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Froome is having to dig deep here to stay in touch with Contador. He won't want to lose any seconds here and Froome is attacking. Sensational stuff. The defending champion with a huge psychological blow on his rivals.

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And riders are cracking all over the place here. But Contador, Froome and Nibali are all up at the front. You don't see the general classification riders making moves like this on stage two of the Tour de France.

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There are a few lefts and rights to be negotiated and Orica GreenEdge are on the front. Simon Gerrans appears to have dropped away which could pave the way for Michael Albasini to be their main man today.

Peter Sagan is lurking though and he is the big danger as we hit the bottom of Jenkin Road.

Rob Hayles
Former Great Britain cyclist on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

"Four seconds now for Pierre Rolland and that's not nearly enough for him to win it. As soon as he hits the gradient on Jenkin Road, he is going to go backwards. He will stop dead. He's got a few seconds but he knows it's game over for him.

"There are so many who could still win this stage, it is difficult to pinpoint one as a standout rider."

The final climb comes with 6km to go, there is 5km from the summit to the finish. This will be all over in a flash. And Rolland is sitting up. Is he trying to save himself for the climb? Geraint Thomas is still looking strong but he has surely done too much work to be in with a shout at the finish.

A tight left-hander at the bottom of a lengthy incline and everyone is round safely, Rolland's lead holding firm, but it's not a race-winning one yet as he goes under the 10km to go banner. And Cannondale are putting the pressure on the peloton.

Rolland keeps glancing over his shoulder and all he can see is the lime green of the Cannondale team leading the peloton, trying to get Peter Sagan in position to win this race. His lead is 14 seconds with 12km to go.

Peraud has given up but Rolland fancies this. He hauls his huge frame out of his saddle and stomps on the pedals as the race hits the outskirts of Sheffield. Can he hold on for 13km? The climb should be no bother for him, he won a stage up one of the iconic Tour de France climbs, Alpe d'Huez in 2011.

Rob Hayles
Former Great Britain cyclist on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

"There are some big straight roads coming up. It is downhill, with a tail-wind, so it is going to be easier for small groups of two to stay together."

Listen to the final 15km of stage two by clicking 'Live Coverage' at the top of this page.

Just the one climb to go then, it's only 800m long but it will decide who is going win. Jenkin Road is getting a bit of a reputation for its 33% gradient - the steepest on this year's tour. Peraud and Rolland have had a look round on the descent and decided they may as well have a stab at this. They are 15 seconds clear.

BBC Look North reporter Dave Edwards:, external More spectator figures: 2.5m spectators across Yorkshire this weekend; 100,000 in York this morning; 60,000 at Holme Moss.

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Europcar's Pierre Rolland, no stranger to the polka dot jersey himself, nips clear to take the two points on offer at the top of the category three climb, with fellow Frenchman Jean-Christophe Peraud of the AG2R team taking the point.

They immediately sit up though on the descent, they don't appear to have any ambition to chase the stage win...just yet.

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Image source, PA

Interesting to see Europcar's mountain goat Pierre Rolland up near the front of the peloton - he has a good turn of speed when the slopes get steep. The pace slackens off as they approach the summit of Oughtibridge. Nobody seems to want to take this on. Just 19km to go.

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Thomas leads the peloton up Cote d'Oughtibridge - it's a 1.5km ascent at 9.1% average gradient. Cannondale are suddenly very visible at the front of the bunch. They are pace-setting for Peter Sagan remember and he is clearly over his earlier troubles.

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They head down the other side and it's a technical descent. But despite the riders flying by at a fair old lick, there are still hundreds of people waving their flags and cheering. Two climbs to go and the category three Cote d'Oughtiebridge is fast approaching.

Hugo Jennings:, external Federer and to an extent Hamilton, Button and Alonso acting like it's five to 10 years ago. Richard Virenque to win this stage.

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It's a little busy in Bradfield. Geraint Thomas said it was like being in a disco for four hours yesterday, such was the noise of the crowd. It's a full-on rave today as they reach the summit. Thomas rolls over the top in second behind Astana rider Andriy Grivko, who gets a point.

Grivko is riding for Vincenzo Nibali - the man who won the 2013 Giro d'Italia, the Italian equivalent of this race - and he is chasing glory in this race.

Just 25km to go.

Image source, Katebradbrook/twitter

BBC Look North reporter Kate Bradbrook:, external Bonjour Grenoside!!! So much cheering, clapping and car horns going. And the riders aren't here yet!

Not long to go now Grenoside. The frontrunners are about 10 miles away from the Sheffield suburb.

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Image source, Getty Images

Geraint Thomas is leading the peloton. Team Sky have taken control of the race, and the leading bunch has been whittled down to around 40 or 50 riders.

The main protagonists for the overall race win, Froome and Contador are in there. As are the likes of Gerrans, Valverde and Sagan, who are chasing the stage win.

And whoever wins today's stage knows that they will be taking over the race leader's yellow jersey. This final 28km is going to be huge.

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The next climb is the Cote de Bradfield. It's category four and just 1km in length with an average gradient of 7.4%. A tiddler then.