Lawson Craddock is really struggling and has now been dropped by the peloton.

Blood is falling down the left side of his face and his shoulder looks badly damaged, compromising his position on the bike.

It would be a supreme effort by the Texan just to finish this stage.

Cousin and Offredo eke out a bit more time, carrying a 30-second lead over the peloton through the 20km to go mark.

In just over 5km there is a new addition to the Tour this year - a time bonus sprint with three, two and one second on offer for the first three riders over the line.

It doesn't count towards the points classification but is designed to animate the race and prevent the peloton just sitting on after catching the break.

Intriguing to see if it works - it will be used for the first nine stages only.

Rob Hayles
Former GB cyclist at the Tour de France

Just outside the 1km to go there is a tight right-hander which could prove tricky. Then the road dips down before getting on to the finish straight. There is a potential for a slight headwind on the finish straight and that will affect when you start your sprint. You'll want to be in the slipstream and only launch your attack with 150m to go into a headwind. If there's a tailwind you can go for longer.

Lotto Soudal's Jens Keukeleire has punctured and is having to chase back on.

That would be a big blow to Andre Greipel's sprint train if the Belgian can't get back to the front.

The gap is down to 27 seconds to the breakaway, which now consists of just Jerome Cousin and Yoann Offredo.

The peloton swallow up Kevin Ledanois.

Alain Taylor: As much as I would love Cavendish to win I think Gaviria will do the business today.

Let us know your picks for the stage win and yellow jersey.

The peloton crested the Cote de Vix just 42 seconds behind the three riders in front. They should make the catch before long.

Offredo is in a huff and attacks again. Cousin eventually decides to set off in pursuit, while Ledanois stays back, his job done for the day.

The breakaway is breaking up.

Having done all of the attacking, Yoann Offredo is caught out at the summit as first Jerome Cousin and then Kevin Ledanois come past him.

Ledanois kicks again and pips Cousin to the line, winning the sole king of the mountains point on offer. The 24-year-old will be wearing the polka dot jersey tonight.

The time gap is tumbling down as the leading trio tackle the climb.

Offredo is looking the strongest of them, with Cousin jumping around on the pedals to keep up and Ledanois in behind.

Here comes the king of the mountains point...

Rob Hayles
Former GB cyclist at the Tour de France

The peloton don't want to bring the break back too soon. If you do, riders from teams who don't have a chance in the sprint finish, will go on the attack.

Any break that goes out will generally be brought back inside the last 20km. Occasionally it might get misjudged and only caught in the final couple of hundred metres.

The break comes back together before Yoann Offredo attacks again, knowing the peloton is getting closer.

He can't make it stick and his two fellow Frenchman bring him back before a conflab. Offredo shakes his head in frustration.

Their lead is around the one minute mark now.

At the other end of the race, Lawson Craddock is struggling off the back of the peloton.

The American crashed heavily earlier, damaging his shoulder and suffering cuts around his eye.

He has a team-mate with him - can he make it through to the finish?

Yoann Offredo has had enough of just cruising through and puts in a slight dig to ride away from Jerome Cousin and Kevin Ledanois, who are arguing behind.

Offredo doesn't get much of a gap though and will be reeled in shortly.

There is one climb on this otherwise flat stage - the category four Cote de Vix.

The leading trio are approaching it but can they keep their gap of 1'12'' until that point?

There is one point in the king of the mountains classification on offer for the first rider over the top.

Rob Hayles
Former GB cyclist at the Tour de France

The gap is not a great problem for the sprinters' teams.

Four teams have done the share of the work on the front of the peloton. They are Quick-Step looking for their man Fernando Gaviria. Team Dimension Data who have our own Mark Cavendish, Groupama for Arnaud Demare and Lotto for Dylan Groenewegen.

BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

Our commentary team of Tom Fordyce and Rob Hayles are now on air to guide you through the final 40km of stage on.

Tune in by clicking the tab at the top of this page.

Dog averted, the leading trio continue but the gap is down to 1'14'' as they cruise through 40km to go.

The breakaway of Jerome Cousin, Kevin Ledanois and Yoann Offredo have to swerve past a brown labrador that had strayed into the road.

Cousin throws his arm up in anger towards the owner of the dog.

Thankfully no collision a la Marcus Burghardt at the 2007 Tour de France.

Pete: Re 12:24 Explained. I think 'Miss Vendee' is a good likeness and a bit more relevant, rather than Miss Venezuela!

I did just order new contact lenses this morning. Also, who knew Miss Vendee was a thing?

Just as I type that, the gap goes back out to 1'47'' for the leading French trio.