A sharp left-hander causes everyone to bunch up. Three Etixx riders come out of it in front. Then it's Dimension Data with Edvald Boasson Hagen and Mark Renshaw ahead of their man Cavendish. He's in the perfect place going into the final kilo.

Here we go then. Etixx have got themselves back on track. Dimension Data are coming through but I can't see the green jersey of Cavendish just yet. Here comes Andre Greipel though.

Peter Sagan is on the wheel of Marcel Kittel with 2km remaining.

There are teams all over the place. Cannondale are on the nose but they are riding for Pierre Rolland, a potential general classification rider.

Etixx - Quick-Step trying to get themselves sorted and Lott Soudal have dropped back a bit. 3.5km remaining

Into the final 5km. Peter Sagan goes shoulder-to-shoulder with another rider as they swing round a roundabout. He was worried before the start of the stage. No respect for the yellow jersey.

Tommy Voeckler is named as the stage's most aggressive rider! Bit tough on Armindo Fonseca.

Rob Hayles has compared today's stage to the Tour's final one.

It was a very, very gentle start to the day for the riders but now, into the last 10km, things are getting serious.

"It's almost like a copy of the final stage into Paris, he said.

"The first bit is about the riders enjoying the ride and saying hello to the crowd but inside the final 10km the race is on."

Tommy Voeckler is looking over his right shoulder almost as much as he is looking forward and finally he sits up. 

Chapeau to our two breakaway riders, and a special mention to Armindo Fonseca. He was out front for 215km, give or take a few metres.

Just 7km remaining.

Voeckler and Fonseca are holding on. They have made it into the final 10km. 

The peloton is spread out across the road. Movistar down the right, with Team Sky, Lotto Soudal down the left. Here come the sprinters.

His head is bobbing and his tongue is out. Classic Voeckler as he strains every sinew to keep out for as long as he can. The 37-year-old is riding in his 14th Tour de France so he knows the game is up.

But he never gives in easily. Fonseca is taking the easy route in his slipstream.

Fonseca and Voeckler are in view. The peloton swarms around a left-hand bend, followed by a right and they can see their prey just 20 seconds ahead.

After the quietest of quiet days, this is about to get a little crazy.

According to my Tour de France book, the riders should be giving post-race interviews by now and I should be dipping my fingers in ice.

They are still 20km from the finish in Angers though and 35 minutes behind schedule.

Fonseca and Voeckler are 45 seconds clear and travelling at 54km/h (just over 30mph). The peloton slightly quicker.

Bernard Hinault has 28. Eddy Merckx has 34.

Just making sure Martin. Just making sure ;)

Will race leader Peter Sagan fancy this finish? There is a bit of an uphill drag to the line. Not anywhere near as severe as yesterday mind, but it is uphill. 

The world champion is set to stay in the race leader's yellow jersey regardless because he has enough of an advantage over the rest of the field, unless Julian Alaphilippe surprises everyone, including himself, to take the win.

Now there's something you don't see every day. A bicycle-powered hovercraft. The rider is in the yellow jersey but, unfortunately for her, going away from the road as the peloton zips by. 

I hope it wasn't a lifelong ambition of hers to watch the race go by,

We are heading into the final 30km and Team Sky have moved up to the front right of the peloton. No sprinter in their nine-man squad. Their only aim is keeping Chris Froome out of trouble and away from crashes.

One of his rivals Alberto Contador has already lost nearly a minute after crashing on both stage one and two so it is vital Froome keeps upright to keep him nice and fit for the mountains later in the week.

An Etixx - Quick-Step rider is leading the bunch with the Lotto Soudal train of Andre Greipel hitching a ride on his tail.

Should Mark Cavendish win his 28th stage today then he could be greeted on the podium by Bernard Hinault.

A win for Cavendish would see him join Hinault on 28 Tour wins.

Rob Hayles has suggested the Frenchman, who has won a joint record five Tours de France, might have his own special way of congratulating the Manxman.

"I wonder if Mark was able to take the prize whether he'd get a punch thrown at him from Bernard for equalling his record. He's a bit of a bodyguard these days," Hayles joked.

"Cav has shown the form to suggest he is capable of going past the 28 wins this year."

Belgium's Eddy Merckx, one of only three other riders to win five Tours, is the only man ahead of them on 34.

There are two riders in a break. Armindo Fonseca of the Fortuneo Vital Concept team has been out since the riders left Granville almost 200km ago.

The peloton was in no rush to catch him, allowing the Frenchman to gain  a lead of more than 11 minutes at one point.

Tommy Voeckler got bored of sitting in a peloton that was moving at pedestrian pace so he asked permission to attack and sprinted off up the road to join his compatriot.

And there they have sat for the last hour or so.

Their lead is down under one minute though as they enter the final 40km of the stage.

Image source, Getty Images

If you're just joining us for the closing kilometres of today's stage and are wondering what all the fuss is about surrounding Mark Cavendish, it's quite simple.

The race is careering into Angers for an expected bunch sprint finish and that means the Manx Missile will be there or thereabouts.

Should he win, he will match French legend Bernard Hinault's haul of 28 Tour de France stage wins. It will put him joint second on the all-time list with just Belgian Eddy Merckx ahead of him on 34.

However, while Bernie and Eddy won numerous time trial stages, all of Cavendish's 27 to date have come in mass sprint finishes.