You can read the stage seven report here:
And the details around Adam Yates’s crash with the flamme rouge:
That’s all for today. Thank you for joining me, and for your creative efforts to name breakaways of 12, 29 and one. I’ll leave the last word to today’s winner, Steve Cummings:
“Of all my victories, I think it’s the best one. The Tour is the Tour, it’s special. I didn’t need to win a stage this year. I had a different condition from last year as I started the Tour riding for Mark Cavendish who is such a winner and an inspiration. It’s brilliant, it’s fantastic.”
General classification
- Greg van Avermaet (BMC) 34h 13m 40s
- Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx-QuickStep) at 6m 36s
- Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) at 6m 38s
- Joaquin Rodríguez (Katusha) at 6m 39s
- Chris Froome (Team Sky)
- Nairo Quintana (Movistar)
- Warren Barguil (Giant-Alpecin)
- Pierre Rolland (Cannondale)
- Dan Martin (Etixx-QuickStep)
- Fabio Aru (Astana) [6-10 all at 6min 42sec]
The GC contenders stayed in touch with the main group today, with the notable exception of Thibaut Pinot, who lost almost three minutes, and is 9m 39s down on Van Avermaet.
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It’s been a spectacular Tour for British riders so far, and Chris Froome hasn’t had cause to venture out of the peloton yet. Mark Cavendish has won three stages, and Steve Cummings’ win means four of the seven races have been won by British riders. It’s also seen the emergence of Dan McLay, as William Fotheringham reports:
Race result
- Steve Cummings (Dimension Data) 3h 51m 58s
- Daryl Impey (Orica BikeExchange) at 1m 5s
- Dani Navarro (Cofidis) at 1m 5s
- Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) at 2m 14s
- Greg van Avermaet (BMC) at 3m 4s
- Luis Angel Maté (Cofidis)
- Geraint Thomas (Team Sky)
- Wouter Poels (Team Sky)
- Gorka Izaguirre (Movistar)
- Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) [6-10 all at 4m 29s]
I do indeed. Funnily enough, it was the Orica team bus...
Here’s today’s race report. A full race result and GC update will follow.
Replays show that Adam Yates, who had attempted a breakaway with Dan Martin, was brought down by the fallen arch. He’s unhurt but he’ll be mighty annoyed, with any advantage the British Orica rider could have gained taken away by that rogue inflatable.
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Anything can happen at the Tour de France... the inflatable arch housing the flamme rouge, which marks 1km to go, has collapsed on top of the main bunch! There wasn’t supposed to be a 3km rule today, but the race officials have decided to apply it, given that was an unfortunate, and frankly bizarre, accident.
Daryl Impey, far from a favourite in that initial group of 29 riders, is second over the line, beating Navarro in a casual jaunt to the finish line. Nibali is fourth, and the man in yellow, Greg van Avermaet, finishes ahead of the pack. We’ll see how far ahead overall shortly.
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Britain's Steve Cummings wins stage seven!
Cummings rolls into the final kilometre, able to take in the moment as he negotiates the final ramp, and cross the line. A brilliant victory, perhaps even more impressive than last year’s breakthrough win.
Cummings also picked up 10 King of the Mountains points, with Navarro taking eight. Thomas de Gendt will stay in polka dots tonight, although van Avermaet is now level with him in the standings.
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Team Sky are guiding Chris Froome into a strong position ahead of this potentially tricky descent, while Dan Martin is the latest to try and eke out a gap on the steepest section of the Col d’Aspin. Barguil is struggling too; this has been a tough day for the home hopefuls. At the front meanwhile, Cummings has 2km to go, free and clear.
Cummings has 4km to go, mostly downhill before a kick up to the line. He’s cruising, and doesn’t need to take chances. Van Avermaet is over the summit in fifth place, while Pozzovivo has a French GC contender on his wheel – but it’s Alaphilippe, not Bardet. Team Sky have upped the pace promptly, and caught the Etixx upstart.
Navarro hasn’t made any time on Cummings, who is over the peak and on his way to stage victory. The Cofidis rider is tiring to the extent that Impey sticks with him all the way to the top. Further back, Julian Alaphilippe, second in the GC and wearing the white jersey, has made a move!
Vuillermoz, out in the breakaway for much of the day, is now working with Pozzovivo. The two AG2R men are presumably setting up a burst uphill for Romain Bardet, but it’s yet to materialise. Of the GC contenders, it’s still only poor old Pinot set to lose time up this climb.
Cummings is 1km from the top, and Navarro has attacked with Impey going with him... but Nibali can’t keep up! Nibali, it’s fair to say, shouldn’t be getting dropped by Daryl Impey.
A couple of you asking about the pace up this first major mountain: Cummings is moving at 20km/h, Nibali’s group at 23km/h, with the peloton’s pace somewhere in between. Van Avermaet is trundling up the mountain at 18km/h.
The main bunch, and the GC contenders within, have eased their way up the Col d’Aspin – with the exception of Pinot, who is struggling badly, FDJ team-mate Steve Morabito dropping back to assist him. AG2R’s Dominico Pozzovivo has made a burst from the main group, joined by IAM’s Jarlinson Pantano.
Cummings’ stage win last year came at the expense of Thibaut Pinot and Romain Bardet, and he has got the better of Vincenzo Nibali today. The chasing trio have absolutely no momentum, now a minute behind. He’s only lost thirty seconds to the peloton, from which Pinot is currently slipping – not good signs for the home favourite.
Now or never for Nibali, accelerating with Cummings currently on the steepest section of the climb. The gap’s still growing, and Nibali seems reluctant to go full-throttle, instead playing cat-and-mouse with Navarro, who is capable of going with him, and Impey, who probably isn’t.
Warren Barguil is the first GC contender to attempt a breakaway in the mountains, but it’s short-lived. Van Avermaet has been broken by this final climb, but he’s still looking good to hold onto the yellow jersey after his gutsy effort today. Cummings now leading by 45 seconds over the chasing trio, with just 12km to go.
Cummings is 5km from the top of this climb, and his lead is growing – he’s now 35 seconds ahead, with Nibali, Impey and Navarro unwilling to work together halfway up the Col d’Aspin. This is looking good for Britain’s Steve Cummings, who isn’t going to Rio, and is rightly unhappy about it.
Brilliant athletes being made to look a bit rubbish as the pack begin the climb – sprinting thoroughbreds Cavendish, Sagan and Kittel all pedalling backwards. The chasing pack has been trimmed, with Nibali, Daryl Impey and Dani Navarro forming a trio going after Cummings.
It’s still warm and sunny, with no sign of storms 15km from the finish. Cummings still leads by 25sec, approaching the steepest section of the Col d’Aspin.
“Cummings – avant-garde early 20th-century American poet – oh, wait…” says John Cox.
Nibali is hauling the chasers up the early stages of the Col d’Aspin. The men in the group: Van Avermaet, Nibali, Geschke, Impey, Navarro, Périchon, Howes, Lutsenko. Van Avermaet isn’t just going to hang on to his GC lead today, he’s going to extend it.
Cummings is about to start the 12km climb to the top of Col d’Aspin, having carved out a 30-second lead over the chasers, now a group of eight, including van Avermaet and Nibali.
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Ed Matthews has a question:
“As a known cycling fan in the office, and something of a statto by trade, a colleague has just asked me, 1) why they measure the gap between groups in time and not distance? and 2) how they do this? and 3) if the answer is GPS, what they did pre-GPS?”
There are some answers here, Ed. In short, they don’t use GPS, but the tried and tested method of motorbikes and stopwatches to record the time gaps between riders, which contribute to the overall general classification. The TV time is monitored separately to the official race time, which leads to the occasional glitch.
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Cummings, who won in Mende last year after a ferocious solo breakaway, is having a go again! A dangerous group of eight riders are closing on the leading quartet – Nibali, van Avermaet, Martens, Lutsenko, Howes, Geschke, Impey and Périchon. The Dimension Data man has seen enough, and decided to chance his arm.
Cummings is first over the line at the intermediate sprint, with the rest of the points shared among the breakaway. I’ll stick my neck out and say that won’t be crucial to the overall green jersey result.
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The leaders have just motored past a contender for roadside artwork of the Tour so far. David Millar reckons the feet, which moved rhythmically up and down, are supposed to be crushing grapes. I’m not so sure.
Cummings has made it across to join Breschel, Duchesne and Navarro. We have a new, streamlined breakaway. The 29 have been split into three groups – the four leaders, a second group at 25 seconds featuring Greg van Avermaet, and a third with Nibali in it. They have four minutes on the peloton, but are lacking cohesion, shall we say.
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Vassil Kiryienka senses that his chance has gone, and drops back to support Team Sky’s efforts at the front of the peloton. Plenty more deciding whether to stick or twist – and Greg van Avermaet is another man trying to bridge the gap! Not playing by the rules, is Greg. Guilty, get a new rule book.
Action in the breakaway! Denmark’s Matti Breschel, Canada’s Antoine Duchesne and Spain’s Dani Navarro, riders who have all had the help of team-mates so far, have made a three-man escape, with Nibali and Steve Cummings quick to hare after them. They’ve opened a tentative 15-second gap.
The 29 haven’t opened up a large enough gap yet – in fact, it’s coming down – so it may be time for someone to make a break for it. Vincenzo Nibali has a dig with 45km to go, but it’s reeled in with embarrassing ease. He does at least take a King of the Mountains point for his efforts.
Name the Breakaway latest:
“The Esperanto translation of the first verse of Subterranean Homesick Blues” – Paul Griffin.
“Young Chelsea players on loan to clubs in the Flemish speaking part of Belgium” – Mark Elliott.
“The surprisingly international roster for a mid-West minor league baseball team” – Paul Tindle.
The top of the first climb is 2.5km away for the leaders, with the peloton trimming the gap to a shade over four minutes. The summit is 600m above sea-level, and we won’t be dropping below that again today, with a flattish burst to the foot of the 1500m Col d’Aspin today. We’re in the mountains now...
The gap remains steadfast at 4min 30sec, with 53km to go as the peloton turn through Tournay, at the foot of the Pyrenees. Today’s 29-man breakaway still together, about to tackle the Côte de Capvern. A reminder of their names:
Kiryienka, Izagirre, Nibali, Lutsenko, Bakelants, Vuillermoz, Martens, Cancellara, Stuyven, Naesen, Breschel, Howes, Langeveld, van Avermaet, Cummings, Geschke, Voss, Durasek, Grmay, Vicioso, Roelandts, Chavanel, Duchesne, T Martin, Navarro, Bozic, Maté, Impey, Périchon.
“An exhaustive list of all the villainous sidekicks from the James Bond films” says Harry McNeill Adams.
“Former members of The Fall during their last European tour?” says J Watson, sounding a bit like a member of the Fall themselves.
We’ve heard Eddy Merckx’s name a great deal lately, as Cavendish casts eyes on his tally of 34 Tour stage wins. His fellow Belgian, Greg van Avermaet, is doing the Cannibal proud with his aggressive move to join the breakaway in yellow, without a single BMC team-mate. My favourite Eddy Merckx fact is that he has a Brussels Metro station named after him. Over to you, TFL...
A slower pace to the second hour of racing – 40km covered, compared to 50km in the first hour, as the peloton hared after the early breakaway. We’ve reached a plateau after a big left-hand turn at Chelle Debat, and before the gentle climb to the Category 4 Côte de Capvern. The gap is coming down, now at 4min 40sec.
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You’d think that having 29 names in the mix would have put a stop to Name the Breakaway. Not a bit of it.
“Today’s breakaway is the 2019 Manchester United squad, assembled for a cost of €350m (or about £1.2bn). They were almost relegated after Langeveld and Impey fell out with Mourinho” says Bob O’Hara.
“A band of gentleman vagabonds who lived in the forests of the lower French Alps in the 1930s. They would later form the backbone of the local Resistance during the German occupation, and many would take key local government positions after the war” offers Tom Atkins.
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Sylvain Chavanel – the only man of the 29 to have led the way over the Col d’Aspin, is driving the breakaway along a short downhill section.
The gap remains five and a half minutes, with the race heading through Trie-sur-Baïse, a town known for La Pourcailhade, a ‘festival of pigs’ where the horrifying ‘highlight’ is this:
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On Cavendish, Robin Hazelhurst has a right to reply:
“It’s true that sprinters are generally more professional and stick it out, but then sprinters don’t normally have an Olympic track session coming up. And a brutal last Alpine week could impact that track preparation. This is Cav’s last ever chance at that Olympic medal he has always coveted, there’ll be stage wins and green jerseys next year. Can he really risk missing out in Rio for the sake of Paris? This classes as special circumstances I’d say.”
Cav latest – he’s dropped back to the team car for a bidon. It’ll be a day of getting by from here.
Steve Cummings, the Dimension Data combatant who won one of last year’s most memorable stages, is in the leading group. Here are some prescient words he offered before the start:
“I think it’s gonna be like two days ago, where there’ll be a breakaway. If it’s the right combination, they can go to the line. It’s definitely a stage for a breakaway.”
The Clatterbridge Cannonball did spoil things by naming five or six riders he’d want in a winning breakaway with him, none of whom are there.
Team Sky were leading the peloton, but Movistar have taken up the reins. The 29 are 5min 45sec ahead and beginning to fight among themselves – Cancellara has tried to break away from the breakaway, but has been reeled back in.
We’re crossing into the Hautes Pyrenees department, the route currently heading due west before a turn south towards the mountains. Here’s the breakaway again:
Kiryienka, Izagirre, Nibali, Lutsenko, Bakelants, Vuillermoz, Martens, Cancellara, Stuyven, Naesen, Breschel, Howes, Langeveld, van Avermaet, Cummings, Geschke, Voss, Durasek, Grmay, Vicioso, Roelandts, Chavanel, Duchesne, T Martin, Navarro, Bozic, Maté, Impey, Périchon.
“The ill-fated Swiss play-off football squad from the 1958 World Cup finals in Sweden that were defeated by Wales. The Italian ref gave a dubious penalty” says Philip Rees, showing admirable dedication.
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The 29, as I’m calling them for the sake of convenience, have cruised into the distance, opening up a five-minute lead.
“Gone are the days of Super Mario Cipollini going hell for leather in the first week, then heading to the beach for the final fortnight of Le Tour as the mountains appear” says David Alderton. “Sprinters are a lot more professional nowadays, but far less charismatic (exceptions apply).”
Speaking of Cipo, he apparently took some flack on Facebook for cycling without a helmet. His response? Cycling wearing only a helmet.
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There’s been no reaction from the peloton this time, who appear happy to let this group go. Aside from race leader van Avermaet, the best-placed GC riders to have broken clear are AG2R’s Bakelants and Vuillermoz, around six minutes back on the favourites, and 2014 champion Vincenzo Nibali, almost nine minutes down.
29 riders have made the break, and lead by 2mins 30sec. As far as I can tell, only two teams have nobody in the mass breakaway: Thibaut Pinot’s FDJ, and Alberto Contador/Peter Sagan’s Tinkoff. Some key names in the group: Greg van Avermaet, Vincenzo Nibali, Steve Cummings, Tony Martin, and stage 2 nearly man Jasper Stuyven.
Vassil Kiryienka (Sky), Gorka Izagirre (Movistar), Vincenzo Nibali and Alexey Lutsenko (Astana), Jan Bakelants and Alexis Vuillermoz (AG2R-La Mondiale), Paul Martens (LottoNL-Jumbo), Fabian Cancellara and Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo), Oliver Naesen (IAMCycling), Matti Breschel, Alex Howes and Sebastian Langeveld (Cannondale-Drapac), Greg van Avermaet (BMC), Steve Cummings (Dimension Data), Simon Geschke (Giant-Alpecin), Paul Voss (Bora-Argon 18), Kristijan Durasek and Tsgabu Grmay (Lampre-Merida), Angel Vicioso (Katusha), Jurgen Roelandts (Lotto-Soudal), Sylvain Chavanel and Antoine Duchesne (Direct Energie), Tony Martin (Etixx-Quick Step), Dani Navarro, Borut Bozic and Luis Angel Maté (Cofidis), Daryl Impey (Orica-BikeExchange) and Pierre-Luc Périchon (Fortuneo-Vital Concept).
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Here’s Tom Atkins on Cav and Rio:
“Is the whole ‘Cav’s going to have to pull out’ argument being a bit overstated? I would have thought a few days in the mountains would count as fairly decent training. Slightly different event perhaps, but Brad Wiggins was in fantastic shape for the London 2012 time trial coming off the back of his Tour win, and David Millar said he wasn’t at the races at the 2014 Worlds because all of his colleagues had been racing the Tour, a level of intensity he wasn’t able to replicate in his training. I reckon he knows what he’s doing.”
Cancellara is leading a group of 22 riders that have formed a provisional breakaway – but they’re only 20 seconds ahead of the chasing pack. This is interesting, though – Greg van Avermaet, the man in yellow, is part of the breakaway.
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It’s all happening in the battle to start a new breakaway – nine riders, including Fabian Cancellara, have pulled clear, with Sagan and Edvald Boasson Hagen trying to bridge the cap. Will Cav go with him again?
“Given that he was rumoured to be dropping out soon and going home to focus on Rio, Cav is in a bit of a bind now” says Robin Hazelhurst.
“He’s too respectful of the history of the sport to want to drop out with the green on his shoulders, surely, so he is now condemned to dragging himself over the Pyrenees whatever. He might be more than happy to lose a few intermediate sprint points wherever possible you’d think.”
On the video below, Dan Levy says “the riders are coming up the other side, which is steeper and longer. And in my experience – er, once – it is always wet at the top”.
It may well be raining at the peak today, and on the sharp descent to the finish. Here’s what Chris Froome had to say before the start:
“Today’s not a summit finish but we are up in the mountains. Tomorrow and Sunday are going to be extremely selective days... it’s going to be an interesting day of racing. [The descent is] pretty straightforward, it sounds like we’re predicting rain for the finale, which always makes it harder.”
On that bombshell, the breakaway has folded. The peloton are back together with 45km gone. It’s been pan-flat so far, but a few bumps are coming up in the next 50km.
“Sagan, Cavendish, Izagirre, Sánchez, Pantano, Navardauskas, Roy, Benedetti, Costa, Edet, Soupe and Sorensen – the group of European heads of state who desperately petitioned to be allowed back into the EU in 2020. Notably chaired by Cavendish (PM of the United Kingdom of England) and French president Roy, who led the armed coup against the Le Pen dynasty.”
A window into a grim future, from Tom Carding.
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Matthew Trim and Phil Russell both reckon Cavendish is getting ahead to avoid the time cut-off, with the Champs Élysées in mind. Whatever Cav was thinking of, he appears to have reconsidered. He and Sagan have slowed their pace, and the time gap is down to 23 seconds.
“Cavendish can only add maybe 5 points to his lead, but the alternative is not joining the breakaway and almost certainly losing 20 points of his lead to Sagan” says Alex Gemmell. True enough, and last time both men were in a breakaway, Cavendish won the race. It was a very different sort of stage, though.
Speaking of Cavendish, here’s our report from yesterday’s historic stage win, which took him clear in second place in the all-time Tour stage win standings.
And here are some video highlights from the day:
“How many points are available in the intermediate sprint today? Enough to realistically justify Cav murdering his legs all day?” asks James Bates-Prince.
20 points for first over the line, but with Sagan in the breakaway, Cavendish can add perhaps five points at best to his lead. I’m not really sure what Cav’s playing at – perhaps a case of going for broke, and heading for Rio early if it backfires.
The peloton continue to chase hard, with Lotto-Soudal and Etixx QuickStep at the helm. The gap is holding steady at around 40 seconds as we pass through Lombez, a village of 2,000 people that has its own cathedral.
Cavendish’s move suggests that, despite his bluff about Sagan being a certainty for the green jersey, he’s eyeing the intermediate sprint. Unfortunately for him, it’s still well over 100km away, and Sagan has gone with him. Cavendish is in green today and has 204 points overall; Marcel Kittel is second on 182, with Sagan third on 175.
The daring dozen – Sagan, Cavendish, Izagirre, Sánchez, Pantano, Navardauskas, Roy, Benedetti, Costa, Edet, Soupe and Sorensen – have carved out a 40-second lead at 15km. This is bad news for the name the breakaway game, although they do collectively sound a bit like the team I started with on Pro Evo 4’s Master League.
Updated
Here are the 12 riders that have made an early break. The peloton are only 20 seconds behind, keen to reel a few of these guys in:
Gorka Izagirre (Movistar), Luis León Sánchez (Astana), Peter Sagan (Tinkoff), Jarlinson Pantano (IAM Cycling), Ramunas Navardauskas (Cannondale), Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data), Jérémy Roy (FDJ), Cesare Benedetti (Bora-Argon 18), Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida), Nicolas Edet and Geoffrey Soupe (Cofidis), Chris Anker Sørensen (Fortuneo-Vital Concept).
The race has started, and we have an early 12-man breakaway featuring some familiar names – Mark Cavendish, Peter Sagan and Rui Costa are all in there. It’s very early on (just 1.5km in), so time will tell who can actually pull clear.
The man in the yellow jersey, BMC’s Greg van Avermaet, still has five minutes on the chasing pack, and though it would be a surprise to see the Belgian still in yellow by Monday, he has a decent chance of holding onto it today. Behind him, a raft of GC contenders are neck-and-neck – today may start to filter out those who have flattered to deceive on the way here.
With Mont Ventoux ahead on Bastille Day, and the small matter of France reaching the Euro 2016 final, it’s worth noting that there are currently five Frenchman in the top twenty – Julian Alaphilippe, Warren Barguil, Pierre Rolland, Romain Bardet, and Thibaut Pinot.
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The race gets under way any minute now. We begin today in L’Isle-Jourdain, just west of Toulouse – it’s the first time the Tour has visited the town, which hosts a famous rugby club, a sparkling new cycling centre, and a museum of campanology.
“Here’s a bloke in a yellow jersey riding up the Col d’Aspin – and giving a running commentary as he does – can’t be that steep then” says Andrew Benton.
Indeed, it’s not a patch on Pyrenean cousins like the Tourmalet and Peyresourde, both of which feature tomorrow. This climb has generally appeared between more formidable peaks. It starts with a manageable 6% gradient, rising to around 9% at its steepest. Still not exactly a ride in the park.
Is wearing a yellow jersey while cycling the done thing? It seems a bit like turning up for five-a-side in orange boots.
So, some say today is where the Tour really begins, although the guys who have already covered over 1,000km on their bikes may disagree. It’s a curious day, a bona fide mountain stage with just two categorised climbs, both in the final 50km. The weather forecast suggests relentless heat on the undulating path to the Pyrenees, before cloud, and possibly storms, on the climb to the summit of Col d’Aspin. There’s a steep descent and a short kick up to the finish line, where slippery conditions will not be welcome.
Preamble
Hello! It’s the Tour de France’s seventh day, but there’ll be no rest for its riders. All 198 men who began this race are still here; a record distance has been covered without a single withdrawal. They’ve lasted the week, but will do very well indeed to make it through the weekend unscathed.
Three days of mountain misery await the peloton before the first rest stop in Andorra. Today is likely to be the least testing of the three, with just one Category 1 climb - the Col d’Aspin, tackled before the Tourmalet this time around, lurking just before the finish line at Lac de Payolle.
The race won’t be won today, but can certainly be lost on a journey between two brand new stops in Tour de France history. Eyes will be firmly on Alberto Contador, who has endured a miserable run to the mountains, but with the mercury pushing 30 degrees and thunderstorms a possibility, nobody can afford to take it too easy.
The race begins at 1.10pm local, 12.10pm BST. Here’s more on today’s stage from our handy interactive guide:
The first of three climbing days in the Pyrenees. A light appetiser, with the Category 1 Col de l’Aspin the only real challenge before the swoop down to the finish. The Aspin doesn’t split the field, but usually it precedes sterner ascents, so on this occasion someone could chance their arm. Strong second-stringers may contest the stage win from an early break – Adam Yates, Rui Costa, Simon Geschke and their ilk.
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