Key events:
126km to go: Cattaneo is nearly across to Van der Poel and Van Aert.
Back down the road, the peloton is stretching out at the front as a larger group tries to get away.
The average speed is 54.3km/h at the moment. Should we be suspicious of the incredible average speeds we are seeing at this Tour?
128km to go: “I see the TdF’s meagre 27 degrees and I’ll raise them the 37 degrees it will hit this afternoon in south-west France not far from Bordeaux – with it due to hit 40 degrees at the weekend,” emails Roland. “The riders have it easy… I’m sweating just watching them on the TV!
“On a more serious note, it is indeed very likely much warmer than the reported 27 degrees or will be by the end of the stage. I’ll be interested in seeing how the Pog deals with such heat – his two other triumphs were achieved in notably cooler climes…”
130km to go: Tom Pidcock (Ineos) has a problem and drops back to the team car. Cattaneo of Quick-Step, up at the front, seems to be trying to bridge across to Van Aert and Van der Poel.
132km to go: “Can you or anyone reading help me out?” asks Neil on email. “Is there a harder climb than the Col du Granon in TdF’s repertoire? I know there are longer ones but I can’t find anything to compare to the savage difficulty of an average (average!) gradient of 9.2% … and that’s before you even consider the altitude.
“And, separately, is it humane to back up today with 3 HC climbs tomorrow, or would it be illegal in more enlightened jurisdictions than France?”
135km to go: Van Aert leads Van der Poel through the green intermediate sprint arch at Aiguebelle, and takes 20 points to stretch his lead in the green jersey competition. It was uncontested. The two great rivals look keen to push on and see if they can hold the peloton at bay for a while.
136km to go: It’s another stinking hot day in France … the official website reckons 27C, but I reckon it’s significantly hotter than that on the road. A group of six has struck off the front of the main bunch.
139km to go: The advantage of the two leaders has flown out to 43”.
142km to go: Van Aert and Van der Poel have 16”.
Apparently the Col du Granon hasn’t featured on a Tour de France route since 1986, which also happened to be the last day that the great Bernard Hinault wore the yellow jersey.
146km to go: Van der Poel grimaces with effort as he rides ahead of Van Aert. They have built a lead of 13”.
@LukeMcLaughlin I think this looks a great stage for Pinot. He’s looking to be in great climbing form, today & tomorrow (which look absolutely horrendous) seem the best for his abilities and chances of the win. GC wise, hopefully some attacks today!
— MaliciousA (@MaliciousA) July 13, 2022
A reminder of how the GC looked come the end of yesterday’s stage 10:
1) Tadej Pogacar 37hr 11’ 28”
2) Lennard Kamna +11”
3) Jonas Vingegaard +39”
4) Geraint Thomas +1’17”
5) Adam Yates +1’25”
6) David Gaudu +1’38”
7) Romain Bardet +1’39”
8) Tom Pidcock +1’46”
9) Enric Mas +1’50”
10) Luis León Sánchez +1’50”
Poor old Lennard Kamna gave it everything to get in the yellow jersey, and missed it by 11 seconds.
We’re racing on stage 11!
Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) attacks immediately … Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin–Fenix) is on his wheel. They are working together, it seems, to distance the peloton. And it’s worked. They’ve already got a gap of six-seven seconds. Van Aert wants maximum points at the intermediate sprint, at Aiguebelle, which comes after 16km.
The front of the peloton is seemingly glued to the back of the race commissaire’s car. It’s going to be another fast and furious start. Sporting his green jersey, Wout van Aert was having a bite to eat a few moments ago … Pierre Rolland is up there too, he was very active yesterday and is obviously trying to put himself in contention for the polka-dot jersey.
Apparently Rigoberto Urán took the power meter off his bike a few days ago. “It’s full gas anyway, so what’s the point in measuring it?” he said, according to the Eurosport commentator Rob Hatch.
Nairo Quintana is pictured riding along in the neutralised zone … they have around six kilometres to go before the flag drops.
The riders are out on the road in the neutralised zone. “Brutal” is a word that’s being bandied around a lot with regards to today’s stage. That final climb should see a lot of action – can anyone put Pogacar in trouble?
Over on Twitter, Dan Martin reckons a lot of GC riders and teams will be holding something back with another huge day tomorrow.
The last 4km today could decide @letour today. When you get above 2000m it’s a different race. But we might also not see much attacking as it’s risky to go into the red and with another big day tomorrow, I think it will be a case of guys losing time rather than big attacks.
— Dan Martin (@DanMartin86) July 13, 2022
The stage is scheduled to start in five minutes’ time.
Today’s stage takes in just under 4,000m of climbing. Ben O’Connor, in a preview interview about today’s route, predicts that there will be big gaps on the final climb. O’Connor withdrew with an injury he sustained in a crash during the grand départ in Denmark.
Preamble
Yesterday’s stage 10, as the race entered the Alps, was far more frantic than many expected, and not just because environmental protesters held up the race by sitting in the road and letting off flares. Tadej Pogacar kept his yellow jersey by 11 seconds, sprinting to the finish line in Megève in a show of strength before the mountain stages really get going.
Today’s stage is an Alpine greatest hits collection, with two hors catégorie climbs – the Col du Galibier and the Col du Granon Serre Chevalier – coming after the picturesque switchbacks of the Lacets de Montvernier, and the Col du Télégraphe.
The defending champion, Pogacar, lost his lieutenant George Bennett to Covid yesterday morning and UAE Team Emirates’ rivals may fancy they can expose some weakness among the team in the high mountain stages. Exposing weakness in Pogacar himself, however, seems to be another matter. Will we see a breakaway succeed, as it did yesterday, or will it be a general classification shoot-out on the summit finish of the Col du Granon Serre Chevalier? Let’s find out …