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21km to go: “What I understand from reading these updates (I am in Western US, and I cannot watch) is Vingegaard/Visma is not attacking,” writes Stephanie. “Disappointing. I was hoping for a massive show of strength from him (Just to make it interesting.)”
Visma did accelerate on the Col de la Madeleine, the second climb, and they have isolated Pogacar, who is in the group of favourites on the final climb without a teammate. But Pogacar looks too strong (from a Visma point of view) and seems easily able to cover the attacks that have come so far.
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22km to go: It appears that Jorgenson was not dropped, but instead is waiting to join forces with his team leader Vingegaard.
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Updated at 15.25 BST
23.5km to go: Ben O’Connor is setting a punishing pace on the front. Rubio and the Australian have now forged ahead without Jorgenson.
Lipowitz continues to toil up the climb on his own, more than two minutes in front of the group with Pog, Vin and Onley.
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Updated at 15.24 BST
24km to go: Pogacar just looks too strong, does he not? Perhaps this will soften him up for another go by Visma-Lease A Bike tomorrow … but at the moment it’s hard to see Vingegaard being strong enough to make much of a dent, if anything at all, in Pogacar’s commanding GC lead.
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Updated at 15.21 BST
24.5km to go: The Onley group has joined up with the Pogacar/Vingegaard group. So it’s 19 riders together there, the third group on the road, counting Lipowitz in between them and the front three.
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25km to go: David emails: “Re: the time cut, in 2001 in Pontarlier (where we are going on Stage 20) a breakaway group of fourteen were 35 minutes ahead of the peloton, who should have been out of the race according to a strict application of the rules.
“The peloton was allowed to continue in the race.”
Good knowledge, thanks.
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26.4km to go: The leaders hit the base of the final climb. Lipowitz is still trying to get across to the three leaders.
“Vingegaard can’t see the pace early in the climb,” points out Kelly on commentary, regarding the battle for the yellow jersey. “Because that way, Pogacar gets an easy ride.”
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Updated at 15.16 BST
A news report from Jeremy Whittle:
David Rozman, a long-term member of Ineos Grenadiers staff, has left the Tour de France after the International Testing Agency launched an investigation into alleged messages he exchanged in 2012 with subsequently convicted German doping doctor Mark Schmidt.
The allegations stem from a recent documentary made by German TV outlet ARD, which linked Rozman to Schmidt, with further media reports including alleged texts between the Ineos staff member and Schmidt from June 2012 when the team was racing as Team Sky.
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Updated at 15.13 BST
29.5km to go: Lipowitz, clearly, is feeling good, despite apparently struggling on the second big climb. He has nearly bridged across to the lead group of three, to join O’Connor, Jorgenson and Rubio.
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Updated at 15.11 BST
31km to go: “We’re on the slopes below the Col de la Loze in Saint Bon Tarentaise,” emails Ian.
“We’ve just enjoyed a swag-fest from the publicity caravan. Hats, shirts, sausages, olive oil, Sweets, drinks and general tat. All part of the tour … Vive la Caravan.”
Ian Bengey and family on the slopes below the Col de la Loze in Saint Bon Tarentaise. Photograph: Ian Bengey
Thanks for your email. Enjoy the race, and the swag.
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Updated at 15.09 BST
32km to go: Lipowitz attacks solo!
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33km to go: A spot of rain on the final climb, according to reports.
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34km to go: At the back of the race, the gruppetto is 25min down.
“If say 66 riders finished outside the time limit, would they still be able to stay in the race?” asks Mark. “Does the group size matter?”
I am sure they have given special dispensation, in the past, to big groups that have missed the time cut.
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36km to go: A flat section now leading into the final climb. It’s over a minute’s gap for the leading group: O’Connor, Jorgenson, Rubio. 1min 19 sec.
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38km to go: “This is not a good situation for Visma-Lease A Bike,” says Sean Kelly on commentary. “They were doing a perfect job until now. But they are giving riders recovery time before the final climb.
“They have to see if they can break Pogacar on the final climb.”
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40km to go: Three riders, O’Connor, Jorgenson and Rubio, are clear on their own now, with a 40sec gap. Pogacar, Vingegaard, Lipowitz, Roglic, Gall and Arensman have joined forces behind. It’ll be Roglic v Lipowitz going head to head on the final climb then? Along with Pogacar and Vingegaard.
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Updated at 14.57 BST
43km to go: Lipowitz and Arensman are working together, 45sec down on the leaders. The Onley group, nine riders, are now nearly three minutes down on the leaders.
We will see a reshuffle in the top 10 of GC tonight, and it looks possible that Roglic will take third overall heading into the final three stages. Unless of course his teammate Lipowitz can produce a massive ride on the Col de la Loze.
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Updated at 14.54 BST
45km to go: Going far beyond the call of duty, Amy has also sent a great photo of her current location over in France:
Amy Sedghi’s photo from the Col de la Loze. Photograph: Amy SedghiShare
Updated at 14.50 BST
47km to go: “Those descents are terrifying,” emails Tim. “I’ve fantasised about winning the polka-dot jersey since I became a Claudio Chiappucci fanboy in the early 90s.
“Back then I reckoned I could do the climbs if I glugged enough Lucozade Sport beforehand, but I always knew deep down I was too much of a wimp to descend at the required warp speed. I’d be screaming for my mum all the way down. Unedifying.”
Descending at the Tour de France. Fast. Photograph: Benoît Tessier/ReutersShare
49km to go: “Bonjour from Col de la Loze!” emails someone familiar to you all: Amy Sedghi.
“I’ve taken a week off from Guardian live-blogging to see the Tour de France in real life! Myself, my husband James and our friend Pete are sat about 3km from the summit of the Col de la Loze and the atmosphere here is building. The sun is out, the flags are flying and the scenery is stunning. Can’t wait to see the riders coming through! Allez, Allez!”
Have a wonderful time Amy. Enjoy.
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52km to go: The commentators and pundits continue to speculate about Lenny Martinez and his naughty sticky bottles on the Col du Glandon. If he was going to be kicked out of the race, it would have happened already, but perhaps the powers that be will dock him some KOM points for clearly taking repeated assistance from the team car?
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57km to go: Apologies for that earlier mix-up when I said it was UAE Team Emirates XRG who accelerated on the Col de la Madeleine. It was of course Visma-Lease A Bike, with Van Aert and Benoot among those doing big turns to try and put Pogacar under pressure on the second HC climb of the day.
Unfortunately for Vingegaard and his team, so far they have succeeded in putting Pogacar in the front group along with their own leader. On the plus side Vingegaard has a teammate with him in leading group of seven, in the shape of Matteo Jorgenson, while Pogacar is alone.
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Updated at 14.40 BST
60km to go: Arensman, dropped by the group of favourites, is chasing, second on the road. Lipowitz is just behind him, also on his own. Then a group of nine behind that – Onley, Johannessen, Kuss, Narvaez, Higuita, Yates, Soler and Storer.
The leaders are speeding down the descent off the Madeleine.
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Updated at 14.34 BST
64km to go: This is a test for Pogacar. This is up for grabs.
It’s hard to see Vingegaard putting something ludicrous like four minutes into Pogacar, but at the same time, it’s going to take a spirited ride from the champion to defend his position.
Tadej Pogacar is under pressure in the mountains. Photograph: Martin Divíšek/EPAShare
Updated at 14.36 BST
66km to go: Vingegaard pips his rival, Pogacar, to 20 KOM points atop the Madeleine. Pogacar takes 15 KOM points and Jorgenson nabs 12. Lipowitz, all alone, rides through a few seconds later. It feels a bit sub-optimal for Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe to have two guys duking it out for GC, from a team point of view? But good to have two cards to play, at the same time.
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Updated at 14.29 BST
67km to go: Will it be the Col de Lose for Pogacar, all over again? I don’t think so.
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68km to go: Jorgenson is setting the pace for Visma at the front of the race. Pogacar is all alone in this front group, with a significant distance still to ride. They are nearly at the top of the Col de la Madeleine.
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68km to go: Again, the weather is mercifully decent near the top of the second climb. There had been predictions of some horribly unpleasant weather at higher altitudes and maybe it will still materialise on the final climb.
Re: Roglic v Lipowitz, are we seeing the difference between stamina and fitness?
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69km to go: Roglic’s teammate Lipowitz, third in GC before today, has dropped away and is now 36sec behind the group of favourites. Roglic’s class looks to be coming to the fore and he is confirming his status as the strongest rider in the Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe team.
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Updated at 14.21 BST
70km to go: Eight up front now. Pogacar, Vingegaard, Roglic, Gall, O’Connor, Arensman, Jorgenson, Rubio. Just over 3km to go to the top of the second HC climb of the day. It was Visma-Lease A Bike and not UAE who upped the pace from behind the break, and now Pogacar is looking somewhat isolated, even if he has covered the first big attack by Vingegaard comfortably enough.
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Updated at 14.19 BST
71.5km to go: After a big turn by Kuss, Vingegaard attacks! Pogacar stays on his wheel. The gap to the break is plunging, predictably, with the two best climbers in the race going for it now.
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72km to go: The escape group is down to six: Roglic, Gall, O’Connor, Arensman, Jorgenson and Rubio.
Behind, but not very far behind, Sepp Kuss is setting the pace in front of Vingegaard. Pogacar is marking them and Lipowitz is there too. So Pogacar is potentially isolated …
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72.5km to go: “If they want to isolate Pogacar they need to do it now,” Matt White says of Visma’s tactics. “It needs to happen very, very quickly.”
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Updated at 14.11 BST
74km to go: Action from the chase group. Visma have upped the pace, looking to shut down the gap to the escape group.
Meanwhile the likes of Ben Healy are being dropped from the bunch given the hot pace being set by Pogacar and colleagues. Adam Yates is working on the front and dancing on the pedals.
Can Vingegaard and Visma-Lease A Bike exert any kind of pressure of Pogacar? Are they waiting for the final climb?
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Updated at 14.15 BST
77km to go: Still 10m to climb on the Col de la Madeleine. Ben Healy, the former maillot jaune, is pictured powering up the climb.
Lenny Martinez is in the seventh group on the road, waaaaay back, more than seven minutes behind the leaders. He is the current KOM leader but won’t be for long.
Meanwhile Jonathan Milan and some fellow sprinters are 14min 40sec behind the front of the race. Risky.
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77.5km to go: Pogacar is a mere two minutes down, thanks to the efforts of Pollitt and co to control the gap to the break. Up front, Roglic is more than 11min down on his compatriot in the GC, so this is more than manageable for UAE as things stand.
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Updated at 13.56 BST
78km to go: Commentator Carlton Kirby asks Matt White: to what extent do the riders depend on power data on these long climbs?
“Some guys live and die off the numbers,” says the Australian. “While some guys are much more natural, and just hold the wheel in front of them. Some of them can relax, if you can relax on a climb like this.”
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79km to go: It’s 12km still to go until the top of the climb. A front group of eight has now firmly established and the gap has flown out to 1min 54sec. Roglic, Gall, O’Connor, Arensman, Jorgenson, Baudin, Rubio, Armirail are the men there.
The breakaway extends their lead over the peloton. Photograph: Tim de Waele/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 14.07 BST
79km to go: “I’m watching on pro-USA Peacock, with Bob Roll and the evergreen Phil Liggett on commentary (we need to pack him in aspic for 11 months of the year),” emails Tony. “I have been watching the Tour since the 1980s. Back then, as a kid, we didn’t have too many British riders to root for until Robert Millar rocked up. I had to content myself with adopting both Sean Kelly and Phil Anderson as honorary Brits, which I’m sure both would have had an issue with.”
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82km to go: Roglic, Gall, O’Connor, Wellens, Baudin, Rubio, Armirail are the seven riders, now just 12sec behind the two leaders, so they are stepping things up.
“This is a quality group of climbers,” says Matt White. He thinks if they have a three, four minute lead going into the final climb they have a chance of fighting for the win.
We have 15km to go until the summit of the Madeleine.
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83km to go: Martinez is slipping back through the peloton after winning the first climb. Arensman of Ineos, no doubt, is going for maximum points on this next climb, and that would put him in the KOM lead.
The third group on the road, by the way, has four riders in it: Muhlberger, Van Den Broek, Leknessund and Lutsenko. The Roglic group, second on the road, is 23sec behind the two leaders.
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84km to go: “Joining lots of others in following along from the office,” writes Sam on email. “Although I reckon I’ll have to find a way to put the stream on when the nuclear Jonas attack comes in about 10kms (fingers crossed). Jonas to get across to Jorgenson, and put 5 mins into Pog? Maybe?”
I think Pogacar has the legs to cover it, and then some, but let’s see.
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84km to go: It’s a lead of about 30sec for the front group.
Enric Mas (Movistar) has abandoned the race.
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Updated at 13.33 BST
86km to go: Now it’s two up front. Jorgenson (Visma-Lease A Bike) and Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers) are working together. They have 40sec on the chase group, that consists of nine riders: Roglic, Gall, O’Connor, Garcia Pierna, Wellens, Baudin, Rubio, Armirail and Lutsenko.
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Updated at 13.32 BST
86km to go: “A lot of riders all over the road at the minute,” says Adam Blythe on the TNT Sports motorbike, flying down the descent off the Col du Glandon. “Difficult to keep up with who is where.”
Amen, brother.
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Updated at 13.29 BST
89km to go: Arensman, Wellens and Jorgenson are out front on their own now, a breakaway group of three. They are about to hit the second ascent of the day, the start of the Col de la Madeleine.
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Updated at 13.27 BST
92km to go: A good bit of Roglic banter from Daniel Friebe on “Twitter”, as I like to call it.
Roglič‘s last two results in Courchevel: 11th & 13th.
Both in ski-jumping.
— Daniel Friebe (@friebos) July 24, 2025
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95km to go: Martinez now tops the KOM standings, with 80pts, and Arensman is second, with 63. “Pogi” has been relegated to third, for now, on 60pts. You fancy that will change later.
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Updated at 13.22 BST
97km to go: Carlton Kirby steps in on commentary and pours praise on Martinez for winning the KOM points atop the Col du Glandon. The co-commentator Robbie McEwen fills him in on those “sticky bottles”. Matt White wonders out loud if any action will be taken against the Frenchman and his team.
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Updated at 13.20 BST
101km to go: The leading group, to recap, consists of 13 riders.
Oh, I really should tell you that Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) took 20 KOM points atop the first climb. Arensman was second, Jorgenson third. The commentators were scoffing at the assistance Martinez received from his team car on the way up.
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105km to go: Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility) and Garcia Pierna (Arkéa–B&B Hotels) almost crash on the descent off the Col du Glandon.
It looks like we have seven separate groups on the road right now.
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Updated at 13.13 BST