Daniel Martínez took his first career Tour de France stage victory as he won atop the Puy Mary.
The EF Pro Cycling rider beat Bora-Hansgrohe's Lennard Kämna to the line as the two exhausted men reached the summit finish together at the end of the mountainous 191.5km stage from Chatel-Guyon.
Kamna's team-mate Maximilian Schachmann had launched a long-range attack on the penultimate climb, but was caught 1.6km from the finish as Martínez and Kämna battled it out on gradients approaching 20 per cent near the summit.
Jumbo-Visma's Primoz Roglic extended his advantage in the yellow jersey as the main group of contenders came to the line more than six minutes after Martínez and Kämna.
Ineos Grenadiers did much of the work to set the pace on the approach to the finale, but when Roglic followed an attack from fellow Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, their defending champion Egan Bernal could not follow.
That saw Roglic extend his lead to 44 seconds in yellow, with UAE Team Emirates' Pogacar the new man in second place as Bernal slipped to third, 59 seconds down.
When the day began, the top 10 was the closest it had been at this stage of any Tour since 1947, but the final climb changed all that.
Frenchmen Guillaume Martin and Romain Bardet began the day in third and fourth place but were both distanced on the climb, with Bardet having also suffered a crash earlier on. PA
03:15 PM
Bernal loses over half a minute
Defending champion Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) loses 38sec on race leader Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) despite all of the hard work done by the Colombian's team-mates in the approach to the final climb of the day which proved costly to a number of general classification contenders. Bernal drops to third on general classification, 59sc adrift of Roglic, after also losing 38sec to Tadej Pogacar who takes the white jersey off the shoulders of the Colombian after becoming the new leader in the youth classification.
All of the riders focusing on general classification lose time to Slovenian duo Roglic and Pogacar. Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) and Romain Bardet (Ag2r-La Mondiale) are the biggest losers of the day, shipping loses 2min 46sec and 2min 31sec respectively. Meanwhile, although they lost time too, Rigoberto Urán (EF Pro Cycling) moves up to fourth overall. As it stands the top six berths in the general classification are filled by riders from Slovenia and Colombia.
Egan Bernal — Egan Bernal cracks and loses time to Tour de France leader Primoz Roglic as Daniel Martinez wins brutal stage - EPA
03:10 PM
Roglic extends overall lead
Primoz Roglic leads the way over the line, Tadej Pogacar on his wheel. The Slovenians have just cracked defending champion Egan Bernal. My oh my, they must have had their Weetabix this morning.
Primoz Roglic and Tadej Pogacar — Egan Bernal cracks and loses time to Tour de France leader Primoz Roglic as Daniel Martinez wins brutal stage - EPA
03:08 PM
Bernal and Quintana labouring
Tadej Pogacar and Primoz Roglic lead by around 5sec ahead of Mikel Landa (Bahrain-McLaren), Miguel Ángel López (Astana) and Richie Porte (Trek-Segafredo) who is doing a great ride here. The Australian has been is decent form since the return of racing and has been quietly impressive. Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) and Nairo Quintana (Arkéa-Samsic) labour, losing a stack of time on their rivals.
Tadej Pogacar and Primoz Roglic — Egan Bernal cracks and loses time to Tour de France leader Primoz Roglic as Daniel Martinez wins brutal stage - GETTY IMAGES
03:06 PM
Bernal is dropped!
Back in the general classification race, Tadej Pogacar attacks off the front but his Slovenain compatriot Primoz Roglic is able to match him inch for inch. Defending champion Egan Bernal, however, falls off the back. There are going to be some big losses here. Wow.
03:05 PM
Martínez wins stage 13 at the Tour de France!
And the Colombian has just taken the biggest win of his career, a first stage at the Tour de France is now etched into his palmarès forever.
It was a thoroughly deserved victory for the EF Pro Cycling rider who had the numbers in the breakaway, but once on the final run-in was in the minority as he was flanked by Bora-Hansgrohe riders Lennard Kämna and Maximilian Schachmann. After first shelling and exhausted looking Schachmann following his exertion in a sole breakaway, the 24-yaer-old Daniel Martínez had just Kämna for company going into the final kilometre.
The German, also 24, attacked in the final stretch before Martínez responded in kind, eventually beating the Bora-Hansgrohe rider in a very slow-motion two-up sprint. Schachmann finishes third at 51sec.
03:02 PM
400 metres to go
Daniel Martínez leads the way, but Lennard Kämna is glued to his wheel.
03:02 PM
600 metres to go
Lennard Kämna attacks, but Daniel Martínez is able to match him pedal stroke for pedal stroke.
03:01 PM
700 metres to go
Maximilian Schachmann is dropped.
03:01 PM
1km to go
Daniel Martínez leads the way as the trio pass beneath the flamme rouge . A horribly steep corner is just 200 metres up the road.
03:00 PM
1.5km to go
That attack by Lennard Kämna was lacking a killer kick — no surprise given the gradients they are fighting with — and Daniel Martínez takes it up on the front once again. Maximilian Schachmann is chasing back on in an engrossing three-way slugfest.
02:58 PM
1.5km to go
Daniel Martínez and Lennard Kämna make the catch, before the Bora-Hansgrohe rider counter-attacks the Colombian. But Martínez may just have too much left in his legs, he's not giving up.
02:57 PM
1.8km to go
Lennard Kämna continues to sit on the wheel of Daniel Martínez as they near up towards Maximilian Schachmann
02:55 PM
2km to go
Maximilian Schachmann gets rid of a water bottle, lashing it to the side not wanting to carry any unnecessary weight as he continues his battle with gravity on this steep, steep climb.
02:54 PM
2.5km to go
Maximilian Schachmann is about to reach the steepest section of this final climb where it ramps up to over 11% in gradient. Can he hold off the chasing Colombian Daniel Martínez? His lead is down to 15sec.
02:53 PM
3.5km to go
Guillaume Martin is 25sec down on the maillot jaune, while local rider Romain Bardet who crashed earlier today is another 15sec down the road.
02:51 PM
4.5km to go
Maximilian Schachmann still leads. Back in the peloton, Guillaume Martin is shipping time, the Frenchman riding on his lonesome.
02:48 PM
6.5km to go
Maximilian Schachmann is doing the supertuck as he continues to descend to the foot of the final climb of the day. The German leads the small Colombian climber Daniel Martínez by just 20sec.
02:47 PM
8km to go
Richard Carapaz takes it up for Ineos Grenadiers, but Tom Dumoulin looks comfortable enough. The big Dutchman rides past the reigning Giro d'Italia champion glancing in his direction before Sepp Kuss, another Jumbo-Visma rider, rolls up to check everything is ok. Cool as you like, Jumbo-Visma extinguish that Ineos Grenadiers move.
02:44 PM
9.5km to go
Thibaiut Pinot, Romain Bardet and Guillaume Martin are all struggling as Ineos Grenadiers wind up the pace in the general classification battle.
02:40 PM
11.4km to go
Maximilian Schachmann summits the col de Neronne, he has a flat section now ahead of a short descent and then, the final nasty drag up to the line. Can he hold on for a first stage win at the Tour de France?
02:38 PM
12km to go
Marc Soler is dropped, leaving Daniel Martínez and Lennard Kämna to chase. However, with his Bora-Hansgrohe team-mate Maximilian Schachmann being the carrot that is hanging out in front, Kämna will do no work, leaving Martínez to do all the nibbling. Clever tactics from Bora-Hansgrohe.
02:36 PM
13km to go
Daniel Martínez (EF Pro Cycling), Lennard Kämna (Bora-Hansgrohe), and Marc Soler (Movistar) split up the chasing group, quite surprising to see how Julian Alaphilippe was dropped. Maximilian Schachmann is holding on to his lead, while back in the peloton Ineos Grenadiers are setting a fierce pace on the front.
02:33 PM
14km to go
Neilson Powless is caught and dropped by the chasing group. Maximilian Schachmann is on the penultimate climb of the day which has some nasty little stretches. The German his holding his lead at around 50sec.
steep
02:30 PM
15km to go
Valentin Madouas takes over on the front of the chasing group, Mac Sloer tucked in just behind. It may be a case of now or never for this group to start riding hard.
02:29 PM
16km to go
Daniel Martínez moves towards the front of the chasing group, now that team-mate Neilson Powless has cracked, the Colombian who won last month's Critérium du Dauphiné will be wanting to close down Maximilian Schachmann, but he will, I'm sure, be a little concerned about taking Julian Alaphilippe over.
02:24 PM
18.5km to go — Powless is powerless
And the young American is dropped by Maximilian Schachmann. Back in the breakaway there is quite a bit of looking around, nobody appears to want to commit to the chase, playing into the hands of lone leader Schachmann who was in fine form earlier in the season ahead of lockdown taking a stage win and the overall at Paris-Nice.
02:22 PM
20km to go
Interesting to see Ineos Grenadiers hammering it on the front of the pack. Presumably defending champion Egan Bernal is feeling strong, but can he put time into the likes of Primoz Roglic and Tadej Pogacar on this final climb that regularly goes into double digits?
Maximilian Schachmann and Neilson Powless gain a further 10sec on the break.
02:18 PM
22km to go
Ineos Grenadiers plough on at the head of the peloton, 9min 45sec off the pace of stage leaders Maximilian Schachmann and Neilson Powless.
finish - GETTY IMAGES
02:16 PM
23.5km to go
Maximilian Schachmann slouches over his handlebars, Neilson Powless regularly rises out of his saddle. Whatever their respective climbing styles, they have pulled out a few seconds on the break.
02:12 PM
25km to go
Julian Alaphilippe has made it back into the group I am calling the breakaway. The Deceuninck-Quick Step rider is suddenly looking lively, darting around on the front like a firefly. Maximilian Schachmann and Neilson Powless push on with a 35sec advantage.
02:09 PM
27km to go
The peloton is 1km from the summit of the Cote d'Anglards de Salers and Ineos Grenadiers are now on the front, wanting to be in the perfect position for the upcoming descent. Jumbo-Vism, by the way, are down to just six riders while Ineos Grenadiers have seven — Pavel Sivakov being up the road in the break.
02:07 PM
29km to go
Maximilian Schachmann bridges over to Neilson Powless, the pair sharing a word or two and a smile. A minor split has appeared in the chasing group 25sec down the road, Julian Alaphilippe lose ground.
02:05 PM
30km to go
Neilson Powless goes over the summit of the Cote d'Anglards de Salers but Maximilian Schachmann in pursuit on a narrow twisty descent. It's a sun-dappled affair which can make cornering tricky, but thankfully the road is dry. Schachmann trails by 10sec while Marc Soler is leading the rest of the chasers, anther 25sec down the road.
01:58 PM
35.5km to go
Maximilian Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) is the next to make his move, the German who was taken out by a car at last month's Il Lombardia, is off in pursuit of Neilson Powless. Back in the peloton, Ineos Grenadiers have taken over on the front and appear keen in ramping things up a little.
01:54 PM
38km to go
Neilson Powless is not hanging around and the 24-year-old has gained almost half-a-minute on the breakaway. Powless has been in two breakaways at this year's race which is also his Tour de France debut and has yet to claim any professional wins. He is, though, a very talented rider and first came to my attention during the 2016 edition of the Tour de l'Avenir where he won a mountainous stage ahead of David Gaudu, and Egan Bernal. He's got an engine, but does he have the fuel to drive this all the way to the line today?
01:51 PM
40km to go
As the breakaway descends towards the bottom of a valley that then kicks up towards the Côte d'Anglards-de-Salers, EF Pro Cycling's young American Neilson Powless has gone off the front. Is this the moment? Will this move from Powless instill some energy into the race? Very much feels like we need to buckle down for a rollercoaster of a ride to the line.
01:44 PM
45km to go
The breakaway's advantage is at around the 11-minute mark.
01:40 PM
47km to go
With three categorised climbs to follow and not a great deal happening out on the road, now is probably a good time to have a look at the final two ascents of the day.
stage 13
That final kicker will surely suit a rider like Julian Alaphilippe or a Dan Martin from a few years ago. Martin, as you will probably know, had a nasty crash in last month's Critérium du Dauphiné and is riding here with a broken sacrum. Which begs the question, who will win the stage? You would hope EF Pro Cycling, who have three riders in the group will make those numbers count, but do they have a rider stronger than Alaphilippe? Perhaps not on the steeper section towards the end, so they may have to attack on the penultimate climb, the col de Neronne. Perhaps send off Neilson Powless in an attempt to soften up Alaphilippe before Hugh Carthy and Daniel Martínez go in with a two-pronged attack. Whatever happens, it should be fun both at the pointy end of the race and back in the bunch containing the general classification contenders.
01:21 PM
61.2km to go
Pierre Rolland adds another two points to his tally in the mountains atop the Côte de l'Estiade. The B&B Hotels-Vital Concept rider who has two Tour de France stage wins on his palmarès pulled up alongside young compatriot Valentin Madouas before rolling over, the Groupama-FDJ man taking a solitary point.
01:16 PM
62km to go
Around 1,000 metres from the summit of the category three Côte de l'Estiade and Hugh Carthy swings to the right-hand side of the road allowing some of his co-breakaway riders to go through. Peloton is at 9min 10sec and Jumbo-Visma are looking happy enough as they tap away in formation, Tony Martin is on the front. Obviously.
01:11 PM
65km to go
With its lead growing out to almost nine minutes, it is starting to look like the stage winner today may be coming from that 17-man group, meaning today's race will split into two: one for the stage; the other between the general classification contenders.
Romain Bardet has made his way back into the pleoton, which trails the breakaway by over eight minutes now. The Ag2r-La Mondiale rider was just spotted riding along with a scuffed up right shoulder while his shorts are shredded. A number of observers are claiming Bardet looked a little unstable as he got to his feet, the suggestion being he may have bashed his head in the fall.
12:47 PM
80.6km to go
Julian Alaphilippe is the first rider over the intermediate sprint to earn himself a tidy little cheque worth €1,500 along with 20 points. The leader in the points classification, Alaphilippe's Deceuninck-Quick Step team-mate Sam Bennett, is labouring off the back, hanging with the gruppetto which, let's face it, is no big surprise.
12:45 PM
Mollema abandons
Bauke Mollema, who started the day in 13th on general classification, has abandoned the Tour de France. Not too sure what injuries he sustained in that tumble, but that will come as a huge blow to Trek-Segafredo who have looked surprisingly sprightlyat this year's race.
12:43 PM
Bardet chasing back on
Romain Bardet is around a minute down on the group containing the maillot jaune and the rest of the general classification contenders, but he has his entire team around him helping him close that gap.
12:41 PM
Bardet and Quintana crash!
Romain Bardet, who is riding on home roads today, has hit the deck but has an army of Ag2r-La Mondiale team-mates to help his chase back on. Arkéa-Samsic team leader Nairo Quintana also went down. Both are back up and chasing back on. Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) was also involved in the little pile-up that occurredon a slight right-hand bend on these narrow and twisty roads.
12:33 PM
90km to go
The breakaway's lead grows to 6min 50sec, Jumbo-Visma remain on the front of the peloton as they head through the feedzone.
12:22 PM
101km to go
Valentin Madouas is caught by the breakaway on the descent off the Montée de la Stèle. He doesn't look too bothered, perhaps he was only after the €500 in beer money available for the first over the top?
Valentin Madouas - GETTY IMAGES
12:19 PM
102.5km to go
Valentin Madouas crests the category two Montée de la Stèle, but there are no changes at the top of the virtual mountains competition. Not just yet, but Benoît Cosnefroy may well lose the jersey today.
12:10 PM
108km to go
Not sure if Hugh Carthy was told by his team to ease off, or if Valentin Madouas pushed on. Either way, the Frenchman leads the stage, around 40sec ahead of the break. Carthy in no man's land.
🇫🇷 @MadouasValentin has been able to distance himself from 🇬🇧 Hugh Carthy with just over 2km to go before the summit.
Hugh Carthy has his shirt unzipped, but is looking as cool as a cucumber here on the front of one of the toughest stages in the world's biggest bike race. Working with Valentin Madouas, the pair gain a handful of seconds on the breakaway.
12:04 PM
110km to go
Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ) and Preston lad Hugh Carthy clip off the front of the breakaway. The pair very quickly put around 25sec into the breakaway which now contains 15 riders.
It might be his first, but Neilson Powless has already seen 12 stages at the Tour de France 🇫🇷 🚲 Here he gives us his take on how to control a breakaway. pic.twitter.com/bbx25u0vcb
Pierre Rolland was first over the summit of the col de Guéry a few minutes ago to earn the 33-year-old two points in the mountains classification and €200 in prize money. The leading group, which has increased its advantage on the peloton to 5min 30sec, has just started the ascent of the category two Montée de la Stèle.
11:43 AM
127km to go
Jumbo-Visma ride on the front of the peloton, Ineos Grenadiers just behind as they take their feedbags from the roadside soigneurs.
Luke Rowe - GETTY IMAGES
UAE Team Emirates are around the third or fourth team on the road, but Tadej Pogacar has just three team-mates for company today. Fabio Aru and Davide Formolo have abandoned, while sprinter Alexander Kristoff is off the back. The positioning of David de la Cruz up the road may be a stroke of tactical genuis. Only time will tell.
11:37 AM
130km to go
Not too far from the summit of the category two col de Guéry now, and the second group on the road has caught Julian Alaphilippe et al. As it stands there's a 17-man posse of riders leading this stage.
11:34 AM
133km to go
Maximilian Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Romain Sicard (Total Direct Énergie) bridge over to the Pavel Sivakov group which now trails the stage leaders by 17sec. Only a matter of time until there's a very big breakaway containing some strong riders — and a number of former stage winners at the Tour — leads this stage.
11:20 AM
138km to go
Jumbo-Visma have been watching every move today, turning the screw each time a rider from a rival team attempts to go off up the road. However, they managed to let Pavel Sivakov (Ineos Grenadiers) slip through the net.
Jumbo-Visma
As it stands, the second group on the road has swollen, comprising Warren Barguil (Arkéa-Samsic), Hugh Carthy (EF Pro Cycling), David de la Cruz (UAE Team Emirates), Nicolas Edet (Cofidis), Lennard Kämna (Bora-Hansgrohe), Daniel Martínez (EF Pro Cycling), Neilson Powless (EF Pro Cycling), Pierre Rolland (B&B Hotels-Vital Concept) and Pavel Sivakov (Ineos Grenadiers).
Interesting to note that defending champion Egan Bernal, Tadej Pogacar, Guillaume Martin, Nairo Quintana and Rigoberto Urán all have team-mates in this group. It will be interesting to see if they are here for their own personal ambitions, or are sitting in the wheels waiting for the leaders later in the stage. Either way, it will mean that later in the day Jumbo-Visma will have to do all of the chasing if they are minded to challenge for the stage win.
11:05 AM
148km to go
Hugh Carthy (EF Pro Cycling), Daniel Martínez (EF Pro Cycling) and Lennard Kämna (Bora-Hansgrohe) are the only three riders that were not reeled back in by the bunch, that trio trails the leading five-man group by around a minute.
Simon Geschke crests the first summit of the day to add 10 points to his tally in the mountains classification.
As it stands Benoît Cosnefroy remain the virtual leader in that particular competition. That big group that was chasing down the breakaway has been nullified by Jumbo-Visma who are ruling this stage today with an iron fist.
10:54 AM
Cosnefroy dropped
Benoît Cosnefroy, who started the day in the polka-dot jersey as leader in the mountains classification, is dropped by the leading group. Further back there's a 21-rider strong pack 1min 10sec down the road. Esteban Chaves (Mitchelton-Scott) escapes off the front of the peloton, the Colombian has two team--mates in the second group.
10:46 AM
Soler powers over
And then there were six: Marc Soler (Movistar) joins stage leaders Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick Step), Rémi Cavagna (Deceuninck-Quick Step), Benoît Cosnefroy (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Simon Geschke (CCC) and Dan Martin (Israel Start-up Nation) on the front, their advantage on the maillot jaune 1min 34sec.
10:44 AM
Coquard pops
Bryan Coquard is going backwards and the French sprinter has manged to get dropped by the break and fall all the way through the pack. A one-way ticket on the laughing bus for the B&B Hotels-Vital Concept rider sil vous plaît.
10:41 AM
163km to go
Marc Soler has clipped off the front of the second group, off after the stage leaders. Kenny Elissonde (Trek-Segafredo) bridges over to Thibaut Pinot, as does Warren Barguil (Arkéa-Samsic). A very lively start to today's stage. Jumbo-Visma continue to marshal the front of the peloton. The stage leaders, by the way, are inching up the first climb of the day, the category one col de Ceyssat.
10:38 AM
Pinot attacks!
Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) clips off the front, as does the veteran Pierre Rolland (B&B Hotels-Vital Concept) who looked lively yesterday. In fact, he looked better than lively he finished the stage in second spot!
10:36 AM
165km to go
A number of riders have made a move, off in pursuit of the five-man breakaway. Jack Bauer (Mitchelton-Scott), Bryan Coquard (B&B Hotels-Vital Concept), Neilson Powless (EF Pro Cycling), Romain Sicard (Total Direct Énergie), Daryl Impey (Mitchelton-Scott), Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe), Marc Soler (Movistar), Pavel Sivakov (Ineos Grenadiers), Matteo Trentin (CCC) and Carlos Verona (Movistar) have all been let off the leash. Some of those will be eyeing the stage win, others thinking about the points at the intermediate sprint.
10:29 AM
Food for thought
Julian Alaphilippe - GETTY IMAGES
10:27 AM
De Gendt back in the bunch
Thomas De Gendt has returned to the peloton, Jumbo-Visma are monitoring closely on the front, not wanting too many riders joining that breakaway. Does that mean they are hoping to win the stage today?
10:23 AM
All change on the front
A few riders have been dropped by the breakaway who are setting a fierce pace. Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick Step), Rémi Cavagna (Deceuninck-Quick Step), Benoît Cosnefroy (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Simon Geschke (CCC) and Dan Martin (Israel Start-up Nation) lead the peloton by around 20 seconds, as Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal) moves off the front in pursuit of the five-man group.
Remi Cavagna - REUTERS
10:18 AM
180km to go
Peter Sagan and his Bora-Hansgrohe team-mates are sat near the front of the bunch, presumably hoping to add a few points to his tally in the race for the green jersey at the intermediate sprint which is positioned following a descent off a category two climb. The thinking there, I imagine, would be that they are assuming Sam Bennett (Deceuninck-Quick Step) who currently leads the points classification will struggle on three climbs on the approach to the sprint where there are as many points on offer as there are for the stage win. In summary, the intermediate sprint will act as a kind of finish line for those chasing points today. Obviously they need to make it to the real finishing line.
10:14 AM
182km to go
Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick Step), Alessandro De Marchi (CCC) and Dan Martin (Israel Start-up Nation) bridge over to the breakaway which leads the stage by just 13sec.
10:11 AM
Breaking away . . .
Local rider Rémi Cavagna (Deceuninck-Quick Step) clips off the front along with Italian sprinter Niccolo Bonifazio (Total Direct Énergie), polka-dot jersey holder Benoît Cosnefroy (Ag2r-La Mondiale), former Tour de France stage winner Simon Geschke (CCC), Krists Neilands (Israel Start-up Nation), Nils Politt (Israel Start-up Nation) and Tejay van Garderen (EF Pro Cycling). That's quite a diverse group of riders which I guarantee will change soon.
10:02 AM
And they're off!
The race in on and a number of riders are sitting coiled, waiting to see if they fancy getting into the break of the day. I imagine if today's stage winner is to come from the break, then that leading group may have to first gain quite a decent lead over the general classification riders.
09:53 AM
And who does today's course suit?
One for the really, really strong baroudeurs — Alexey Lutsenko (Astana), Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal) — or will it be a flyweight climber from a breakaway? A Warren Barguil (Arkéa-Samsic), David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) or Kenny Elissonde (Trek-Segafredo). Equally, it could be a day for the general classification contenders to test each other, in which case the smart money would have to be on Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) or Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates), but don't discount Romain Bardet (Ag2r-La Mondiale) who is in fine form and today will be racing on his home roads, so will know this tricky terrain like the back of his hand. By the way, all of the climbs are relatively short — by grand tour standards — but are perfectly suited to an aggressive rider and so there may be ambushes out on the roads this afternoon. Am hoping this will be another cracker. Racing starts in just over 10 minutes.
09:40 AM
So, what's on the menu today?
In summary, today's stage is an absolute brute, look at it. Although many will not be familiar with the seven categorised that pepper this stage through the Massif Central, there are some really tough tests for the riders, specifically the final climb of the the day the Pas de Peyrol that pitches up to 15% in gradient at one point, but has three kilometres with have an average of over 11%.
Tour de France 2020, stage 13 race profile — Tour de France 2020 route: How to watch live TV coverage and follow the race stages
Here's a breakdown of those climbs in numbers . . .
The intermediate sprint is roughly at the midway point in the stage. With today finishing on an uphill stretch, there are fewer points on offer in the race for the green jersey on the line.
Interestingly, there are bonus seconds on offer on the summit of the penultimate climb of the day, the category two col de Neronne which may inspire some action from the general classification contenders. These time bonuses are awarded in addition to those given on the finishing line for the first three riders, and are earned at specific points on just eight stages. The first three riders to summit the Neronne will have 8, 5 and 2 seconds taken off their overall time.
09:30 AM
As it stands . . .
Those familiar with the race, or stage racing in general, will realise that there are a number of jerseys on offer at the race, here's a very quick explainer for anybody that is new to the sport . . .
And here are the current leaders in the respective competitions . . .
But if you want to take a closer look at the details, here you go . . .
And welcome to our live rolling blog from stage 13 at the 107th edition of the Tour de France, the 191km run from Châtel-Guyon to Puy Mary Cantal. Before we have a look at today's stage, let's have a recap of what happened yesterday. First up, here's Tom Cary's verdict from what was a thoroughly entertaining stage . . .
Marc Hirschi, who has been arguably the revelation of this Tour so far, eventually took victory in the stage from Chauvigny to Sarran, attacking in the final 30km after brilliant work from Sunweb and then holding off a formidable chase.
It was a popular and hugely deserved win for the 2018 Under-23 world champion following his second place finish behind Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick Step} on stage two and then his agonising near miss in Laruns last weekend, when he rode for 80km on his own only to be caught by a select group of general classification favourites on the final run-in.
Meanwhile, our colleagues at The Cycling Podcast published their latest episode on Thursday night. While we are waiting for today's stage to get under way, why don't you give it a listen?
It was Jacques Chirac and Raymond Poulidor day on the Tour de France, as the stage finished in the former French president’s home town as well as through the Eternal Second’s home town of St Léonard-de-Noblat.
But the day belonged to Marc Hirschi, nicknamed Baby Spartacus by François after his exploits in the opening week of the race. The Sunweb rider became the first Swiss rider to win a stage of the Tour since his mentor Fabian Cancellara in 2012.
Join Richard Moore, Lionel Birnie and François Thomazeau in Clermont-Ferrand as they recap a ferocious transitional stage. We also hear from Dave Brailsford of Ineos Grenadiers on the eve of the resumption of hostilities in the overall battle.
The potential settlement is believed to be in its final stages of adoption and consists of back pay, a new compensation model and an overhaul of the NCAA scholarship system.
As modern media becomes more niche driven, teams and even leagues have to balance whether to seek the biggest TV contracts or the biggest potential audience.
Fantasy football analyst Matt Harmon reveals his final thoughts on the eve of the 2024 NFL Draft, including what the Vikings will do at the most important position.
Dan Wetzel, Ross Dellenger & SI’s Pat Forde react to the huge performance this weekend by Texas QB Arch Manning, Michigan and Notre Dame's spring games, Jaden Rashada entering the transfer portal, and more
Dan Wetzel, Ross Delleneger, and SI's Pat Forde recap the 2024 NFL Draft, reacted to recent College Football Playoff complaints, reacted to news of Damien Martinez picking Miami, and discussed Dylan Raiola's impressive spring game.
In one scenario, Dallas makes Prescott the highest paid player in NFL history. In another, the Cowboys decline that commitment, at which point another team will make him the top paid player in NFL history.
