Postpublished at 15:22 British Summer Time 19 July 2023
27.5km to go
We're still waiting for the big-hitters to explode, but that might not happen for a while yet...we have 21km to go to the top of this climb.
Summary
Stage 17 - 165.7km from Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc to Courchevel
Queen stage of 2023 Tour de France with four huge climbs
Jonas Vingegaard leads Tadej Pogacar by one minute and 48 seconds in general classification
Britain's Adam Yates third overall
Postpublished at 15:22 British Summer Time 19 July 2023
Postpublished at 15:17 British Summer Time 19 July 2023
29km to go
That breakaway group continues to shrink. Down to 16 riders now... Britain's Simon Yates, who is eighth overall, is still among the but Julian Alaphilippe isn't.
The gap back to the yellow jersey bunch has come down, but not by much, to two minutes and 40 seconds.
Postpublished at 15:13 British Summer Time 19 July 2023
31km to go
Looks a little busy up the top of the Col de la Loze... which is where this race is heading right now.
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End of X postPostpublished at 15:11 British Summer Time 19 July 2023
32km to go
Ineos Grenadiers take over from Jumbo-Visma at the front of the peloton. They want to put Carlos Rodriguez back in the podium places, and he will be eyeing another stage win too.
Postpublished at 15:08 British Summer Time 19 July 2023
32.5km to go
The pace is fierce already and the polka dot socks (and jersey) of Giulio Ciccone drops away from the breakaway bunch. He's picked up 25 mountain points today, but he won't get any more.
Postpublished at 15:07 British Summer Time 19 July 2023
33km to go
Here we go then... the riders are on the Col de la Loze. Just the 28km to go to the top, with sections at a gradient of 24%. Ouch,
Ready for Battle Royale?published at 15:05 British Summer Time 19 July 2023
34km to go
Here's a reminder of where we're at in the General Classification. The riders from seventh to 10th below are all in the breakaway bunch, which is now two minutes and 44 seconds clear, and the top six are in the yellow jersey group with overall leader Jonas Vingegaard.
Basically we are all set for a Battle Royale on the slopes of the Col de la Loze... Vingegaard was in sensational form in Tuesday's individual time trial - can he finish off Tadej Pogacar's hopes of victory today?
General classification after stage 16
1. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Jumbo-Visma) 63hrs 6mins 53secs
2. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) +1min 48secs
3. Adam Yates (GB/UAE Team Emirates) +8mins 52secs
4. Carlos Rodriguez Cano (Spa/Ineos Grenadiers) +8mins 57secs
5. Jai Hindley (Aus/Bora-Hansgrohe) +11mins 15secs
6. Sepp Kuss (US/Jumbo-Visma) +12mins 56secs
7. Pello Bilbao (Spa/Bahrain Victorious) +13mins 6secs
8. Simon Yates (GB/Team Jayco-AlUla) +13mins 46secs
9. David Gaudu (Fra/Groupama-FDJ) +17mins 38secs
10. Felix Gall (Aut/AG2R) +18mins 19secs
Postpublished at 14:56 British Summer Time 19 July 2023
40km to go
About 5km to go until the riders reach the bottom of this monster...
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End of X postPostpublished at 14:54 British Summer Time 19 July 2023
42km to go
The breakaway bunch has dropped a couple of riders and is down to 29 men now - they are speeding along to the bottom of Col de la Loze, with a gap of about 3 minutes and 10 seconds to the yellow jersey group.
It's looking like Vingegaard and Pogacar will be battling for the stage win too, as well as the yellow jersey, because the escapees are going to need a bigger lead on the climb than that.
Postpublished at 14:43 British Summer Time 19 July 2023
52km to go
Ouch.. Ineos Grenadier rider Egan Bernal has crashed... his front wheel slid from beneath him on a tight corner on this long descent.
He is back on his bike now but seems a bit dazed.
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End of X postPostpublished at 14:41 British Summer Time 19 July 2023
53km to go
Movement in the peloton and UAE and Jumbo-Visma - the teams of Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard are both trying to take control at the front of that bunch... it is Jumbo-Visma who have control at the moment, and they got it with a real injection of pace.
Postpublished at 14:39 British Summer Time 19 July 2023
55km to go
These mountains are very pretty, unless you are trying to ride your bike up them at high speed.
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End of X postPostpublished at 14:30 British Summer Time 19 July 2023
60km to go
Yep, Ciccone takes the five points, without any competition. That puts him on 88 points overall, with a maximum of 40 more available to the first man to the top of Col de la Loz.
King of the Mountains, as it stands:
1. Giulio Ciccone 88 points
2. Neilson Powless 58 points
3. Jonas Vingegaard 57 points.
Postpublished at 14:27 British Summer Time 19 July 2023
61km to go
So, you know the drill at the top of Cote de Longefoy... Giulio Ciccone will want the five mountain points that are up for grabs, and nobody will probably try to stop him getting them.
Postpublished at 14:15 British Summer Time 19 July 2023
65km to go
The riders are on the Cote de Longefoy now and the gap to the yellow jersey continues to grow, up to two minutes and 50 seconds.
It feels like the calm before the storm that we will surely see on the brutal ascent of the Col de la Loze.
Postpublished at 13:52 British Summer Time 19 July 2023
82km to go
While I was working all that out (badly), the race has been whizzing downhill towards the foot of the Cote de Longefoy.
The break, containing 34 escapees, has a gap of one minute and 56 seconds to the yellow jersey group.
Postpublished at 13:49 British Summer Time 19 July 2023
86km to go
The commentators on ITV have been talking about the polka dot jersey and how Jonas Vingegaard could take the lead in the King of the Mountains category on the final climb of the day - the uncategorised Col de la Loze - which has 40 points up for grabs.
But, if Giulio Ciccone takes the five points up for grabs on climb three, the category two Cote de Longefoy, he would keep the lead without scoring any points on Loze, as long as Vingegaard is only second to the summit.
Ciccone keeps the jersey anyway, as long as Vingegaard is in yellow.
You follow all that? Good...
King of the Mountains, as it stands:
1. Giulio Ciccone 83 points
2. Neilson Powless 58 points
3. Jonas Vingegaard 57 points.
Postpublished at 13:37 British Summer Time 19 July 2023
99km to go
Yes, Ciccone accelerates away.... no-one challenges him, and that is 10 more mountain points in the bag.
Image source, ReMore polka dot points up for grabspublished at 13:35 British Summer Time 19 July 2023
100km to go
The man wearing the polka dot jersey, Giulio Ciccone, can smell the mountain points as we get within 1km of the top of Cormet de Roselan. His nearest rival in the King of the Mountains category, Neilson Powless, is not in the race for points today - he's in the Grupetto, which is a long way back down this mountain.
Who is in the break?published at 13:32 British Summer Time 19 July 2023
102km to go
You know I'd love to list all 34 riders myself, but...
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