"It looked like a rider clipped the right-hand kerb approaching a corner, about halfway down the main field," said Rob Hayles.

"It started with one of the Katusha riders and it set off all the way down the peloton."

Thibaut Pinot is involved. It wasn't especially high speed but there were plenty down.

There has been a big crash that has brought down a sizeable number of riders.

Not often I look out of the window in Salford and see a meteorological scene that surpasses what the Tour has to offer....

There are three roundabouts in the final 6km of the stage, two of them back-to-back.

We've already had a few crashes to day and the retirements of Jack Bauer and Nacer Bouhanni.

It is very windy at the moment.

Image source, EPA

Four minutes now between the two main groups, 32km left. I wish I had more to report. Windy, blustery.

"With the rain the sprinters will have to be careful at the finish," said Rob Hayles. "If it is wet and they go full gas around the bend close to the finish they will be into the barriers. The strong headwind at the finish could be a key factor. You have to bide your time in a headwind and go with 100-150m to go."

Image source, Reuters

Calm before the storm?

"You can switch off and let your guard down and that is when you have those silly crashes, you get your handlebars caught up or something like that. The pace can actually be too slow for some riders, you feel like your legs are blocking up," reckons Rob Hayles.

The yellow jersey, green, white and polka are all in the sizeable front group. Breaks as a consequence of the strong winds have not materialised.

"This has all the hallmarks of a bunch sprint," remarks Rob Hayles.

It is the teams expected to contest the GC who are currently driving the pace along, although that said yellow jersey Tony Martin briefly appears on the front.

"In contrast to what we have seen in the first four days, it is currently extremely dull," remarks Simon Brotherton.

You can listen to Simon and Rob Hayles by clicking on the play button on this page.

The peloton is currently ambling along (although I should add that it is ambling at 42km per hour). Just over 42km to go. 

The pace has dropped right off.

"There is no way the peloton could have continued to have raced like they did over the opening few days," reckons Rob Hayles.

FDJ's Steve Morabito is back on his bike after an incident that may or may not have involved a water bottle. 

The second group of riders, which include Sky's Richie Porte and Peter Kennaugh as well as Movistar's Alex Dowsett, are more than three minutes behind.

We've got a shade on the long side of 50km left. The pace is still pretty decent but the rain has disappeared for the moment.

Cav is back in business after his earlier puncture. Still backing him for a stage win? Let us know on 81111 or tweet #bbccycling

Rob Hayles reporting that we are about to hit some slightly undulating road and reckons we could be in for some more splits.  

We asked for your memories of visiting the battlefields.

Every time I look at images of today's stage they appear to be passing a cemetery or memorial.

The field goes past the South African memorial at Bois Delvill. The split in the peloton is now at roughly two and a half minutes. Peter Kennaugh is among those in the latter half, as are Thomas Voeckler and Pierre Rolland.

Apparently Jack Bauer is on his way to hospital after crashing twice today.

About 60km left.

Image source, EPA

Another man down, this time a fella on a motorbike. Not clever, the biker trying to sneak past the peloton on the right-hand side but losing it on the grass. Oops.

A change of bike for Mark Cavendish, who is now being towed back by team-mates.

You can now listen to coverage of the stage on the website via the play button. Simon Brotherton is joined by Rob Hayles for that one.

The pace goes through the roof and the field is quickly strung out down the road as news come though that Cannondale-Garmin rider Jack Bauer has abandoned following an earlier crash.

Michael Matthews struggling again, as is one Thomas Voeckler.

Fair play. Michael Matthews has battled back and has rejoined the peloton.

He is currently in animated conversation with somebody in his team car.

It is very cloudy and windy and when the race changes direction the speed increases noticeably. Will we see a split before the end of the stage?