The weather looks fair at the top of the current climb. The gap from the 20 leaders to the peloton has reduced to less than three minutes.  

There are four categorised climbs today in stage 19. And this is where they are heading - Saint Gervais Mont Blanc. Beautiful. 

Anyone else used to like eating Mont Blanc out of tins? Lovely. Which leads us to today's random discussion topic. Your favourite cycling meal. It might be a booster or a monster lunch. It might have a French slant to it. 

Let us know via #bbccycling, external Pics eating are most welcome. 

Image source, Reuters

The 20 breakaway riders are now climbing the category one, Col de la Forclaz de Montmin. They are three minutes 19 seconds ahead of the peloton.

There is an Astana rider among the leaders, Alexey Lutsenko, and his team-mates are still pushing the peloton along with gaps appearing. 

An attempt to engineer a stage win for Astana's Fabio Aru?  

Image source, BBC Sport

We told you Rob Hayles had been working hard. This was taken on his way to work today, in a cable car. 

Rob Hatch
BBC Radio 5 live commentator

If we are talking about simple racing, Chris Froome should have this in the bag. This is his to lose. But you never know what's going to happen, and until he's got to the Champs-Elysees, he has not won the Tour. 

Today is a short stage and if the weather is bad, the other teams will get up smiling. They will know they can send riders up the road and hope to bridge to them later. Nairo Quintana is in a good position to attack.

Unfortunately for those hoping for a big change today, the weather is set fair so far. 

Image source, BBC Sport

Don't forget that the hardest working team on Tour, excluding the riders, have been producing another brilliant Radio 5 live podcast where OJ Borg, Rob Hatch and Rob Hayles have been discussing the key issues.

They reveal how Nasa was involved in Chris Froome's stage 18 time-trial win, whether the yellow jersey holder has the Tour won, and why other teams have faltered. 

Click right here to have a listen.  

The 20 breakaway riders are deep into the valley and have just crossed the line of the only intermediate sprint of the day with Michael Matthews of Orica-BikeExchange picking up maximum points. Tinkoff's Peter Sagan, who has an unassailable lead, still holds the green sprinters' jersey.

The leading group is three minutes 45 seconds ahead of the peloton. 

Back in the peloton, Fabio Aru's Astana team have been forcing the pace, as they seek to catch the breakaway. 

His team-mates Paolo Tiralongo, Vincenzo Nibali and Diego Rosa made a surge ahead of the peloton at one point, but they have now been caught. The Kazakh team are still pushing, with Team Sky and yellow jersey holder Chris Froome right behind them. 

Image source, EPA

This is actually a stage which was tested in the 2015 Criterium du Dauphine and guess who won it? That bloke called Froome! 

With more important issues to worry about, Chris says he wants to "stay safe" and his Sky team-mate Geraint Thomas has tipped Fabio Aru, who is seventh in the overall standings. 

The Welshman says in his guide: "The Italian won the Vuelta a Espana last year and has been chosen as Astana team leader over compatriot Vincenzo Nibali, who won this race in 2014. He is not as good a time-trial rider as the other favourites so may need to make up time in the mountains."  

So we have 20 riders out in front, which includes Tinkoff's Rafal Majka, who holds the kind of the mountains jersey, Pierre Rolland (Cannondale-Drapac), Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida), Thomas De Gendt and Tony Gallopin (Lotto-Soudal) and Tony Martin (Etixx-Quick Step).

No pretenders to the yellow jersey among them, so they now have a lead of over four minutes to the chasing peloton. 

Image source, Tour de France

So what's ahead for the riders today? 

Tour organisers have made this a short, snappy mountain stage, which finishes on the world famous Mont Blanc. Well, snappy in the 146km sense, anyway! 

Custom made for an attack? This is what Geraint Thomas thinks in his BBC Sport stage-by-stage guide: "This is a dangerous stage. There will be a strong breakaway on that first climb and if the team of the yellow jersey wearer are having a bad day, their leader could easily be isolated, as happened to Chris Froome on stage nine in 2013.

"The leader might be strong enough to follow on a climb but if somebody goes on the flat it's harder. You could have the strongest guy in the race but if he's on his own early on it will tough for him to keep the jersey." 

Image source, AFP

Today's stage started at 12:10 BST with 177 riders signing up for another day of torture as they head uphill out of Albertville. 

Lotto–Soudal's Thomas de Gendt is one of those eager to get it over quickly, and leads a breakaway of about 25 keen types. 

Weather in the Alps looks pretty nice so far. 

Not that we are wishing crashes on any of the leading riders. But Radio 5 live weather presenter Simon King has this to say: "Heading into Chamonix and (the finish at) Mont Blanc, there could be thunderstorms on Friday afternoon. The cloud will build up by lunchtime and there will be a risk of a thundery downpour, intense rain and heavy winds."

Image source, AP

As it stands 2013 and 2015 Tour winner Chris Froome has a whopping three minutes 52 second lead, and his rivals, including Nairo Quintana, have failed to mount a challenge. Disappointing, really. 

But our resident cycling expert Rob Hayles puts it like this: "Froome could have a half-hour lead, but it's not necessarily over because if you crash out, you are out."

Two days of mountains means that what goes up must come down. So plenty of tricky descents and there is word that the weather might be on the turn. 

Image source, Reuters

Chris Froome could be forgiven for thinking the yellow jersey feels a little more snug this morning after he extended his overall lead thanks to his time-trial victory on Thursday. 

If he can safely negotiate two more days in the Alps, then a third Tour de France win will be his. 

Sounds like it's all over bar the shouting. But could there yet be a twist in what has been an already dramatic Tour?