Here's what the riders will have to tackle today, but it doesn't show the crowds, who are going to play a huge part. Remember, it's Bastille Day too...

Jumbo-Visma are still leading the chase by the way, nothing has changed there. Do they want this stage win, and does Jonas Vingegaard want it while he is wearing yellow. It would be some statement, but it is going to take some hard work!

Vingegaard and Wout van Aert are near the front of the chase group. Tadej Pogacar, Romain Bardet, Geraint Thomas and the rest of the big hitters are all safely in there. The gap to the breakaway is exactly six minutes.

The last 13.8km are all uphill, of course... but at the moment the escapees are on the flat.

The gap is up to six minutes, which is good news for Tom Pidcock and Chris Froome, and the rest of the breakaway bunch.

If you are new to the Tour, you might be wondering why Alpe d'Huez, the mountain that stage 12 of the 2022 Tour de France is about to hit, is known as "the greatest climb in cycling"?

In 2015, 5 live Sport met locals, cycling tourists and fans camped out on the 13.5km climb to find out more. Hundreds of thousands of cycling fans line the route on race day, creating a unique atmosphere for the riders on its slopes... it is an arena like no other.

Image source, Getty Images

Winning a Tour de France stage on top of Alpe d'Huez is a career-defining feat for any rider, but Geraint Thomas is the only man to do it while wearing yellow, on his way to overall victory in 2018, the last time we had a summit finish here... and his celebration at the line told you exactly how much it meant.

Can Jonas Vingegaard repeat his feat today? It is a huge ask, but he and his Jumbo-Visma team look in pretty good shape.

A taste of what's to come...

Good stuff from Chris Froome, who is is sticking with Tom Pidcock on this long descent, which takes some doing. Giulio Ciccone is following Pidcock's line too, and you've got to be brave to do that.

The gap to the yellow jersey bunch is about five minutes and 15 seconds, with another 7km downhill to go. Then, it's 11km of flat... before the chaos will begin!

Superman and Santa Claus have been waiting a while, by the looks of things...

Image source, EPA

Tom Pidcock flew down Col du Galibier, and he is doing the same now... putting the other escapees under pressure with his sheer pace on the descents.

Incidentally, Giulio Ciccone can take the polka dot jersey today if he finishes in the top five on Alpe d'Huez, and the current leader in that category, Simon Geschke, does not make the top eight.

Here are the current King of the Mountain standings, after Col de la Croix de Fer:

1. Simon Geschke (Cofidis) 43 pts

2. Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies) 35

3. Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo) 35

4. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) 30

5. Warren Barguil (Arkéa-Samsic) 30

Wout van Aert is leading the peloton to the top of Col de la Croix de Fer and boy does he look strong. Team-mate and race leader Jonas Vingegaard is about three riders back. Jumbo-Visma are bossing this.

Now for the descent... then 11km of flat... and then Alpe d'Huez!

At last! The front five have just gone over the top of Col de la Croix de Fer.

Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo) was first to the summit. As well as British duo Chris Froome (Israel-Premier Tech) and Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadier), we have Louis Meintjes (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert) and Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) as the other riders in this escape. Their lead is down to four minutes 30 seconds now.

Whoosh... They were just protecting Jonas Vingegaard's yellow jersey earlier but this increase in pace by the Jumbo-Visma team has strung the peloton right out on the Col de la Croux de Fer.

All the other big hitters are still with them for now, including Geraint Thomas and Adam Yates, and Tadej Pogacar.

The gap to the escapees keeps dropping, down to five minutes and 15 seconds.

Interesting... the Jumbo-Visma rider are starting to motor a bit more now. They got their tactics right yesterday, so how will today go?

The gap to the front of the race has come down to under six minutes, and they are also losing chunks of the peloton as they move closer to the top of this L-O-N-G climb.

Jumbo-Visma are still setting the pace in the peloton, and they have just started to bring the gap down a fraction.

Up the road, Tom Pidcock has stepped it up a bit too, and that breakaway is down from nine riders to five. Chris Froome is one of those who have stayed with him, with just under 5km to go to the summit of Col de la Croix de Fer.

As mentioned earlier, we have two Brits in the breakaway.

Tom Pidcock is the highest ranked rider among the escapees, in 11th place overall and just over 11 minutes behind race leader Jonas Vingegaard in the General Classification.

For many years, 'race leader' was the way Chris Froome was usually being described during these long, hot Tour de France stages but the four-time winner is not in any kind of contention this year, down in 41st place and more than 55 minutes behind Vingegaard.

It's just great to see show he has the legs to get in a break like this, although he probably isn't enjoying it much at the moment.

Image source, EPA

Hmmm, I think everyone feels the same way about Col de la Croix de Fer right now... this climb feels like it goes on forever (although is less than 10km to the top now).

To recap, British duo Chris Froome and Tom Pidcock are in a nine-man breakaway group. Their lead has come down a bit on this climb, but is still more than six minutes and 30 seconds.

In case you were wondering, it's still hot out there, and they are still going uphill...

Once the riders crest Col de la Croix de Fer - which they will do eventually, I promise! - they have a long descent of around 30km, followed by around 11km of flat before they reach the foot of the magic mouuntain, aka Alpe d'Huez.

Their tactics are going to be very interesting, especially from Tom Pidcock, who could easily distance his fellow escapees with his downhill skills ... but might not want to.

The nine breakaway riders are around 20km away from the top of Col de la Croix de Fer, and their lead is still hovering at just over seven minutes.

This is a long, hard climb on a very hot day. I don't think they are enjoying the scenery, to be honest.

Image source, Reuters