

How will Rodriguez play today? His Katusha team are pacing the peloton, making their intentions clear but will they catch the break before the summit of the category one Col de Palaquit in an effort to help him pick up more King of the Mountains points before making a final assualt on the final climb?

Who will be stronger between youngsters Bardet and Pinot?

Tweet me your thoughts #bbccycling, external or text 81111 - please put CYCLING at the front of texts to stop them getting muddled up in the golf and cricket messages and remember to put your name on them too.

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And let's not forget the overall state of play with Italy's Vincenzo Nibali still leading the way, two minutes, 23 seconds clear of Team Sky's Richie Porte, with Alejandro Valverde third, a further 24 seconds adrift.

Standings after stage 12:

1. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita/Astana) 51hrs 31mins 34secs

2. Richie Porte (Aus/Team Sky) +2mins 23secs

3. Alejandro Valverde (Spa/Movistar) +2mins 47secs

4. Romain Bardet (Fra/AG2R) +3mins 01secs

5. Thibaut Pinot (Fra/FDJ.fr) +3mins 47secs

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Then there is Romain Bardet v Thibaut Pinot in the battle for the white jersey - the best rider under 25. AG2R rider Bardet is the highest-placed rider on General Classification, but he is only 46 seconds clear of FDJ's Pinot. Both can climb well but who will have the legs today?

Image source, Getty Images

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Image source, EPA

There are some interesting sub plots going on today. Katusha's Joaquim Rodriguez is in the King of the Mountains jersey and it his goal to keep it all the way to Paris. He has 51 points and leads leads Europcar's Thomas Voeckler, who won the polka dot top in 2002, by 17. Points are doubled at the Hors Categorie summit finish at Chamrousse with the winner taking 50 points.