[Marco4]

Its nice to proven right - I'm no expert, but I've seen enough cycling to know how people like to play it. There's a lot of interesting stories that will unfold behind Froome and Quintana now (don't write Nairo off, but he won't get everything back immediately).

Richie Porte is (supposed to be) signing for BMC for next year, so his effort yesterday didn't just steal two seconds off Nairo, but also was a bit of a show of strength to Tejay Van Garderen who finished not far from Sky's third man (who will almost certainly step up to second next year) in Geraint Thomas.

Valverde has a decent chance of finishing ahead of the likes of Nibali and Contador if he carries on his form of yesterday; Movistar getting a top two and a third/fourth would be quite the achievement, too.

Today is my second day off. I love the Tourmalet, its my favourite of all the hills; no doubt after today, I'll have scenic shots of (generally Cofidis, their red seems to work best) riders with the land melting away behind them.

As for the stage.... well, Pierre Rolland looked pretty strong yesterday, so he's in with a shout. I think Dan Martin dropped out fairly quickly, but he's meant to be feeling pretty good, so maybe he was saving it for later.

---

Oh, and the profile

[ritchiebaby]

Chris Froome again in total control of the GC. He can sprint with the best of them and he can climb with the best of them. It's all down to his continued control and the riding of Team Sky now.

The rest of the classifications are still pretty tasty though.

[Marco4]

Really interesting further down, but I'm still not writing Quintana off. Just catching up with the last couple of days; Purito was immense on the mountain and, well Peraud.....ouch.



Tis but a scratch.

[ritchiebaby]

A brilliant sprint from Steve Cummings to catch out Bardet and Pinot in the last few hundred metres today. Froome is still in total control, even when he is left to do the hard work on his own towards the end of the stage, outsprinting Quintana at the end.

[Marco4]

Was encouraging to see Pinot and Bardet able to take that mountain, though. Apparently (though don't ask me to quote the figures) Pinot is climbing faster than anyone the last two or three days, so he seems to be coming into a bit of form. With the Alps to come, that might not be such a bad thing, as Warren Barguil fades, Pinot and Bardet re-emerge.

Excellent work from Cummings yesterday, to hold on to their tails and then fly past so easily (and practically destroy himself on the railings). Chapeau.

Not so much to the people who spat on Chris Froome, called him a doper and apparently threw a cup of piss on him. No.

[ritchiebaby]

Back from Whitley Bay Caravan Park late on Monday, yesterday was a rest day, so I made sure I was glued to the highlights tonight.

It was a thoroughly deserved stage win for Simon Geschke, who broke away on his own with about 50km to go. Froome once again had the measure of Quintana who tried everything to shake him off. If someone tries to break away from him, Froome takes off after him in second place, but he never tries to regain lost metres right away. He sits down as quick as he can and pegs him back bit by bit, conserving as much energy as possible.

I've lost two of my riders - van Garderen and Kwiatkowski - in one day, but Quintana is still second and Bardet is 11th. Tomorrow might be the last chance for Quintana to claw back two or three minutes from Froome, which means a strong attack early on to open up a big gap, but will Froome and Team Sky let him go? I can't see it myself, but time will tell.

[Lord Snooty]

Is there any chance now, apart from falling off and breaking something, that Froome won't win it now?

[ritchiebaby]

Mechanical failure? Thunderbolt? If he doesn't win it now with the backing of his domestiques and his undoubted talent, it will be the biggest upset in years.

Only Quintana at 3'10" behind and Valverde a further 59" adrift are within striking distance. So far they've not managed to gain anything on Froome and they're running out of chances. Quintana in particular will never stop trying, but it looks like Sky have it all under control, although Froome did seem to be suffering a bit today.

My man, Romain Bardet, won today's stage by a margin of 33 seconds, enough to move him up to 10th and equal 1st in the King of the Mountains.

[Lord Snooty]

Well done, Chris Frooooooooome!

[ritchiebaby]

General Classification (yellow jersey)
1. Chris Froome TEAM SKY 84h 46' 14''
2. Nairo Quintana MOVISTAR TEAM 84h 47' 26'' (+ 01' 12'')
3. Alejandro Valverde MOVISTAR TEAM 84h 51' 39'' (+ 05' 25'')

Points (green jersey)
1. Peter Sagan TINKOFF-SAXO 432 pts
2. Andre Greipel LOTTO-SOUDAL 366 pts
3. John Degenkolb TEAM GIANT-ALPECIN 298 pts

Climber (polka dot jersey)
1. Chris Froome TEAM SKY 119 pts
2. Nairo Quintana MOVISTAR TEAM 108 pts
3. Romain Bardet AG2R LA MONDIALE 90 pts

Youth (white jersey)
1. Nairo Quintana MOVISTAR 84h 47' 26''
2. Romain Bardet AG2R LA MONDIALE 85h 02' 14" (+14' 48'')
3. Warren Barguil TEAM GIANT-ALPECIN 85h 17' 29" (+30' 03")

Team
1. Movistar 255h 24' 24''
2. Team Sky 256h 21' 47'' (+ 57' 23'')
3. Tinkoff-Saxo 256h 24' 36'' (+ 01h 00' 12'')