You can run but you can't hide from Tony Martin. The teutonic titan has ridden down the leaders, adding his seven followers to their five-strong getaway. We now have a 13 strong leading group and there are some characters in there.

Martin's team leader Michal Kwiatkowski, who started the day four minutes off yellow, green jersey Peter Sagan, and King of the Mountains rival Joaquim Rodriguez and Thomas Voeckler are among them.

Image source, Getty Images

Look Mum, no hands!

Tony Gallopin was in a good mood on his way out of Mulhouse this morning.

He is still part of the peloton which is four minutes 26 seconds back off the leaders.

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Tony Martin led the chasing group over the top, but, with seven men in the leading bunch, there were no scraps left on the table for him in terms of climbing points.

So as it stands the German has been overtaken in the overall polka-dot standings.

1. Joaquim Rodriguez 24 pts

2. Thomas Voeckler 21 pts

3. Tony Martin 18 pts

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Another twisting, turning uphill sprint battle between Joaquim Rodriguez and Thomas Voeckler and this time the Spaniard goes from the front and stays clear.

Voeckler gritted his teeth, had the head bobbing like a nodding dog, but could not reel in the couple of metres difference.

1. Joaquim Rodriguez 10 pts

2. Thomas Voeckler 8 pts

3. Amael Moinard 6 pts

4. Lieuwe Westra 4 pts

Thomas Voeckler and Joaquim Rodriguez look like they are going to duke it out for the second set of climbing points. There are 10 points on offer for the first man across the summit and if either of those two land it, they will move top of the polka-dot standings.

Jan Barta and Christophe Riblon have joined the leading group, swelling it to seven.

Another heroic German effort back at the front of the peloton where Andre Griepel, more used to sprint finishes than domestique self-sacrifice, is pumping on behalf of Lotto-Belisol team-mate and yellow jersey Tony Gallopin.

The gap to the leaders is back up to four minutes. Those at the front are a kilometre and a half away from the top of Petit Ballon and 108km from the finish.

Tony Martin is chugging back in the counter attack, breaking up the air resistance for Omega Pharma-Quick Step leader Michel Kwiatkowski.

The German is within a minute and a half of the leaders and it is all his own work. He hasn't looked back for help once so far.

Five men have squirmed clear and look set to compete for the honour of clearing the Petit Ballon. Lieuwe Westra, Thomas Voeckler, Joaquim Rodriguez, BMC's Frenchman Amael Moinard and Giovanni Visconti of Movistar are driving on hard.

The leaders have started to tackle the stage's first category one climb the Petit Ballon. It is a 9.3km, 8.1% gradient affair and it is already finding out Peter Sagan and Bretagne's Arnaud Gerard. Eighteen seconds has opened up as they drop behind the leaders.

The peloton as a whole are nibbling away at the gap to the leaders.

The breakaway is just two and a half minutes away. It was more than four not so long ago.

Forty-six kilometres gone, 115 to go.

There is a five-man ambush on its way to try and hook up with the ten escapees.

Yesterday's star man Tony Martin, wearing the polka-dot jersey, and Omega Pharma-Quick Step's Michal Kwiatkowski, four minutes off yellow at the start of the day, are in amongst it.

They are one minute 26 seconds from making contact.

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Image source, TdF

Peter Sagan is going to have the green jersey competition tied up by the end of the second week at this rate.

The Slovakian's hard work in chasing down the break is rewarded as he breaks clear of the rest to be first over the line at the intermediate sprint checkpoint.

Twenty points are his. His lead over Bryan Coquard is now 131 points in the standings.

Lieuwe Westra and Christophe Riblon follow Sagan through in second and third.

In honour of Tony Martin's personalised cycling cap (see 12:30 BST entry), the sight of those sparse early 90s helmets (see 12:35 entry) and the bottle vest that Tinkoff-Saxo have debuted this year, we are taking your thoughts on strong Tour de France looks though the years.

As well as riders' sartorial flourishes, we'll take your nominations for bits of technical kit. Here is Tony Martin's thigh-punisher 58-tooth time-trial chain ring for inspiration.

Image source, @CuchulainnRas

#bbccycling , externaland 81111 on text is the way to get involved.

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The first climbing points were keenly fought over with Thomas Voeckler and Joaquim Rodriguez, going toe to toe in an uphill wet-weather sprint.

Spray everywhere, grimaces from both and it is Voeckler who gets the five points by a whisker.

Rodriguez has to make do with three, Peter Sagan takes two and Christophe Riblon takes the one.

Free bidets aplenty for the peloton who have been caught in a downpour and are being hosed from their own wheels and others as well as from above.

They are three minutes adrift of the 10-strong breakaway. There are no 24-carat general classification contenders at the front. Peter Sagan is best set of the leaders, 20 minutes off yellow.

Yellow Jersey
Classification

General Classification after stage nine:

1. Tony Gallopin (Fra/Lotto-Belisol) 38hrs 04mins 38secs

2. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita/Astana) +1min 34secs

3. Tiago Machado (Por/NetApp Endura) +2mins 40secs

4. Jakob Fuglsang (Den/Astana) +3mins 18secs

5. Richie Porte (Aus/Team Sky) +3mins 32secs

6. Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol/Omega Pharma - Quick-Step) +4mins

7. Alejandro Valverde (Spa/Movistar) +4mins 01secs

8. Pierre Rolland (Fra/Europcar) +4mins 07secs

9. Alberto Contador (Spa/Tinkoff-Saxo) +4mins 08secs

10. Romain Bardet (Fra/AG2R) +4mins 13secs

Let's have a little peek at how the standings settled at the end of yesterday's racing.

Image source, AP

He hasn't shown yet, but today's climbs are just what Alberto Contador needs.

The Spaniard has ground to make up on his rivals, trailing Vincenzo Nibali by two minutes 34 seconds, Team Sky's Richie Porte by 36 seconds and Movistar's Alejandro Valverde by seven seconds at the start of the day.

Expect him to be charging like a Pamplona bull by the end of the stage.

Peter Sagan gets a congratulatory tap on the backside from Joaquim Rodriguez as they, along with Jan Barta, bridge the gap to the seven escapees.

Rodriguez in the mix for climbing points, Sagan has a shot at the intermediate sprint points and they both can take a little breather beforehand.

Happy days.

The clutch of three pursuers, Peter Sagan, Joaquim Rodriguez and Jan Barta, are 14 seconds back from the breakway and closing.

Rodriguez, the best climber of the three, is pumping the pedals as they ascend.