Postpublished at 15:30 BST 17 July 2022
61km to go
Another Jumbo rider, Wout van Aert, was one of those to hit the deck but he is back on his bike. The crash has caused a little split in the peloton but they are all coming back together.
Summary
Stage 15: Rodez to Carcassonne, 202.5km
Week two of the Tour ends with mostly flat stage
Bunch sprint expected at finish
Van Aert chasing third stage win of 2022 Tour
Vingegaard in leader's yellow jersey
Defending champion Pogacar second, 2mins 22secs behind
GB's Thomas third, 2mins 43secs adrift
Postpublished at 15:30 BST 17 July 2022
Postpublished at 15:27 BST 17 July 2022
63km to go
And another crash - a bad one too - Steven Kruijswijk is one of the riders who is down, and it looks like it could be curtains for the Jumbo-Visma rider, which is bad news for race leader Jonas Vingegaard... a reminder he just lost another team-mate, Primoz Roglic, who was unable to start today's stage through injury.
Postpublished at 15:24 BST 17 July 2022
65km to go
There's a protest on the road - not sure what it was about - but it was only a couple of people lying on the tarmac and it did not stop the front two riders.
Postpublished at 15:20 BST 17 July 2022
68km to go
Doull is about 45 seconds off the back of the peloton after receiving treatment.
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End of X postPostpublished at 15:18 BST 17 July 2022
73km to go
Ah, and it wouldn't be the Tour de France without crashes out of nowhere either...
Welsh rider Owain Doull just tasted the tarmac, after riding over a bottle while he was taking a swig himself. He's back on his bike, and getting patched up - his elbow took the brunt of that fall.
Postpublished at 15:16 BST 17 July 2022
74km to go
Image source, ReutersIt wouldn't be the Tour de France without shots of sunflowers, would it?
Postpublished at 15:07 BST 17 July 2022
80km to go
A reminder that the front two riders are Denmark's Mikkel Honore, on the Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl team, who is 134th overall - two hours and 49 minutes behind the overall race leader - and Germany's Nils Politt, who rides for Bora-Hansgrohe.
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End of X postPostpublished at 15:05 BST 17 July 2022
80km to go
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End of X postPostpublished at 15:03 BST 17 July 2022
81km to go
At last, some shade for these riders - from trees planted specially to protect this road from the blazing sunshine. The front two riders are now one minute and 20 seconds clear, and wisely taking hearty swigs from their drink bottles.
Postpublished at 14:45 BST 17 July 2022
93km to go
Hmmm, the pace of the two men at the front of the race has dropped and that means the peloton has slowed down too - they don't want to catch the break too early because that would just mean more stress in the final 50km - and who needs that on a hot day like this?
That's good news for Michael Morkov, who is still on his own at the back, 26 minutes behind the front off the race. At a rough estimate, he has got another 30 minutes to play with before the time cut is enforced.
Postpublished at 14:36 BST 17 July 2022
98km to go
The teams controlling the pace at the front of the peloton are Alpecin, who will want Jasper Philipsen to figure in a fast finish, and BikeExchange-Jayco who have the same ambition for Dylan Groenewegen. We are now more than halfway through today's stage, which at 202.5km is the second-longest of this year's Tour.
There's a reason I've not mentioned the big hitters at the top of the General Classification much so far. Jonas Vingegaard, Tadej Pogacar and Geraint Thomas, as well as the rest of the top 10 overall, are all safely in the peloton.
Postpublished at 14:30 BST 17 July 2022
103km to go
Not an awful lot happening on the road right now... the front two are now one minute and 35 seconds clear, so the gap is coming down. They are probably quite grateful, given the heat.
I haven't forgotten about Michael Morkov, either. He's still all alone at the back of the race, about 23 minutes behind Mikkel Honore and Nils Politt in the two-man break.
Postpublished at 14:17 BST 17 July 2022
111km to go
Not exactly sure what happened to him, but French rider Franck Bonnamour of team B&B Hotels-KTM has taken a tumble, and it looks like he ended up in a ditch.
He seems ok though, and is now being paced back to the peloton by his team car.
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End of X postPostpublished at 14:13 BST 17 July 2022
115km to go
Image source, EPAThe riders are speeding through some more spectacular scenery today. Not sure they will enjoy it too much in this heat, especially the two men in the break.
They are two minutes and 45 seconds clear and probably regretting their decision to escape. Michael Morkov is having an even worse time, though. He is now 20 minutes and 30 seconds back.
Image source, ReutersPostpublished at 14:03 BST 17 July 2022
123km to go
Michael Morkov is the lead-out man for Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl sprinter Fabio Jakobsen but he isn't going to be able to perform that role in today's sprint finish in Carcassonne - if there is one - because he is going backwards (relatively anyway).
The gap from the Dane to the two riders at the front of the race - including his team-mate and compatriot Mikkel Honor - is now up to 18 minutes and 30 seconds.
No Quick-Step riders are dropping back to help him, either, which suggests Morkov knows he is not in shape to get back in touch.
Morkov in trouble...published at 13:55 BST 17 July 2022
130km to go
This photo was taken a few minutes ago, and he is losing more time...
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End of X postBrave or stupid?published at 13:43 BST 17 July 2022
137km to go
Image source, EPAThese are the two riders at the front of the race, about three minutes clear of the peloton, in what is a very brave (or stupid?) breakaway given today's high temperatures.
They are Denmark's Mikkel Honore, on the Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl team, who is 134th overall - two hours and 49 minutes behind the overall race leader - and Germany's Nils Politt who rides for Bora-Hansgrohe, and is currently 72nd... just the one hour and 49 minutes behind Jonas Vingegaard.
Happily, this gives me another chance to plug a piece I did with Geraint Thomas and Jens Voigt a few years back about why riders try to escape on these kind of breaks.
How things standpublished at 13:31 BST 17 July 2022
This is how things look at the front of the race, with a week to go until it arrives in Paris. What a Tour it has been so far...
General Classification after stage 14
1. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Jumbo-Visma) 55hrs 31mins 01secs
2. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) +2mins 22secs
3. Geraint Thomas (GB/Ineos Grenadiers) +2mins 43secs
4. Romain Bardet (Fra/Team DSM) +3mins 01secs
5. Adam Yates (GB/Ineos Grenadiers) +4mins 06secs
6. Nairo Quintana (Col/Arkea-Samsic) +4mins 15secs
7. Louis Meintjes (SA/Intermarche-Wanty) +4mins 24secs
8. David Gaudu (Fra/Groupama-FDJ) same time
9. Tom Pidcock (GB/Ineos Grenadiers) +8mins 49secs
10. Enric Mas (Spa/Movistar) +9mins 58secs
'I'm still here'published at 13:30 BST 17 July 2022
Matthews rode superbly, and his surprise surge past Alberto Bettiol on the famous Cote de la Croix Neuve will live long in the memory. We might see more of him at the end of today's stage too.
The Tour is not just about the winners, though, and fellow Australian Caleb Ewan definitely deserves a mention for his exploits yesterday too.
Ewan is a specialist sprinter who suffered in the Alps and then suffered a nasty crash on Friday when he was hoping for a stage win.
He was dropped right at the start of Saturday's tough and hilly route but, with the help of three of his Lotto-Soudal team-mates, battled on ... eventually crossing the line more than 39 minutes after Matthews - but, crucially, within the time-cut.
"I'm still here and there is still an opportunity for the sprint today," Ewan told reporters before the start of today's stage. "The team did an amazing job yesterday and the best thing I can do to thank them is to win the sprint today."
Image source, Getty Images'This was for my daughter'published at 13:29 BST 17 July 2022
Image source, ReuA quick reminder of what happened yesterday...
The glory belonged to Australia's Michael Matthews on Saturday, who clinched a superb stage win in Mende, and dedicated it to his daughter.
"I was just thinking of my daughter on that final climb the whole way up to the finish, and my wife, for how much sacrifice they make for me to make my dreams come true," he said afterwards.
"Hopefully today I showed them the reason why we sacrifice so much.
"This was for my daughter today. She's four years old and I really just wanted to show her why I'm away all the time and what I do it for. Today was that day."