𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

97km to go: One-third of the way through this stage and it’s still very active. UAE are probably enjoying the respite of not needing to control now that their man is out of yellow – but that does mean that there’s not really been any control at all in the peloton, because EF have been struggling to keep a leash on things, and the attacks just keep coming.

Our intrepid trio up front have 39 seconds on the peloton, with the straggling chase groups caught, and now Van Aert comes back to the fore.

105km to go: Still no signs of things settling down.

Schmid, Ballerini and Abrahamsen have 45 seconds on an expanded chase group containing Haller, Delettre, and another trio of Frenchmen in Matteo Vercher, Clement Berthe and Bastien Tronchon.

Behind them, the attacks are continuing, but none with the firepower of that early move containing van Aert and Mohoric.

The Tour de France was upended on a fascinating stage 10, with the first rest day giving riders – and observers – a chance to take stock after a fascinating opening week.

Bastille Day was billed as the first real test, 4,450m of climbing in the Massif Central. There was to be no French joy but instead delight for Ireland as Ben Healy rode himself into the race lead, half a minute ahead of previous leader Tadej Pogacar.

While Healy is unlikely to represent a long-term threat, where does this unexpected turn of events leave defending champion Pogacar and his key rivals for the title?

118km to go: Interestingly, Kevin Vauquelin has been on the attack, joined by Alexandre Delettre, but has then knocked off his acceleration – perhaps because of this split in the peloton behind. Vauquelin of course is still well-placed on GC, sixth at two and a half minutes back.

The Van Aert group has been caught by the main peloton, which has since re-formed from the two splinter groups.

Marco Haller has joined Delettre as they try to bridge across to the leading trio, still some 45 seconds ahead.

127km to go: The leading trio’s gap grew to a minute but is now down to 45 seconds as another wave of attacks kicks off. Julian Alaphilippe is the first to have a go and looks brilliant for a few seconds… before Wout van Aert moves to the fore and the Frenchman knocks off his effort.

Quinn Simmons, who was on the attack all throughout the first week, is the next to go, with Van Aert on his wheel immediately. The pair form a 10-strong group of chasers.

Abrahamsen takes the KOM point at the top of the climb but their advantage is eroding rapidly.

And there’s a split in the bunch! Evenepoel looks to be caught out, and the yellow jersey of Ben Healy too, being paced on by his teammates…

Jonas Vingegaard has a quick chat with TNT Sports before the start of stage 11. He says today’s stage has an “explosive final” and could even come down to a GC fight depending on how the stage plays out, and says Visma will keep attacking Pogacar as they need to put him under pressure. He also says one of the team mechanics gave him a haircut on the rest day and seems extremely zen ahead of the start in Toulouse.

As for Pogacar himself… “the cleaning lady woke us up, she was quite early”, he tells Matt Stephens. He had a busy day too: nice breakfast, easy ride, coffee shop, haircut and massage – just like his rival. He’s had a catch up with his family and says he was actually tired at the end of the rest day. “So far, so good,” he says of the Tour so far. Cool and composed.

137km to go: Schmid, Ballerini and Abrahamsen are still out front with 45 seconds, but there have been plenty of attempts to join them, all snuffed out.

Nelson Oliveira and Thomas Gachignard are the latest to have a go.

The riders have 5km to go before the day’s first climb, the splendidly-named Cote de Castelnau-d’Estretefonds: 1.5km at an average gradient of 5.9%.

There are five climbs on the menu today, with the potential to scupper any sprinters’ chances if they’re not careful – and all with the potential to attract an enterprising breakaway.

Four are packed into the final 50km and the final climb of Pech David will be crucial, with a tight turn into it meaning positioning will be of the essence, and the gradient goes up to an eyewatering 20% at points. From there the route flattens out, but that could be the damage done for the fast men.

• 130km to go – cat-4: Cote de Castelnau-d’Estretefonds (1.4km at 6.6%)
• 45km to go – cat-four: Cote de Montgiscard (1.7km at 5.3%)
• 39km to go – cat four: Cote de Corronsac (0.9km at 6.7%)
• 14km to go – cat-four: cote de Vieille-Toulouse (1.3km at 6.8%)
• 9km to go – Cote de Pech David (800m at 12.4%)

The intermediate sprint, at Labastide-Beauvoir, comes with 59km to go and the potential for crosswinds immediately goes up on the road afterwards.

148km to go: Jonathan Milan was urged by his team radio to stay close to the bumper of race director Christian Prudhomme’s Skoda… and that was because he’s keen to get up the road. Perhaps an odd move, with green jersey points to pick up at the intermediate sprint much later on. But perhaps an indication that Milan and his Lidl-Trek team do not believe today will be a sprint finish.

Mauro Schmid, Davide Ballerini, and Jonas Abrahamsen are up the road at the moment, with 20 seconds on their chasers. Milan has another go.

After a very long rollout to get out of the city, we’re underway! 157km to go before the finish line back in Toulouse.