Key events

2h agoRacing on stage 11!
2h agoStage 11 neutralised start
3h agoPoints classification: top 10 before stage 11
3h agoGC top 10 before stage 11
3h agoPreamble

49km to go: Paul Seixas of Decathlon CMA CGM Team enjoyed a positive outing yesterday. Although he missed the sought-after Bastille Day triumph for France, he advanced one position in the general classification from sixth to fifth. Remco Evenepoel likewise progressed into the podium spots after an impressive recovery from being dropped by the leading chase group, while Juan Ayuso of Lidl-Trek claimed fourth.

52km to go: Jem emails: I was struck by the average speed of almost 32mph in old money today. I am as sad as any other cyclist with my Strava stats but only ever see speeds like that whilst heading in a downwards direction - not as an average over 160km.

What incredible athletes they are - and as for people booing Pogi, I think it is a privilege to be living in a time when we can witness such an amazing rider. Somewhat predictable - yes. Boring - never.

Can not wait until Edinburgh 2027!

55km to go: The edge has come off the very hot pace, but only slightly. They are still clocking 51km/h.

It is notable that XDS Astana are working today, for Max Kanter, along with Soudal Quick Step for Merlier and NSN for Girmay.

58km to go: The Cote de Billy-Chevannes is coming up soon. It crests with 37.9km remaining.

64km to go: Sam Bewley, an NSN sports director, says of the prospect of a Girmay stage win later: We hope so. It is a bit complex in the final, so we have to be smart in the way we use our resources. Ultimately, we have to get the timing right. We know Philipsen, Merlier and Kooij are all fast. We have to use guys early to make sure we are in the right place, then the chicane with 1.5km to go is important.

66km to go: Correction and apologies to Oliveira of Movistar. He won a Vuelta stage in 2015. Rob Hatch also points out that this is his 24th grand tour.

1min 25sec is the gap.

68km to go: The race is winding through Decize. In a few kilometres the riders will roll through La Machine.

72km to go: The average speed, according to letour.fr, is 52.1km/h. If they keep this up it will be the fastest ever road stage at the Tour.

The fastest was in 1999, from Laval to Blois, with an average speed of 50.36km/h.

Tim Merlier had a chat with TNT Sports earlier: It was a long stage yesterday. Yeah. I exploded completely because of the heat again. I was suffering, I needed water to cool down, the water did not come, and I exploded completely.

Luckily I could still push to survive over the climbs. The guys did a great job. But I do not like it. Second time in my career, I think, that my teammates needed to stay with me to bring me in time.

Was he worried about the time cut?

When we were 50km from the finish, I was pretty sure we were going to make it. We were close behind the grupetto. I knew I was quite safe.

It is extra motivation to win today, for the teammates who stayed with me. I do not like that they need to stay with me. Let us hope I can give a victory to them.

79km to go: Sean Kelly, on commentary, says of Pogacar: When you are a big champ, the fans at roadside get behind you. When you start winning too much, they go against you, and that is the case with Pogacar at the moment.

You cannot win when you are a big champion, and a super athlete like Pogacar.

80km to go: Le Berre of TotalEnergies won the Tour de Normandie in 2022, as well as a race called the Boucle de l Artois. He rode the Vuelta in 2023.

Charmig of Uno X-Mobility won a stage at the Tour Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes this year, but victories are nowhere else to be seen on his pro record.

Oliveira of Movistar does not have a pro win on his record.

86km to go: You probably do not need me to tell you that Alaphilippe is by far the most decorated rider among our four escapees. He won the world championship road race twice - in 2020 and 2021 - he has won six Tour de France stages, Fleche Wallonne three times, Milano-Sanremo in 2019, Strade Bianche in 2019. He is not the force he was, but what a career the Frenchman has had.

88km to go: Wow, they are really covering this ground speedily. We are way ahead of the fastest time schedule. The gap between break and peloton is 1min 29sec.

96km to go: The commentator Carlton Kirby says of some chateau or other: They need to do something about the slime in the moat, because you can not see the fish. It was built in the 15th century.

98km to go: The gap is 1min 13sec, so the situation is not changing, and probably will not for a while.

James emails: I think Gary is right about the parcours and that, perhaps, it is tipped a little too much towards Pogi. They have moved towards most of the Tour being semi-classics stages, medium mountains or mountains with sprints - and TTs basically being sidelined.

I understand why - those are the stages people tune in for - but it is overtipped the balance towards the best climbers. Not enough TT or different sorts of terrain for others to stake a claim. TT is, in particular, the only sort of GC stage where Pog clearly is not the strongest and a big, old-style TT might give another rider something.

I am not naive enough to think they would win but it would give Pog a challenge that lots of stages like yesterday do not.

Romain Bardet, on the TNT Sports motorbike, says of his compatriot: Good to see Julian back in the break. He had a lot of family at the start, a lot of motivation. Today was a good opportunity for him to properly launch his second week.

Bardet adds of the start: The wet roads made it tricky for the riders. I think Alpecin did not want to commit to the chase today. They have been the most organised team in the final, but Jasper Philipsen could not deliver the perfect sprint, so maybe they wanted to try a different approach today.

101km to go: Soudal Quick-Step are doing the lion share of the work at the front right now. Tim Merlier wants No 3.

There is a replay of a fan lobbing some water on the breakaway riders on the streets of Moulins.

102km to go: The race is passing through Moulins. No shortage of happy fans at the roadside. The gap is 1min 20sec.

104km to go: The gap is 1min 21sec.

By the way, tomorrow stage between Magny-Cours and Chalon-sur-Saone is another flat stage, albeit one with 1,800m of climbing.

105km to go: Gary Naylor emails: I suspect much of the booing not that there is a great deal should be directed against the organisation in putting too many mountain stages into the parcours. They have become as predictable as Mario Cipollini Saeco train and Dave Duffield exclaiming The Lion King roars again!

The rouleurs need those long transition stages 250km-plus; the pure climbers need to be able to drop 20 minutes and then go for stages instead of being employed as super-domestiques for GC men who do not need them; we need stretches on coastal roads with crosswinds a threat and some cobbles for the classics men to have a pop at the GT specialists. Most of all, we need an early long ITT to give a chance to non-climbers to go into yellow and then have their teams defend it. Maybe go back to the Pyrenees at Stages 10-12 and the Alps at Stages 16-19 or vice-versa.

108km to go: And 1min 08sec the gap. Surely they are doing this on purpose.

110km to go: Liam Slock assault on a solo win stage eight to Bergerac was really thrilling. Even luminaries of the breakaway game such as Thomas de Gendt thought he had it in the bag with 10km to go.

Today, I doubt we will see that much excitement, in terms of the sprinters teams nearly making a mess of the catch but time will tell.

111km to go: And 1min 11sec the gap.

All the 1s.

113km to go: Bronagh from the Republic of Ireland emails: Somewhere near Slane.

LouLou loves a bit of camera action so the break will not last but he will get to wiggle his eyebrows in a French way for a bit.

I am calling for a diminished sprint and saying today is Girmay moment now watch him drop like a stone.

118km to go: Philipsen spoke to TNT Sports before the stage. Does Van der Poel win take the pressure off a bit?

It makes a big change in the atmosphere if someone can win. For Mathieu to deliver a win, it was a relief for us.

Does he think the team need to change something in the lead-out?

For today? I think we just have to keep doing what we are doing, and results will follow sooner or later. We are going to work for it. The legs should be there. Stick to the plan, we will see what the result will be.

119km to go: The average pace is 53.4km/h. It is going to be a fast day with a potentially dangerous break up the road.

121km to go: The four-man break has 1min 27sec.

A little earlier, on commentary for TNT Sports, Matt Stephens said this group lacks the really big engines you would need for it to stay away.

123km to go: Both the break and peloton have been over the first climb, the Cote de Billonniere, a cheeky little category-four. The official site does not seem to say who nabbed the KOM point.

125km to go: Julian Alaphilippe, Mathis Le Berre, Nelson Oliveira, and Anthon Charmig are in the break.

By far the superior version.

127km to go: Biniam Girmay of NSN said before the start today: Everybody is ready, and I think that will make a big difference to my lead-out train. He mentioned that there had been some illness in the team in the first week.

132km to go: Philipsen and Kanter both beat Pedersen to the sprint point. Pedersen went early, and effectively led out Philipsen.

Kanter came past him too. Is that mini-win a good sign for Philipsen later?

132km to go: Slock has given up the chase.

134km to go: Oliveira nearly just lost his back wheel on a left-hand bend. The road is moist.

Le Berre wins the sprint. Then Oliveira, Alaphilippe, Charmig.

Le Berre powered away from Charmig before the sprint and no one looked too bothered.