Wout van Aert has already won two stages at this year's Tour de France, and today's rolling route with an anticipated fast finish is another one that suits him.

Put it this way, he's normally in the thick of things whatever the stage has in store... so expect to see a lot of him later, starting with this imminent intermediate sprint - the Belgian is the rider currently wearing green as leader of the points category.

Image source, EPA

We are speeding towards today's intermediate sprint at La Cote Saint Andre but the man in third place in the points category, Dutch rider Fabio Jakobsen, won't be competing for anything there... he has fallen off the back of the peloton after suffering a puncture.

The gap to the front seven is coming down, and is now at one minute, 40 seconds.

A reminder of that breakaway group: Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers), Stefan Kung (FDJ), Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar), Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious), Mads Pedersen and Quinn Simmons (both Trek-Segafredo) and Hugo Houle (Israel-Premier Tech).

Don't go thinking this is going to be an easy day for the big hitters, or the riders further back in the peloton, though.

A crosswind on this flat section has split the main bunch slightly, into three smaller groups.

Image source, Reuters

We probably won't be seeing much of race leader Jonas Vingegaard today, so here's a quick pic to remind you what he looks like...

The big battle is not about the General Classification in this transition stage. Instead, the fight is between the breakaway and the sprinters' teams - who need to keep the escapees close enough, so they can reel them in during the closing stages.

The gap is still hovering around the two minute, 30 second mark.

Sorry, I meant to post this after I posted the General Classification standings earlier.

Great to see Geraint Thomas back in the podium places after Thursday's stage. He might be on the periphery of the yellow jersey battle between Vingegaard and Pogacar, but he's been quietly getting the job done...

The gap to the breakaway group of seven riders is still going up, it now stands at two minutes and 30 seconds as they go over the top of Col de Parmenie.

Image source, Reuters

159 riders made it to the top of Alpe d'Huez yesterday but France's Warren Barguil did not make it to the start line today. His team, Arkea-Samsic, says he has tested positive for Covid-19.

He is the sixth rider to pull out of this year's race after a positive test - with two of them coming from the UAE Emirates team of defending champion Tadej Pogacar.

Pogacar's team manager, Joxean Fernandez, also left the Tour yesterday after a positive test.

I'm not sure how much Caleb Ewan will have in his legs if he is delivered to the finish line for a bunch sprint. The Australian survived the Alps, but only just... he was worried about missing the time cut on Alpe d'Huez, after finishing last on stage 10.

Not everyone was so lucky, however...

We've seen a lot of race leader Jonas Vingegaard's team, Jumbo-Visma, at the front of the peloton in the past few days, either on the attack or controlling the pace.

Today, it's down to the sprinters' teams to do that kind of work, if they want their fast men in contention at the finish. At the moment, Caleb Ewan's Lotto-Soudal team-mates are setting the tempo, led by Philippe Gilbert, for exactly that reason.

Image source, Reuters

It's another hot one out there today by the way... for the riders as well as the fans on the roadside.

Image source, Reuters

A quick reminder of where we're at after 12 stages of the 2022 Tour de France.

Jonas Vingegaard is still the man in yellow, with his rock-solid Jumbo-Visma team-mates doing a brilliant job of defending it on Thursday after their spectacular collective show of strength and tactical nous helped him take the race lead off Tadej Pogacar on Wednesday.

General classification after stage 12:

1. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Jumbo-Visma) 46hrs 28mins 46secs

2. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) +2mins 22secs

3. Geraint Thomas (GB/Ineos Grenadiers) +2mins 26secs

4. Romain Bardet (Fra/Team DSM) +2mins 35secs

5. Adam Yates (GB/Ineos Grenadiers) +3mins 44secs

6. Nairo Quintana (Col/Arkea-Samsic) +3mins 58secs

7. David Gaudu (Fra/Groupama-FDJ) +4mins 07secs

8. Tom Pidcock (GB/Ineos Grenadiers) +7mins 39secs

9. Enric Mas (Spa/Movistar) +9mins 32secs

10. Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus/Bora-hansgrohe) +10mins 06secs

The seven escapees are about one minute and 40 seconds clear, as they head on to the slopes of the biggest climb of the day, the category two Col de Parmenie.

On the subject of Tour breakaway attempts, and why some riders are allowed to escape and others aren't, I wrote this piece a few years back to try and explain them, with the help of Jens Voigt and Geraint Thomas...

"Nine times out of 10, the long break fails," said Voigt, who knows more than most about trying to escape the peloton and staying away to the end of the stage.

"It can be bitter or it can be glorious. But you have got to try it 10 times to make it work once."

Brave or stupid? - the art of the Tour de France breakaway attempt

Image source, Getty Images

Well, as expected, there have been a lot of attempted breakaways in the early stages - everyone wants to be in the escape today.

Three riders, Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers), Stefan Kung (FDJ) and Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar), opened up a gap of about a minute on the peloton early on and a whole host of people in groups big and small have tried and failed to get across to them, before being reeled back in.

Another four men have just made it across, though, including British rider Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious). With him were Mads Pedersen and Quinn Simmons (both Trek-Segafredo) and Hugo Houle (Israel–Premier Tech).

Image source, Tour de France

Yes, after five amazing days in the Alps that blew open the General Classification before Pidcock's solo superb ride on Thursday, the 'bumps' in the road are far smaller today for the 158 remaining riders in the 2022 Tour de France as they head from Le Bourg D'Oisans to Saint Etienne.

There are three climbs, with nothing on the scale of the past few days - the toughest is the category two Col de Parmenie - but the rolling terrain is less than ideal for the specialist sprinters hoping for a bunch sprint at the finish line.

We should get a fast finish one way or another, but will it be from riders in a breakaway attempt? There are going to be plenty of people who fancy getting in on the action.

And what a way for the race to leave the mountains on Thursday, with a rising star of the cycling world announcing his arrival on Le Tour with his maiden stage win on the iconic summit of Alpe d'Huez.

Chapeau, Tom Pidcock!

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters