So, no 30th stage win for Cavendish today.

The final 3km is a tailwind and that is going to help the guys out front says Rob Hayles on BBC Radio 5 live Sports Extra commentary.

Froome's group is around 300m ahead of the peloton containing Nairo Quintana and Adam Yates.

The Lotto Soudal boys have clearly heard the news about Mark Cavendish and are pushing the pace in the peloton. There are shots of Cav pedalling at the sort of pace a toddler does. He looks a touch upset.

The peloton has closed the gap on the escaped quartet by several seconds but it's still north of 20 seconds with 4.5km remaining.

Mark Cavendish is out of the back of the peloton. He is pedalling hard, Rob Hayles suggests he may have trouble with his gears. He is on the blower to his team car but it looks like, with just 6.5km remaining that his race is done.

An extraordinary break. The gap is up to a dozen seconds. A brief lapse in concentration from the Movistar riders means Nairo Quintana could well be losing time here.

I don't think I've ever seen a yellow jersey go on a break on a flat stage. 

Geraint Thomas is pushing on, flicks the elbow and Maciej Bodnar of Tinkoff takes over. Peter Sagan then takes his turn. Chris Froome is also doing a turn.

This is huge. Nairo Quintana is being left behind. 

Peter Sagan and fellow Tinkoff rider has gone clear with Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas of Team Sky. Sagan looks at Froome and gets a nod, they are in team time trial mode here.

Just 10km remaining.

Fabian Cancellara is among those pushing on and the peloton is being strung out. Chris Froome is out of his saddle stomping on his pedals. Geraint Thomas is trying to hold on to his coat-tails.

The yellow and green jerseys are in the break. Chris Froome and Peter Sagan are in a four-man break.

We are into the final 15km and the pace has been upped again. Etixx - QuickStep are starting to show their faces at the front of the peloton.

But several riders are trying to stretch the peloton to breaking point. Can the teams of the sprinters control this or will a break go clear?

A wee telling off on Twitter - my bad. Sorry. Marcel Kittel has of course won a stage.

When the wind dies down there is a brief cessation of hostilities says Rob Hatch on BBC Radio 5 live Sports Extra. The race is all back together and there are the familiar trains of Team Sky, Tinkoff, Lotto Soudal, Movistar and BMC Racing spread out across the road.

A bit of central reservation briefly splits the bunch left and right but there is no urgency. Everyone deserving a bit of a breather after the crosswinds.

The helicpoter buzzes off to give us some aerial shots of flamingoes. We're down near the south coast of France, remember.

The hardman of the peloton Will? #bbccycling

The wind is predominantly from the rear at the moment as the riders zip either side of a roundabout. The pace is high as the race blasts through the red-roof topped town of Montbazin and back out into the countryside.

A decision expected in the next 15 minutes or so. In the meantime, these boys weren't put off by a bit of wind. #bbccycling

Image source, Getty Images

There is not a great deal happening on the road. Marcus Berghardt of the BMC Racing team had a brief stretch of his legs but the peloton were in no mood to let him get away. 

A couple of Lotto Soudal and Movistar riders have ducked back to their team cars to pick up some juice for the final push.

#bbccycling for your extreme weather rides

Time to check out the run-in to the finish. There's a howling tailwind and Rob Hayles is backing Mark Cavendish. He'll only get the green jersey back if Peter Sagan misses out though.

Check out the run-in to the finish with OJ Borg and Hayles.

If you are reading through the BBC Sport mobile app you'll need to click on the link.

It has felt like a really hectic stage but finally there is a calmness in the peloton. The race is coming back together as we continue towards Montpellier - the sixth largest city in France. Just 30km remaining.

Anybody backing Britain's Dan McLay for today's stage win? He was third behind Cav a few stages back and the Fortuneo Vital Concept rider has certainly impressed this year.

While the big guns are looking at each other, could he slide up the blind-side?

#bbccycling - extreme weather rides

 But that is tomorrow. Time to focus all energy on this run-in to Montpellier. We are entering the business end of today's stage. Mark Cavendish is searching for an incredible fourth stage win of this year's race and a 30th in total.

His main lead-out man Mark Renshaw is out of the race and he has a couple more of his squad in the bunch that dropped away in crosswinds. So, will Andre Greipel or Marcel Kittel make his Dimension Data team pay and pick up their first wins of the 2016 Tour?

Another omen for Cav? He rides for an African team...

That injection of pace saw the main split that has seen two groups formed. One is almost one minute behind the group containing all the favourites.

On commentary Rob Hayles is suggesting that Mont Ventoux may be completely cut from the race. He explains that it's not just the riders who have to get up there, there are fans and media to consider, not to mention the Tour 'village'. 

But, remember the Flamme Rouge collapsed on Britain's Adam Yates on stage seven - and that was in reasonably sedate conditions. 

A decision won't be taken lightly though - it is the French national day tomorrow - Bastille Day and every man, woman, child and dog will be heading to the mountain*.

I've heard from our team in France, decision at 16:00 BST which will be just before the finish in Montpellier. Great timing!

*Perhaps not strictly true but there'll be a fair few!

Some great data from how Team Sky decided to close that break down a few minutes back.