13:06
140km to go: Goldstein, Bennett and Latour remain out in front but their lead has been cut to 3min 23sec by the peloton.
12:58
Bradley Wiggins: Nothing to note yet from Eurosport’s man on the motorcycle beyond a lot of the peloton needing to “go for a wee”. He noted yesterday that Cavendish seemed a little rattled about having to wear a standard green jersey rather than his preferred skinsuit number. It’s the same story today. Is there some sort of laundry backlog? Or is this an inside job to stop him winning today’s stage so he can save the big moment for the Champs-Élysées? Conspiracy theories welcome.
Updated
12:49
Cavendish’s chances: It’s a calm before the storm day in terms of the GC but what of Mark Cavendish’s bid to win that magical 34th stage and tie Eddy Merckx’s record? Cav was a clear 3/1 favourite with the bookmakers to win today’s stage when prices went up last night. And with Deceuninck-QuickStep policing this breakway, Cav has been cut to odds-on with the in-play traders. In other words, folks, this could be a big, big day!
Updated
12:45
Leading trio: Just to note that the three leaders are no danger at all to the GC. Latour is the highest ranked of them but currently sits 51st, a hefty 1hr 21min 10sec back from the yellow jersey.
12:45
165km to go: So, who will win today’s battle between breakaway and bunch? Right now we have a three-man breakaway of Omer Goldstein (Israel Start-Up Nation), Sean Bennett (Qhubeka-NextHash) and Pierre Latour (Team TotelEnergies). They’re 4min 34sec clear of the peloton. Latour just sprinted to grab 1 KOM point at côte de Pic St-Loup.