Jonas Vingegaard storms into Tour de France leader's jersey as Tadej Pogacar finally cracks under pressure

• Jonas Vingegaard lands his maiden Tour de France stage

• Vingegaard becomes new leader; Romain Bardet third

• Tadej Pogacar cracks after Jumbo-Visma onslaught

• Wout van Aert extends lead in points classification

• Simon Geschke stays on top in the mountains

Thursday is Bastille Day in France; a day of national celebration commemorating the moment, back in 1789, the country’s ancien regime was toppled thanks to people power.

The Tour de France witnessed its own revolution on Wednesday.

An extraordinary stage, certainly one of the greatest in recent memory and arguably in the race’s entire history, saw Tadej Pogacar, winner of the last two Tours and heavily fancied to make it a hat-trick of titles this year, deposed in a ruthless coup.

The Slovenian, previously considered untouchable, cracked in spectacular fashion on the final climb of the day, the hors catégorie Col du Granon. But only after being bludgeoned repeatedly on the two previous climbs, the Col du Télégraphe and the 2642m Col du Galibier, the highest point in the race, by Jumbo-Visma.

The Dutch squad rode a tactical masterclass on stage 11 to set up their young Dane Jonas Vingegaard for a final, bloody coup de grâc, which he delivered in ruthless fashion, attacking with just under 5km to go, dropping Pogacar, riding past the last remnants of the breakaway and winning the stage and the yellow jersey in the process. It was stunning.

From 39sec behind Pogacar at the start of the day, Vingegaard ended it 2min 22sec ahead of the Slovenian, who actually slipped to third on general classification, six seconds behind Romain Bardet (DSM) who finished third on the stage.

There were other big movers on a day the Tour was turned on its head. Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) is now just four seconds behind Pogacar, in fourth overall, after also managing to distance the Slovenian on the Granon. And Nairo Quintana (Arkéa-Samsic), twice a runner-up at this race, is up to fifth overall, 11 secs behind Thomas, after a wonderful ride which almost saw the Colombian claim a famous stage victory.

The Col du Granon, an 11.3km climb at an average 9.2 per cent gradient, has a history of laying waste to the reputations of Tour greats. It was here in 1986 that five-time Tour champion Bernard Hinault cracked and lost his yellow jersey to Greg LeMond. Hinault never wore it again.

Pogacar is only 23 where Hinault was 31. He will certainly wear the yellow jersey again. Possibly as soon as Thursday. But still, this did feel seismic – if only because it was proof, finally, that Pogacar is in fact beatable; that he does bleed if you hack at him repeatedly. It was only last week that Sir Bradley Wiggins was declaring this Tour to be “over” after Pogacar won the stage to La Planche des Belles Filles and took yellow.

Since then, of course, he has lost a second team-mate to Covid. How big of a difference might George Bennett have made on Wednesday? When Jumbo-Visma started riding hard on the Télégraphe and the first cracks in UAE Team Emirates’ armour were exposed? Then on the Galibier, when Pogacar found himself isolated as Primoz Roglic and Vingegaard started landing one-two combinations on his nose with 60km still remaining?

The ferocity of their blows forced the Slovenian, perhaps out of pride, more likely necessity, to attack himself. It was incredible; they were like punch drunk boxers swinging at each other, trying to land the knockout blow.

As they crested the top of the Galibier together and regrouped on the descent, it looked as if Pogacar had managed to subdue them. He smiled at the TV camera once they reached the valley floor as if to say ‘Phew, that was pretty hardcore’.

But his efforts told. And perhaps those accumulated efforts of the last week – the uphill sprints for bonus seconds in Longwy and La Planche des Belles Filles; the raid in Roubaix for 13 seconds – also told.

Either way, Jumbo-Visma were relentless. Wout van Aert, who had dropped back from the day’s break, put in a huge shift on the run-in to Granon. And when Vingegaard launched with around 4.5km remaining, Pogacar’s final helper Rafal Majka could not go with him. Neither could Pogacar.

Of course, he could take yellow back on Thursday. Nothing would surprise. It is another gargantuan stage: from Briançon to Alpe d’Huez, the most iconic amphitheatre in cycling. And Pogacar is talking a good game. “They played it great tactically today,” he conceded after going over and congratulating Vingegaard. “[But] it is not over yet. He got three minutes today; maybe tomorrow it’s me who gets three minutes."

But it will not be easy against a Dutch powerhouse squad who now have the yellow jersey, and who can count on raucous backing on Dutch Mountain, so named for the hordes of orange-clad fans who descend on Alpe d’Huez whenever it features on Tour rota.

Bardet can also expect a hero’s welcome from local fans on Bastille Day. It will be some atmosphere.

Suddenly the odds seem stacked against Pogacar. “I still see him as maybe my biggest competitor,” Vingegaard said. “I expect he will try to attack me every day.” No doubt. But can he really fight back now? What a race.

Vingegaard storms into yellow: As it happened. . .

04:14 PM

Vingegaard : 'If I don't try, I'm not going to win.

An understandably emotional Jonas Vingegaard, speaking minutes after that incredible stage, said: "It's hard for me to put words on this. This is what I dreamt of always. A stage in the Tour and now the yellow jersey, it's incredible.

"We made a plan from the start of the day and I guess you could see what the plan was. We made it a super hard race. I would never have done that without my team-mates," the new race leader added. "On the Galibier over the top he [Tadej Pogacar] was really strong, then on the last climb I thought 'if I don't try, I'm not going to win'.

"Now I have the yellow jersey, I will fight all the way to Paris."

04:10 PM

Pogacar humbled

Nice touch from Tadej Pogacar who pottered over to Jonas Vingegaard to congratulate the Jumbo-Visma rider on his stage win having wrestled the leader's yellow jersey off his narrow shoulders. That cannot be an easy thing to do after your rivals' teams have pulled your shorts down in front of the watching cycling world.

03:55 PM

Pogacar loses yellow to Vingegaard

Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) has crossed the finishing line, but a massive 2min 52sec behind stage winner Jonas Vingegaard. The Jumbo-Visma rider now leads the Tour de France by 2min 16sec, with Romain Bardet now up to second, while Pogacar has dropped to third at 2min 22sec. Geraint Thomas is fourth overall, but is just 4sec behind the defending champion following this enthralling day of racing. That was a huge turnaround, and one that will send shockwaves through the world of cycling.

03:52 PM

Vingegaard wins stage 11 at the Tour de France!

Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) has done it, the Dane has won the first Tour de France stage of his career, and will be taking his maiden yellow jersey in a few minutes. Nairo Quintana (Arkéa-Samsic) takes second, with Romain Bardet (DSM) third. Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) was fourth, a result that will see the Welshman close the gap on two-time defending champion Tadej Pogacar.

That was some stage, one I implore anybody that was unable to watch live go home/online and search out. Watch the highlights, or even if you have the time watch from 70km to go because that, my friends, was one of the greatest stages in grand tour racing I have ever witnessed. Absolutely spellbinding stuff from Jumbo-Visma who arrived with a plan, rode to a plan and had the man Vingegaard to execute the plan to such devastating effect.

03:50 PM

500 metres to go

Adam Yates is sat on the wheel of David Gaudu. Tadej Pogacar has his yellow jersey unzipped, flapping in the wind, ready to hand it over to Jonas Vingegaard in a short while.

03:49 PM

1km to go

Jonas Vingegaard leads Tadej Pogacar by almost two minutes. Geraint Thomas has gained around 40sec on the maillot jaune. What a brilliant day of racing, particularly for the former fish packer from Hillerslev, Denmark, who is scaling new heights here today.

03:48 PM

1.3km to go

Jonas Vingegaard looks to be slowing, but then the road is ramping up to pitches of 12% so of course he is. Meanwhile, Adam Yates and David Gaudu have ridden Tadej Pogacar off their wheels.

03:47 PM

1.6km to go

Tadej Pogacar is 1min 40sec down on stage leader Jonas Vingegaard, which would place the two-time defending champion at least a minute down on the Jumbo-Visma man in the general classification.

03:46 PM

2.1km to go

Jonas Vingegaard is 1min 30sec up on Tadej Pogacar. Focused, but in a world of pain, the great Dane puls on his handlebars as he fights against gravity on this viciously steep climb.

03:45 PM

2.3km to go

Adam Yates is glued onto the wheel of Tadej Pogacar. Splits all over this climb. Romain Bardet is gaining time. No sign of Geraint Thomas, but I understand he is still ahead of Pogacar.

03:44 PM

2.5km to go

Jonas Vingegaard presses on. Further back, perhaps sensing blood, Adam Yates catches Tadej Pogacar and sits on his wheel. Vingegaard is minutes away from landing the first Tour de France stage of his career, a result that very well may propel him into the leader's jersey.

03:41 PM

3.5km to go

Jonas Vingegaard is the virtual leader of the Tour de France.

03:40 PM

Thomas drops Pogacar!

Tadej Pogacar has been dropped by Geraint Thomas. Jonas Vingegaard leads the yellow jersey by almost 40sec. Wow.

03:39 PM

4.3km to go

Geraint Thomas is on the wheel of Tadej Pogacar. Jonas Vingegaard rides straight past Warren Barguil, just Nairo Quintana is up the road, the Colombian leading this behemoth of a stage.

03:38 PM

Vingegaard has gained time!

Jonas Vingegaard catches Romain Bardet, Rafal Majka is unable to respond and nor can Tadej Pogacar who is, it appears, human after all.

03:37 PM

4.6km to go

Jonas Vingegaard attacks. Is this his time?

03:36 PM

5.1km to go

Out of his saddle, Romain Bardet dances off up the road. Like an absolute butterfly, the DSM riders floats off and there is nothing anybody can do – or, perhaps, nothing anybody wants to do? – about it which may be bad news for the general classification hopes of Geraint Thomas come the end of the stage.

03:34 PM

5.3km to go

Warren Barguil misses a pedal stroke. The Frenchman is struggling now and may be getting caught by team-mate Nairo Quintana very shortly. And Romain Bardet attacks from the maillot jaune's group!

03:33 PM

5.5km to go

Rafal Majka looks to be in a world of pain, riding as hard as he can for team leader Tadej Pogacar. Will the maillot jaune launch something, or do Jumbo-Visma have a sting in the tail? Further up the road, Warren Barguil is labouring and his lead over team-mate Nairo Quintana has dropped to just 1min 15sec.

03:29 PM

6.5km to go

Warren Barguil, his jersey unzipped, ploughs on on his lonesome. The Frenchman's Arkéa-Samsic team-mate Nairo Quintana is under two minutes down the road, with the maillot jaune a short distance further back. Jonas Vingegaard bounces out of his saddle, watching the wheel of Pogacar but he looks a picture of calm, barley breathing.

03:27 PM

7km to go

Geraint Thomas and Adam Yates are hanging in there alongside Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard. It has been a brutal day so far, but the next 20 minutes or so may be crucial in the final standings of the general classification. Romain Bardet is in there, too, as is Pierre Latour, though I suspect the TotalEnergies rider will be fading fast.

03:24 PM

8km to go

Nairo Quintana is rolling back the years. The Colombian is riding, as it stands, into the top 10 of the general classification. In fact, if he can sustain this sort of power he may even move as high as fifth or sixth.

03:22 PM

9km to go

Warren Barguil still leads by over two minutes, but worryingly for the Frenchman the maillot jaune's group is only 2min 45sec behind – 20sec down on Simon Geschke. Nairo Quintana, presumably, is chasing time in an effort to gain places on the general classification rather than pursuing his team-mate Barguil.

03:19 PM

9.5km to go

Primoz Roglic has popped out of the back. Nairo Quintana rolls off the front. Tom Pidcock shakes his head before he is dropped. Tadej Pogacar rides second wheel behind team-mate Rafal Majka.

03:18 PM

10km to go

Primoz Roglic is back and he is riding on the front, just ahead of Sepp Kuss. Not sure how it happened, but Rafal Majka is back in the group, the Pole taking over from Roglic while Jonas Vingegaard is glued onto the UAE Team Emirates' wheel.

03:15 PM

11km to go

The precocious talent that is Tadej Pogacar, with a spare bidon tucked into his rear pocket, has time to smile to the TV cameras and is smiling and joking. Incredible. On the front of his group, Wout van Aert is drilling it ahead of three team-mates. Warren Barguil, meanwhile, appears to be slowing a little but that's no surprise because the gradient has pitched up into double digits.

03:12 PM

12km to go

Out of his saddle rides Warren Barguil, before the stick-thin Frenchman returns to his seat. He is showing no sign of slowing, but look at what he is riding towards . . .

03:09 PM

14km to go

Tom Pidcock peels off and drops back to a team car to collect some sustenance, perhaps a gel or three for himself and team-mates Geraint Thomas and Adam Yates who are in this leading group of around 20 riders.

03:07 PM

15km to go

Drama in the maillot jaune's group after Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Geraint Thomas, Adam Yates, Romain Bardet, Nairo Quintana, Alexey Lutsenko, Steven Kruijswijk, Sepp Kuss, Ion Izaguirre are stunned as a Groupama-FDJ-powered posse rides straight through them. As a result, Wout van Aert takes over on the front as he prepares to deliver his Jumbo-Visma team-mates to the foot of the Granon.

03:02 PM

20km to go

Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Qazaqstan) and Ion Izagirre (Cofidis) are in the maillot jaune's group now. Warren Barguil still leads the stage, but this final climb of the day which we last saw in the 1986 Tour de France is an absolute brute, as highlighted by Adam Blythe earlier on Eurosport.

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03:00 PM

22.5km to go – as it stands

Warren Barguil leads the stage.

Simon Geschke trails Frenchman by 1min 49sec.

Maillot jaune isolated at 4min 45sec alongside Jonas Vingegaard, Geraint Thomas, Adam Yates and Romain Bardet.

Primoz Roglic chases back on with Dvid Gaudu, Wout van Aert etc...

02:55 PM

25km to go

Tom Pidcock is in the next group on the road, the Yorkshireman is sitting on the wheels of Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe) and the Groupama-FDJ pairing of David Gaudu and Michael Storer. Interesting to note that Adam Yates has been shepherding Geraint Thomas down the descent. It sounds as if Wout van Aert has dropped back from the maillot jaune's group, possibly hoping to give team-mate Primoz Roglic a helping hand.

02:53 PM

28km to go

Warren Barguil, as slight as he is, is doing his best to descend at speed and has gained some time on the chasing Simon Geschke. Further back, Wout van Aert has reunited with team-mate's Jonas Vingegaard and Steven Kruijswijk

02:50 PM

33km to go

Adam Yates his the latest to bridge over to the Tadej Pogacar group, but there is no sign of any UAE Team Emirates riders. Right now is should not matter – unless he has a mechanical – but he may have preferred to have some assistance on the final climb.

02:46 PM

38km to go

Onto the descent goes stage leader Warren Barguil and the general classification contenders. Wide sweeping roads, though in places off camber which can prove tricky when tackled at high speed. Geraint Thomas has regained contact with Tadej Pogacar et al. Good effort from the Welshman. Romain Bardet, by the way, is sat on the front of a growing  group comprising the maillot jaune, Jonas Vingegaard and Nairo Quintana.

02:43 PM

41.5km to go

Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard crest the summit of the Galibier. Romain Bardet is only a handful of bike lengths behind and remember, the Frenchman is a mean descender, and may be leapfrogging Geraint Thomas in the general classification.

02:40 PM

Thomas is dropped!

Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, once again, have increased the tempo and as a result have dropped Romain Bardet and Geraint Thomas. Wout van Aert, meanwhile, appears to be slowing near the summit as he waits for team-mate Vingegaard ahead of a long descent that will roll into the brutal final climb of the day, the hors catégorie Col du Granon Serre Chevalier.

02:38 PM

Bravo Barguil!

French cycling fans will be cheering right now after Warren Barguil, the hugely talented climber, is first over the top of the Galibier to add another 20 points to his account in the mountains classification.

02:36 PM

45.5km to go

Romain Bardet, who is in fine form, has pulled Geraint Thomas and Steven Kruijswijk over to Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard. The Frenchman, though, pushes on off in pursuit of compatriot Warren Barguil who is leading this breathtaking stage.

02:34 PM

46km to go

Geraint Thomas has Romain Bardet and Steven Kruijswijk for company, the trio are about 20sec down the road from Tadej Pogacar. Warren Barguil, meanwhile, is inching closer to the summit of the Galibier.

02:32 PM

46.5km to go

Tadej Pogacar decides enough is enough, and the defending champion rides the Jumbo-Visma boys off his wheel, dropping all apart from Jonas Vingegaard. The duo, who have looked like the strongest riders throughout the race, are off on their lonesome now. But remember, Wout van Aert is up the road and will, in theory, be ready and waiting to help Vingegaard. Vingegaard, by the way, is sitting on the wheel of Pogacar refusing to take a turn, and why would he?

02:29 PM

48.4km to go

Wout van Aert is just 45sec up the road of that swarm of Jumbo-Visma riders. Once they catch the all-rounder up, will they be able to sting the yellow jersey?  Oh my, Tadej Pogacar has ridden to the front and is fighting back... as a result, Nairo Quintana (Arkéa-Samsic) is dropped. Further up the road, Quintana's team-mate Warren Barguil is still leading the stage and is around 3km from the summit of the Col du Galibier which at 2,642 metres above sae level is the highest point in this year's race.

02:24 PM

50km to go

Tiesj Benoot, once again, surges off the front of the maillot jaune's group before his team-mate Primoz Roglic attacks. But Tadej Pogacar responds. The Jumbo-Visma boys, though, are swarming behind the Slovenian who drops to third wheel in what has reduced to an eight-man group and he is again isolated. Geraint Thomas is hanging in there.

02:18 PM

51km to go

Wout van Aert drops back, while at the front of the race Warren Barguil continues to smile as the Frenchman climbs ever closer to the summit of the Col du Galibier – he is 6km from the summit now and leads the maillot jaune by 6min.

02:12 PM

53km to go

Tiesj Benoot (Jumbo-Visma), Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo-Visma), Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma), Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates), Adam Yates (Ineos Grenadiers), Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers), David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ), Michael Storer (Groupama-FDJ), Romain Bardet (DSM), Enric Mas (Movistar), Carlos Verona (Movistar),  Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe), Nairo Quintana (Arkéa-Samsic) and Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Qazaqstan) have managed to bridge over to the maillot jaune's group.

02:08 PM

55km to go

Marc Soler manages to bridge over to Tadej Pogacar's group, but as soon as he connects Primoz Roglic puts in another attack. Good news for UAE Team Emirates, but it means that Geraint Thomas is completely outnumbered.

02:05 PM

56km to go

There's a very long way to go yet, but Jumbo-Visma have the numbers. This is, by my calculations, that Tadej Pogacar has ever faced a situation like this. This is not like any race I have ever seen, certainly not since the 1980s. Attacking in such numbers from over 60km out form the line is absolutely unprecedented, certainly in recent years.

02:01 PM

57km to go

Primoz Roglic attacks again, forcing Tadej Pogacar to chase with Jonas Vingegaard getting a free ride. And then, once again, Vingegaard counter-attacks. This is going to cost somebody dear here today.

01:57 PM

58.4km to go

Jonas Vingegaard attacks the maillot jaune. This is nuts. Tadej Pogacar, responded quickly, before another attack came from Primoz Roglic. Pogacar counter-attacks, like an angry bear so rudely woken from his slumber. With each surge, Geraint Thomas keeps cool in the heat of the battle... riding gently and not burning too many matches. Clever from the Welshman.

01:56 PM

59.5km to go

Christophe Laporte has peeled off, leaving Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard to test Tadej Pogacar and Geraint Thomas. The breakaway, meanwhile, leads the stage by 6min 30sec.

01:53 PM

60km to go

The Jumbo-Visma trio of Christophe Laporte, Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard have clipped off the front of the peloton, but Tadej Pogacar and Geraint Thomas managed to hold onto their wheels. The latter two, of course, are completely isolated and have no tea-mates further up the road which in this heat may prove costly.

01:50 PM

62km to go

Amid the excitement of Jumbo-Visma attacking the maillot jaune, Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies) took maximum points atop the Télégraphe ahead of Simon Geschke (Cofidis). Once the peloton went over the top, Primoz Roglic attacked before he joined Christophe Laporte. Ineos Grenadiers appeared to lose the wheels, while Tadej Pogacar did not.

01:46 PM

65km to go

UAE Team Emirates have regained control on the front of the peloton, but Tiesj Benoot is looking twitchy. It looks as if today is the day. Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) was dropped, but battled his way back on.

01:42 PM

Here we go!

Tiesj Benoot rolls off the front of the peloton, taking with him team-mate Primoz Roglic. Adam Yates reacts, the Briton bridges over to the wheels of the Jumbo-Visam boys. Is the the moment that Tadej Pogacar is tested. Remember, Christophe Laporte and Wout van Aert are positioned up the road and so are ideally placed reay to help a lending hand.

01:36 PM

Van der Poel abandons the Tour!

Not a huge surprise, the powerful Dutchman has not looked himself since the race set off in Copenhagen almost a fortnight ago. Mathieu van der Poel, remember, only completed his first grand tour – the Giro d'Italia – a little over a month ago and clearly arrived at the Tour fatigued from that.

01:30 PM

72km to go

Mikkel Bjerg has been dropped by the peloton. Defending champion Tadej Pogacar has just three UAE Team Emirates team-mates – Rafal Majka, Brandon McNulty and Marc Soler – to help him now. This could be a very interesting development. Interesting to note that Majka, who tested positive for Covid a couple of days ago but was allowed to continue, sits on the wheel of Pogacar – presumably the maillot jaunes is not too keen about sitting in the slipstream of the Pole.

01:29 PM

72.5km to go

Daniel Martínez (Ineos Grenadiers), the Colombian climber who I expected to be making a mark at this year's Tour, has lost contact with the peloton. He has team-mate and road captain Luke Rowe helping him in an effort to regain contact with team-mates Geraint Thomas, Adam Yates and Tom Pidcock who may need him later in this tough stage. The breakaway, meanwhile, has increased its lead to over nine minutes now some of the dead wood has been whittled off.

01:22 PM

75km to go

Marc Hirschi has peeled off the front of the peloton, leaving Tadej Pogacar with just three team-mates on the front while he has another further back in the peloton. At the front of the race, the breakaway has splintered into pieces leaving just nine out in front – Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), Warren Barguil (Arkéa-Samsic), Mikaël Cherel (Ag2r-Citroën), Simon Geschke (Cofidis), Ion Izagirre (Cofidis), Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies), Krists Neilands (Israel-Premier Tech), Maximilian Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Dylan Teuns (Bahrain Victorious) – with an advantage of around nine minutes. The highest placed rider on general classification is Frenchman Barguil, so Pogacar will not be too concerned about this.

01:17 PM

76.5km to go

Jonas Rutsch (EF Education-EasyPost) appears to be struggling towards the rear of the breakaway. The temperatures are very high today and so the pace being set by Warren Barguil and Wout van Aert will be most unwelcome. Mattia Cattaneo (Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl) and Nils Politt (Bora-Hansgrohe) are the latest to be dropped, melting away into the sticky road to the Col du Télégraphe

01:12 PM

77.5km to go

Warren Barguil (Arkéa-Samsic) bounces out of his saddle at the front of the breakaway and is looking happy with life, while an increase in pace has seen Andrea Bagioli (Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl), Tony Gallopin (Trek-Segafredo), Christophe Laporte (Jumbo-Visma) and Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) all get dropped.

01:09 PM

78.5km to go

The breakaway has started climbing towards the Col du Télégraphe, while 7min45sec back the peloton is passing along the valley floor towards the second mountainous test of the afternoon. Wout van Aert moves himself to the front of the group as if to make a point, though I'm not sure what that exact point is.

01:01 PM

85km to go

Marc Hirschi has been riding on the front of the peloton for UAE Team Emirates, towing along his team-mates and race leader Tadej Pogacar. All eyes are on his team today, with some predicting they may we the weakest link in Pogacar's armoury. The breakaway, by the way, has grown out its advantage to 7min 30sec.

12:53 PM

90km to go

The breakaway has increased its lead to well over five minutes now. It looks like a beautiful day out in the Alps today, though not too sure about riding at the ace of the breakaway. Despite the heat, Tadej Pogacar is looking relaxed and was spotted a few moments ago chatting with Ineos Grenadiers road captain Luke Rowe. Looks all very civil, for now.

12:53 PM

Thomas in the frame on Alpine stage

12:46 PM

Naesen abandons the Tour!

Oliver Naesen has just become the third Ag2r-Citroën rider to abandon the Tour de France. They have one rider in today's breakaway – 4min 57sec up the road from the peloton – and won a stage on Sunday through Bob Jungels  and so, despite the obvious disappointment, at least they have banked something.

12:43 PM

102km to go

Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies) managed to take the maximum of five points up for grabs atop the Lacets de Montvernier, while Simon Geschke had to settle for second. Latour, by the way, moved up to fourth overall in the competition and trails Geschke by seven points now. With 10 available for the first rider over the Col du Télégraphe, and 20 on both the Galibier and Granon, we could be seeing a real shake-up in the mountains today.

12:33 PM

103.5km to go

Simon Geschke (Cofidis), dressed in his polka dot jersey, is sat near the front of the leading group as it inches up the category two Lacets de Montvernier climb. There are five points up for grabs in the mountains classification at the top. Mathieu van der Poel, meanwhile, is labouring towards the rear of the break.

12:30 PM

As it stands . . .

Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) wasted little time in attacking, the cyclo-cross and classics rivals going straight from the flag. Mattia Cattaneo (Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl) managed to bridge across to the leading pair after 30km of flat-stick racing. Van Aert took maximum points at the intermediate sprint in Aiguebelle, meaning the Belgian extended his lead in the green jersey competition to 149 over Fabio Jakobsen (Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl) after the Dutchman added six to his account.

A few minutes after Cattaneo reached over to Van Aert and Van der Poel, another small group featuring another Jumbo-Visma rider – Christophe Laporte – bridged over, while a third rider in Tiesj Benoot looked keen on escaping from the clutches of the peloton, though ultimately he failed. It is early days, but it looks as if the team of Jonas Vingegaard is looking to plot something today. It was a fascinating opening period of racing, which resulted in another 17 riders coming over.

That breakaway in full . . .

Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), Andrea Bagioli (Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl), Warren Barguil (Arkéa-Samsic), Maciej Bodnar (TotalEnergies), Mattia Cattaneo (Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl), Mikaël Cherel (Ag2r-Citroën), Tony Gallopin (Trek-Segafredo), Simon Geschke (Cofidis), Kamil Gradek (Bahrain Victorious), Ion Izagirre (Cofidis), Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Christophe Laporte (Jumbo-Visma), Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies), Krists Neilands (Israel-Premier Tech), Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo), Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Nils Politt (Bora-Hansgrohe), Jonas Rutsch (EF Education-EasyPost), Maximilian Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Dylan Teuns (Bahrain Victorious).

That strong-looking group leads by 4min around 2.5km summit of the category two Lacets de Montvernier climb.

07:15 AM

Hello

And welcome to our live rolling blog from stage 11 of the 109th Tour de France, the 151.7-kilometre run from Albertville to Col de Granon.

Having lit up the opening weekend in his Danish homeland, Magnus Cort (EF Education-EasyPost) got himself a thoroughly deserved stage win on a day that was overshadowed by Covid and a brief neutralisation of the stage as a result of climate protestors. While race leader Tadej Pogacar's mountain domestique George Bennett was leaving the Tour and another UAE Team Emirates rider Rafal Majka was allowed to continue despite testing positive for Covid due to having a “low viral load”, yours truly was recovering from his own bout of the dreaded C-word and so that's about as much as he can write about Tuesday's stage. Fortunately, here are some highlights for you to watch if you, like me, are playing catch-up at the Tour.

What I do know is that although Lennard Kämna (Bora-Hansgrohe) propelled himself up to second on general classification after getting into yesterday's breakaway, defending champion Pogacar kept hold of top spot and so will once again be dressed in the yellow jersey.

Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) may have failed to add a single point to his tally in the race for the green jersey, but the Belgian all-rounder still has a vice-like grip on that particular garment.

There were no changes in the top five of the mountains classification and so German rider Simon Geschke (Cofidis) will wear the maillot à pois, or the polka dot jersey, as the leader of that competition.

Pogacar also leads the young rider classification, but his white jersey will be worn by the British rider Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers).

So, what's on today's menu?

Climbing, climbing and a little more climbing. Featuring 4,070 metres in vertical elevation – just tomorrow's stage features more at this year's Tour – and its first hors catégorie climbs, today will provide the sternest test yet of riders general classification credentials. There may be more metres gained in Thursday's stage, but this is widely expected to be the tougher of the two.

Following a long-ish approach along the valley to the picturesque Lacets de Montvernier where photographers will be placed ready to capture the numerous switchbacks – 18, to be precise – that punctuate the climb roughly every 15o metres. At 3.4km it is only a short climb, but with an average gradient of 8.2% may provide the launchpad for any brave souls on which to build an assault – if, that is, one has not yet gone off up the road in a breakaway.

The Télégraphe-Galibier double-header is an absolute beast and with the mercury rising in the French Alps, those who cannot cope with the heat may start to struggle. Without question, riders will be losing big chunks of time today, the question remains: which ones?

The finale features a climb that has appeared just once in the Tour, in one of the greatest editions in living memory, the 1986 race. On that occasion the Spaniard Eduardo Chozas prevailed, beating Urs Zimmermann and eventual  champion Greg Lemond by 6min 26sec, while the rest of the big names were scattered all over the climb, crossing the line with huge time gaps – by today's standard at least – between themselves. With an average gradient of 9.2% over a distance of 11.3km, we could see a similar scenario this afternoon.

And finally, the weather . . . 

Follow Telegraph Sport's live coverage from 12.30pm (BST).