Andrew Talansky is really going through the mill.

The 25-year-old has stopped on the side of the road for a good few minutes to stretch off his injured back. It seems he is on the point of abandoning, but, after discussions with his team officials including former Tour sprinter Robbie Hunter, he climbs back aboard and pedals up the road.

Talansky looks to be in tears. The laterne rouge is even closer now.

The leaders are starting the ascent up Cote de Rogna and the strain has told on Anthony Delaplace. The Bretagne rider is slipping south fast and Swiss champion Martin Elmiger and Cyril Lemoine are alone at the front.

Their advantage is down to just over a minute.

Garmin-Sharp look like they have thrown team leader Andrew Talansky to the wolves.

None of them have lingered to help bring the American back to the pack. In fact they have moved to the front of the peloton to press the pace in pursuit of the three breakaway riders. Tom Slagter might be the man they are lining up for a stage win.

The breakaway is only one minute 40 seconds from being gobbled up.

Talansky will need to come home within around 25 minutes of the winner to avoid elimination. He is currently around seven and a half minutes away with just over 50km to go.

Image source, Getty Images

There are some nice quotes in the Times today from key figures within Team Sky, talking up makeshift main man Richie Porte's stomach for the fight.

Sir David Brailsford believes it comes down to Porte's Tasmanian heritage.

"They are fighters, battlers, vocal," he said. "You know if you get in a sporting contest with them they will fight to the bitter end. They won't give up. He is one of those."

Porte is also five foot eight inches. That is all I'm saying.

It is a pretty unanimous response so far from you on the next general classification superstar.

Anish Patel: , externalNairo Quintana will be the next GC superstar. He already is in my eyes, won the Giro and was 2nd to Froome last year at the tour

John McEnerney:, external Quintana has the best credentials to be a star already has big wins to his name, reminds me of Luis Herrera back in the 80's

Gareth Langley:, external Quintana. Already won the giro, and showed that he is more than capable of dominating on the climbs on Ventoux last year.

Any other suggestions?

Yellow Jersey
Classification

This is how the general classification looked after stage 10.

1. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita/Astana) 42hrs 33mins 38secs

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

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

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

5. Tony Gallopin (Fra/Lotto-Belisol) +3mins 12secs

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

7. Tejay van Garderen (US/BMC) +3mins 56secs

8. Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra/AG2R) +3mins 57secs

9. Rui Costa (Por/Lampre) +3mins 58secs

10. Bauke Mollema (Ned/Belkin) +4mins 8secs

While Andrew Talansky toils, let's have a look how things are set at the front of the field.

Andrew Talansky is now three minutes behind the peloton.

He may not want to abandon, but he may not get a chance. The broom wagon will be looming at this rate.

Part of Andrew Talansky's problem in trying to make his way back to the pack is that the peloton are snaked out in a long, streak through the French countryside, pressing the pace in pursuit of the leaders.

Martin Elmiger, Cyril Lemoine and Anthony Delaplace have given their sponsors a good outing but they won't get a stage win photo back at company headquarters. The rest of the field are within three minutes.

Image source, Getty Images

Let's not dwell on the absence of former champions.

Better to get disproportionately excited about future champions.

Today, I want your nominations for the next general classification superstar.

No-one who has won the Tour de France before or is currently wearing yellow. Anyone else is fair game.

Quintana? Kwiatkowski? Bardet? Yates? Maybe even Talansky?

Give us a name and a reason to #bbccycling, external or 81111 on text.

If it is a text then put your own name on there as well.

Andrew Talansky was tenth in the 2013 Tour de France and the winner of the Criterium Dauphine earlier this year, the warm-up race won by Sir Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome before their triumphs.

He is in a world of bother now though, swaying in the saddle and more than two minutes off the main pack.

Image source, EPA

When Alberto Contador crashed out of the Tour on Monday, we at least clung to the hope that his big face-off with Chris Froome would just be delayed until the Vuelta a Espana in August,

Froome himself tweeted that he was looking forward to a reunion, external with them both back to full fitness.

Well, the dream might be over before it has begun.

A gloomy Contador has said that it is "almost impossible" for him to recover in time for the Vuelta following surgery on his broken shin bone.

Sad times.

Garmin-Sharp's American lead man Andrew Talansky is rather unexpectedly struggling.

He has slipped 40 seconds off the back of the peloton and, after suffering a couple of crashes in the first ten stages, might this be his final day on the train?

It is hard work back to the pack, who have been going at a decent lick.

The gap to the three-strong escape is down to three minutes 47 seconds by the way...

We are expecting the leaders to reach the foot of the stage's first categorised climb the Cote de Rogna shortly after 15:00 BST.

The uphill sections come thick and fast from there with the peloton expected over the summit of Cote d'Echallon about an hour later.

Best guess for a finish time is 16:20 BST.

Image source, Getty Images

Team Sky survivor Geraint Thomas predicts in his stage-by-stage guide for BBC Sport that this is a day when "the breakaway has a good chance of succeeding" with some riders feeling a little ropey after a day out of the saddle.

The Welshman has also been reflecting on the first ten stages of the Tour which has featured massive crowds, massive crashes and massive early departures.

He also tells us about a spot of Stage 10 bother that he found himself in.

"I was riding downhill in the rain and I pulled my brakes, but nothing happened for two or three seconds. All I could see was a 90 degree left turn, a hay bale and a couple of people - and I wasn't slowing down, he writes.

What happened next? You'll have to click through to find out.

Image source, Tour de France

This is the terrain that the peloton are tackling today.

A few lumps and bumps early doors with the stage's four categorised climbs packed into the final 46km.

None of the uphills are packing too much punch. The first and the last look the most interesting.

The Cote de Rogna is a 7.6km at 4.9% affair, the Cote d'Echallon averages 6.6% over 3km. But neither is going to really get the lactic flowing.

It's on right now in fact.

The riders raced out Besancon just before midday and are now 90km from the finish in Oyonnax.

Let me break down the day's events so far for you.

An early four-man break, consisting of Jeremy Roy, Gregory Rast, Jerome Pineau and Dries Devenyns, opened up 10 seconds but were reeled in by seven kilometres.

A typical attention-grabbing Peter Sagan cameo came to a quick end.

Finally the successful breakaway came at 28km. IAM's Martin Elmiger, Cofidis's Cyril Lemoine and Bretagne's Anthony Delaplace got away and claimed the first three sets of points at the intermediate sprint point.

Their lead was up as high as six minutes 45 seconds, but has been whittled down to just a shade over four as it stands.

All the general classification contenders are together in the peloton and you are up to date.

With Alberto Contador gone, Chris Froome long since home, Team Sky's nine-man squad down to seven, and the strongest climbing legs in the peloton, Astana's Vincenzo Nibali may have been feeling pretty smug on yesterday's rest day.

He is the man in charge, but who would bet against another twist in this Wacky Races edition of the Tour de France?

And, despite his impressive showing in the Giro d'Italia time trial, there will be those who fancy their chances of taking time from Nibali when the riders go against the clock over 54km on the penultimate stage.

This race is very much on...

Image source, Reuters

"So let me see. One hundred and forty-three seconds to my nearest challenger. Eleven stages to go. (Cogs whirr away)..... I make that an advantage of 13 seconds a day. Cushty"

"Forget this continental pastry rubbish, make mine bacon, eggs and beans. And lob a bit of black pudding on the side for ballast."