[ritchiebaby]

In a building sense of deja vu, Jasper Philipsen ghosted past his rivals to cross the line well ahead (by sprint standards) of Dylan Groenewegen. Bryan Coquard and my old mate, Peter Sagan, were well to the fore. There's no doubt in my mind that Philipsen is targeting the outright stage-winning record-holder's crown.

The start town of tomorrow's 169km stage, Roanne, is the birthplace of Jean-Pierre Jeunet, director of Alien Resurrection and Amelie. As far the finish town, Belleville-en-Beaujolais, is concerned just think booze - there's even a Saint-Lager 10kms from the finish. The stage itself has 5 classified climbs and the second half on the map looks like the path of a drunken man trying to find his way home. The breakaway could easily stick, in the hunt for KOM Points for a few, with the GC contenders and teams saving themselves for Friday.

[themaclad]

Jasper Philipsen secured his fourth stage win of the 2023 Tour de France as he produced another powerful sprint to claim victory on stage 11 in Moulins.

The Belgian worked his way up through the bunch and then kicked off the wheel of Dylan Groenewegen, who came second.

The last rider to win four bunch sprints in a single Tour de France was Briton Mark Cavendish in 2021.

Philipsen extends his lead in the green jersey, while Jonas Vingegaard keeps the overall leader's yellow jersey.

"It is an incredible Tour so far," Philipsen told ITV Sport afterwards.

"I am super proud and really happy with my shape. To get through the final without problems was also a big challenge, but we managed to do it four times in a row. I am super happy."

There was little drama for most of Wednesday's 179.8km route, which started in Clermont-Ferrand, but it ended with a fiercely contested finish.

This time Philipsen did not have the help of his regular lead-out man, Alpecin-Deceuninck team-mate Mathieu van der Poel, but it made no difference to the outcome.

The 25-year-old followed Wout van Aert through a crowd of riders with 500m to go, then found Groenewegen's wheel before surging past him.

"I can also win without him [Van der Poel], but of course he makes it more easy," Philipsen added. "I had to find my wheel a little bit, and it is also about finding your space.

"It was hectic so it is dangerous for crashing but I was happy I could find a good wheel of Groenwegen in the end. He opened up early, and I could go over."

Defending champion Vingegaard retained his 17-second lead over two-time winner Tadej Pogacar.

Thursday's 12th stage takes the race 168.8km from Roanne to Belleville en Beaujolais, and features five categorised climbs.

Stage 11 results
1. Jasper Philipsen (Bel/Alpecin-Deceuninck) 4hrs 01min 07secs

2. Dylan Groenewegen (Ned/Jayco-AlUla) Same time

3. Phil Bauhaus (Ger/Bahrain Victorious)

4. Bryan Coquard (Fra/Cofidis)

5. Mads Pedersen (Den/Lidl - Trek)

6. Alexander Kristoff (Nor/Uno-X Pro)

7. Luca Mozzato (Ita/Arkea-Samsic)

8. Peter Sagan (Svk/TotalEnergies)

9. Wout van Aert (Bel/Jumbo-Visma)

10. Sam Welsford (Aus/Team DSM)

General classification after stage 11
1. 1. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Jumbo-Visma) 46hrs 34mins 27secs

2. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) +17secs

3. Jai Hindley (Aus/Bora-Hansgrohe) +2mins 40secs

4. Carlos Rodriguez Cano (Spa/Ineos Grenadiers) +4mins 22secs

5. Pello Bilbao (Spa/Bahrain Victorious) +4mins 34secs

6. Adam Yates (GB/UAE Team Emirates) +4mins 39secs

7. Simon Yates (GB/Team Jayco-AlUla) +4mins 44secs

8. Thomas Pidcock (GB/Ineos Grenadiers) +5mins 26secs

9. David Gaudu (Fra/Groupama-FDJ) +6mins 01secs

10. Sepp Kuss (US/Jumbo-Visma) +6mins 45secs

[ritchiebaby]

For the first half of the race there were attacks virtually all the time from the peloton, but once a proper organised breakaway formed, they were allowed to go. Even in the breakaway, there were various attacks, but in a blast from the past, Ion Izagirre took off on his own with 30 kms to go to win comfortably.

Tomorrow sees another proper mountain stage - only one of them, but a proper HC category test with a summit finish. The first 75kms of the 138kms stage is flat as a pancake, but after Culoz the road rises 1,250m in 18kms, with 2 sections at 14%. The riders start in Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne, which boasts a 200sqm model train set, and ends on the Grand Colombier, with some of the riders possibly struggling to finish within the time limit.

[themaclad]

Ion Izagirre soloed to victory on stage 12 of the Tour de France after launching a superb attack 31km from the finish in Belleville-en-Beaujolais.

The Spanish rider finished 58 seconds clear of Mathieu Burgaudeau and Matteo Jorgenson, who were second and third.

A chaotic and aggressive attacking stage saw a much-reduced peloton cross the line almost four minutes down.

Jonas Vingegaard maintained his 17-second advantage in the race for the overall leader's yellow jersey.

French rider Thibaut Pinot moved into the top 10 of the general classification with a strong showing on the 168.8km route that took in five categorised climbs on the rolling hills between the Loire and the Rhone.

The stage always favoured the breakaway but it took nearly 90km before a 15-man group was able to establish a sizable advantage.

Dutch puncheur Mathieu van Der Poel attempted to make the first decisive move but was caught on the final climb of the Col de la Croix Rosier, with Izagirre then countering superbly to launch his stage-winning move.

"I was confident in my strength. I knew that if I earned enough lead, my adversaries wouldn't have me in sight and it would play in my favour," said the Cofidis rider, who has claimed four individual stage wins across cycling's three Grand Tours.

"I felt strong in the last kilometres. Many things went through my mind. It's all very emotional."

The 34-year-old Spaniard's triumph came 11 days after Victor Lafay claimed a first stage win in 15 years for the French team.

A short, brutal 137.8km stage awaits on Friday as the race enters the Jura Mountains for a summit finish on the fearsome Grand Colombier.

Stage 12 results
1. Ion Izagirre (Spa/Cofidis) 3hrs 51mins 42secs

2. Mathieu Burgaudeau (Fra/TotalEnergies) +58secs

3. Matteo Jorgenson (US/Movistar) Same time

4. Tiesj Benoot (Bel/Jumbo-Visma) +1min 06secs

5. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Nor/Uno-X) +1min 11secs

6. Thibaut Pinot (Fra/Groupama-FDJ) +1min 13secs

7. Guillaume Martin (Fra/Cofidis) Same time

8. Dylan Teuns (Bel/Israel-Premier Tech) +1min 27secs

9. Ruben Guerreiro (Por/Movistar) Same time

10. Victor Campenaerts (Bel/Lotto Dstny) +3mins 02secs

General classification after stage 12
1. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Jumbo-Visma) 50hrs 30mins 22secs

2. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) +17secs

3. Jai Hindley (Aus/Bora-Hansgrohe) +2mins 40secs

4. Carlos Rodriguez Cano (Spa/Ineos Grenadiers) +4mins 22secs

5. Pello Bilbao (Spa/Bahrain Victorious) +4mins 34secs

6. Adam Yates (GB/UAE Team Emirates) +4mins 39secs

7. Simon Yates (GB/Team Jayco-AlUla) +4mins 44secs

8. Thomas Pidcock (GB/Ineos Grenadiers) +5mins 26secs

9. David Gaudu (Fra/Groupama-FDJ) +6mins 01secs

10.Thibaut Pinot (Fra/Groupama-FDJ) +6mins 33secs

[ritchiebaby]

The Auld Yins team won yet another stage when Michal Kwiatkowski rode away from the breakaway to convincingly beat the rest up Grand Colombier by 47 seconds. That's 3 of the last 4 stages being won by over-30s.

I honestly think that the two leading GC contenders and their teams are so wary of each other, they're afraid of making a costly misjudgement.

Anyway on to tomorrow and another mountain stage with 5 classified climbs. They set off from Annemasse and arrive in Morzine LPDS (shortened version of long name), flirting with the Swiss border at the start. Expect some fantastic views too. There's a long downhill finish, so also expect some thrilling daredevil racing, before a slight uphill sprint to the line. There is an annual Harley Davidson festival in Morzine, but that sort of thing won't be allowed here.

[themaclad]

Some epic views yesterday

Michal Kwiatkowski took a superb solo win on stage 13 of the Tour de France as Tadej Pogacar clawed back more time on race leader Jonas Vingegaard.

Poland's Kwiatkowski, 33, rode clear on the imposing 17.4km climb to the summit finish on Grand Colombier on the race's first day in the Alps.

An explosive attack from two-time race winner Pogacar saw him create a gap to Vingegaard in the final 400 metres.

That cut the defending champion's lead from 17 seconds to nine.

Slovenia's Pogacar was able to take four seconds on the road and the last of the bonus seconds after his UAE Team Emirates' squad had controlled the pace up the concluding ascent.

Stage 13 - as it happened
However, they were unable to reel in Ineos Grenadiers rider Kwiatkowski, who was originally part of a powerful 19-man breakaway to escape on the flat start to the 137.8km stage from Chatillon-Sur-Chalaronne.

"We had a nice advantage before the final climb," said Kwiatkowski, who timed his effort to perfection, accelerating past a group containing British debutant James Shaw.

"That was a crazy experience. The break had a free ticket to the bottom of the climb, but I didn't think we could make it to the finish because UAE was pulling hard behind.

"I found out I had the best legs I've had in my life. I didn't believe it was possible. The final climb was very long - the most brutal effort in my life."

Kwiatkowski's only other stage win at the Tour came in La Roche-sur-Foron in 2020.

A year on from Tom Pidcock's triumph on Bastille Day on the Alpe d'Huez, the former world champion, who has often taken on the role of a super domestique, delivered again for the British team.

Stage 13 - as it happened
On a good day for the Ineos Grenadiers, Pidcock, rolled over the line nine seconds adrift of Vingegaard, in fifth, while Carlos Rodriguez was 11th, a further 17 seconds back.

Shaw ended up a creditable seventh, with his compatriots Simon and Adam Yates crossing in ninth and 10th, respectively, to leapfrog Spanish rider Pello Bilbao in the general classification standings.

Saturday will see the second of three successive mountain stages which appear to be crucial in the battle for this year's yellow jersey.

The 151.8km route from Annemasse to Morzine Les Portes du Soleil contains four categorised climbs prior to the hors categorie Col de Joux Plane and a high-speed descent to the finish.

Stage 13 results
1. Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol/Ineos Grenadiers) 3hrs 17mins 33secs

2. Maxim Van Gils (Bel/Lotto-Dstny) +47secs

3. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) +50secs

4. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Jumbo-Visma) +54secs

5. Tom Pidcock (GB/Ineos Grenadiers) +1min 3secs

6. Jai Hindley (Aus/Bora-Hansgrohe) +1min 5secs

7. James Shaw (GB/EF Education-EasyPost) Same time

8. Harold Tejada (Col/Astana-Qazaqstan)

9. Simon Yates (GB/Jayco-AlUla) +1min 14secs

10. Adam Yates (GB/UAE Team Emirates) +1min 18secs

General classification standings
1. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Jumbo-Visma) 53hrs 48mins 50secs

2. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) +9secs

3. Jai Hindley (Aus/Bora-Hansgrohe) +2mins 51secs

4. Carlos Rodriguez Cano (Spa/Ineos Grenadiers) +4mins 48secs

5. Adam Yates (GB/UAE Team Emirates) +5mins 3secs

6. Simon Yates (GB/Team Jayco-AlUla) +5mins 4secs

7. Pello Bilbao (Spa/Bahrain Victorious) +5mins 25secs

8. Tom Pidcock (GB/Ineos Grenadiers) +5mins 35secs

9. David Gaudu (Fra/Groupama-FDJ) +6mins 52secs

10. Sepp Kuss (US/Jumbo-Visma) +7mins 11secs

[ritchiebaby]

An excellent passing move from Carlos Rodriguez on the descent saw the Spaniard win by 5 seconds from Pog/Ving, after he was dropped on the final climb. It still looks like Pog/Ving are so obsessed with each other that they both lose sight of winning the stage.

And it might be like that again tomorrow on the 179km stage from the ski resort of Les Gets LPDS to the ski resort of Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc with a mountain finish (thankfully not Mont Blanc). Again there are 5 categorised climbs with the penultimate one having a section at 17%.

Monday is the second rest day before the Time Trial from Passy to Combloux. Although it's only 22.4kms long it includes a Category 2 climb which has a 2kms stretch at over 10% near the end and continues uphill to the finish, so it's not tailor-made for the speed merchants.

I'm having my rest days on Monday and Tuesday, so I'm including this now.

[themaclad]

Just caught up with the last couple of hours on Catch up, cycling through masses of crowds on a mountain still amazes me no rider safety whatsoever if a guy wants to run besides you baring his arse then so be it

Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard retained the leader's yellow jersey in the Tour de France after an intense stage 14.

Spain's Carlos Rodriguez, who had been dropped on the final climb, won the stage after he mugged Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar on the final descent.

The top two in the race duelled on the final climb after an attack by Pogacar.

Pogacar finished second with Vingegaard third but the Dane extended his overall lead by a second via bonus seconds for leading over the Col de Joux Plane.

Breathless racing
The battle between the top two contenders for yellow commenced once the race had reached the final six kilometres of the hors category Col de la Joux Plane climb.

However, despite several minutes of explosive riding from Pogacar, little has changed in terms of the overall standings.

The two riders are perfectly balanced as competitors - Pogacar is more explosive, but Vingegaard appears to have a better 'diesel' engine that lets him say in touch with his rival.

The media motorbikes held up Pogacar as he attacked near the top of the final climb, and the two-time champion dropped a drinks bottle a few kilometres earlier, which seemed to unsettle him.

Both riders appear to be on the limit with a week left of this fascinating three-week race, and stage 15 - a 179km race from Les Gets to Mont Blanc - promises to be another titanic battle.

Early crash sees several abandonments
The stage had to be stopped and then restarted after a huge early crash which saw several riders hit the ground on a damp right-hand corner.

Spain's Antonio Pedrero of Movistar had to abandon after being treated on the side of the road.

Colombia's Esteban Chaves, South Africa's Louis Meintjes, and Portugal's Ruben Guerreiro also abandoned the race.

And Britain's James Shaw and France's Romain Bardet later abandoned the race after a separate incident.

Mixed day for Brits
Tom Pidcock lost time after falling behind on the penultimate climb, a year after winning brilliantly on Alpe d'Huez.

The Ineos rider has dropped out of the top 10 in the general classification and is now set to focus on winning stages.

Compatriot Adam Yates, Pogacar's primary climbing domestique for UAE-Team Emirates, finished fourth on Saturday and remains fifth in the GC.

Twin brother Simon lost ground for Jayco AlUla, but remains eighth overall.

Stage 14 results:

1. Carlos Rodriguez (Spa/Ineos Grenadiers) 3hrs 58mins 45secs

2. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE-Team Emirates) +5secs

3. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Jumbo-Visma) same time

4. Adam Yates (GB/UAE-Team Emirates) +10secs

5. Sepp Kuss (USA/Jumbo-Visma) +57secs

6. Jai Hindley (Aus/Bora-Hansgrohe) +1min 46secs

7. Felix Gall (Aut/AG2R-Citroen) Same time

8. Pello Bilbao (Spa/Bahrian-Victorious) +3mins 19secs

9. Simon Yates (GB/Jayco AlUla) +3mins 21secs

10. Guillaume Martin (Fra/Cofidis) +5mins 57secs

General classification standings:

1. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Jumbo-Visma) 53hrs 48mins 50secs

2. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) +10secs

3. Carlos Rodriguez Cano (Spa/Ineos Grenadiers) +4mins 43secs

4. Jai Hindley (Aus/Bora-Hansgrohe) +4mins 44secs

5. Adam Yates (GB/UAE Team Emirates) +5mins 20secs

6. Sepp Kuss (US/Jumbo-Visma) +8mins 15secs

7. Simon Yates (GB/Team Jayco-AlUla) +8mins 32secs

8. Pello Bilbao (Spa/Bahrain Victorious) +8mins 51secs

9. Felix Gall (Aut/AG2R-Citroen) +12mins 26secs

10. David Gaudu (Fra/Groupama-FDJ) +12mins 56secs

[themaclad]

When your 30 minutes behind the leaders and you are a crazy Frenchman

[ritchiebaby]

Just the type of behaviour to encourage other crazy Frenchmen to do the same. The riders are the stars, not the spectators!

Anyway, another success for the 30somethings with Wout beating Wout by over 2 minutes. Wout Poels stole a march on everyone setting off from the front of the breakaway with 10kms to go.

Looking into the distant future, the next mountain stage on Wednesday will be from Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc (yes, the TdF's been hanging around like a bad smell for a few days) to Courchevel, re-using some of today's roads. Courchevel is my type of place (if I won the Lottery!) as it's got 11 5-star hotels, 7 Michelin-starred restaurants and luxury (=extravagantly expensive) shops. There are "only" 4 bruising climbs, but the last one includes a section at 24% and the finish is at the altiport with an 18.5% climb up the runway.

See you on Wednesday night.