Key events

2h ago Kilometre zero
3h ago William Fotheringham's guide to stage five
3h ago Mountains classification standings
3h ago Points classification standings
3h ago General classification standings
3h ago Preamble

58km to go The calm conditions mean we are heading for an exciting bunch sprint at the finish line.

Correspondence! Paul Griffin writes: This Tour feels unusual because it began in the warm south and lacks a real yellow jersey battle so far. It resembles those quiet transition stages that usually occur much later. I keep expecting Steve Cummings and Thomas Voeckler to contest the win, even though they retired years ago and are not racing. Bronagh McAtasney adds a short note: someone should help poor Baptiste Veistroffer instead of leaving him to ride solo.

76km to go A few riders stop at the roadside. This makes me think of watching The Man in the Iron Mask, a classic film about disguises, perhaps only beaten by The Mask. Is The Dark Knight Rises focused on masks or on climbing without ropes? It is difficult to decide.

83km to go Jasper Philipsens Alpecin-Premier Tech team moves to the front of the group. The camera shows Phil Bauhaus of Team Bahrain Victorious marking his birthday by riding through the French landscape at 35km per hour. It looks enjoyable.

91km to go Riders enjoy some shade from roadside trees while the surrounding fields show summer tones of yellow and brown. The view is attractive and the group pauses for a collective break. Are they watering the plants?

100km to go One highlight from the past quarter hour involved a quadbike driver in a nearby field attempting a wheelie and losing his tricolour-waving passenger. The flag holder stood up quickly yet appeared to feel the impact.

111km to go After one hour of racing the riders have covered 45.7km at a solid pace.

Derrick Belleci writes in: Lotto appears eager to raise the speed for De Lie at the line. The Bull from Lescheret has certainly earned a strong nickname. Veistroffer seems exposed here given the temperature so this may not have been a planned move by Lotto especially since De Lie has already left the race.

117km to go Decathlon expects some wind as the route shifts direction slightly. Could this create changes?

123km to go Anyone wanting to watch a professional rider stop for a break beside the road should tune in now. That is mostly what is occurring. Veistroffers advantage sits near two minutes forty-five seconds.

128km to go For what it is worth my pick is Jasper Philipsen.

We have email! Gary Naylor notes that Baptiste Veistroffer is moving quickly in the heat. Freddy Thurston adds that Veistroffer seems out of place as todays stage does not suit a lone effort. Keep sending messages and share who you expect to win todays stage.

133km to go At least the sponsors from the Belgian lottery and Intermarche will be pleased with the exposure for their brands early in this stage. I wish there was more action to report.

Well that is one method to keep cool.

138km to go As the race passes through Castelnau-Magnoac local hero and French rugby star Antoine Dupont receives a brief celebration and screen time. Returning to cycling Veistroffer now holds a lead of three minutes twenty-five seconds. Uno X-Mobility controls the front of the main group.

145km to go Veistroffer remains alone out front while the peloton allows him two minutes fifty seconds. A radio message on the TNT broadcast indicates no teams wish to send riders ahead.

153km to go One rider has broken away alone at present: Baptiste Veistroffer of Lotto-Intermarche. The Frenchman appears isolated after moving clear.

Kilometre zero

Christian Prudhomme drops the flag and stage five begins in earnest.

Here is the official visual guide to todays stage.

And we are off (neutrally) as the peloton rolls out from Lannemezan. The next point is kilometre zero.

We are a rider down from the start of stage four as Jaycos Kelland O Brien finished beyond the time limit. I will provide updates on any further non-starters or withdrawals once confirmed.

In Lannemezan the pre-stage presentation continues. Less than twenty minutes remain until the neutralised start.

William Fotheringhams guide to stage five

William Fotheringham

Stage five Wednesday 8 July: Lannemezan to Pau 158.3km

This stage passes the home of French rugby hero Antoine Dupont after twenty kilometres yet the main contest will occur at the finish where the sprinters finally have a clear target. This years bunch finishes look set to feature Belgian riders only: Jasper Philipsen with ten Tour stage wins against Tim Merlier who has three. Philipsen benefits from the strongest lead-out including Van der Poel and Kaden Groves while Merliers Soudal team offers the most experienced support regardless of who they deliver to the final two hundred metres and they secured three stages at the Giro with Paul Magnier.

Check out the full guide to all twenty-one stages here:

Mountains classification standings

After stage four:

1. Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost): 12
2. Alex Molenaar (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA): 10
3. Nicolas Prodhomme (Decathlon CMA CGM): 9
4. Raul Garcia Pierna (Movistar Team): 7
5. Marco Frigo (NSN Cycling Team): 5
6. Jan Tratnik (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe): 5
7. Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates-XRG): 4
8. Vlad Van Mechelen (Bahrain Victorious): 4
9. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG): 3
10. Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek): 3

Points classification standings

After stage four:

1. Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek): 103
2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG): 55
3. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike): 44
4. Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek): 42
5. Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG): 39
6. Biniam Girmay (NSN Cycling Team): 39
7. Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe): 33
8. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility): 32
9. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech): 30
10. Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM): 28

General classification standings

After stage four:

1. Torstein Traen (Uno-X Mobility): 13hrs 02min 46secs
2. Sean Quinn (EF Education-EasyPost): plus 28secs
3. Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek): plus 3mins 50secs
4. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG): plus 7min 53secs
5. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike): plus 7min 53secs
6. Ramses Debruyne (Alpecin-Premier Tech): plus 8min 6secs
7. Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe): plus 8min 16secs
8. Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG): plus 8min 17secs
9. Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek): plus 8min 20secs
10. Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM): plus 8min 41secs

Preamble

I will not claim I could compete on this stage but the opening twenty kilometres are mostly downhill followed by a largely flat run from Lannemezan to Pau with one category three climb at the Cote de Baleix inside the final thirty kilometres so interpret that as you wish.

Pau ranks as the third most visited city in the races history behind only Paris and Bordeaux. The attractive town has hosted the Tour seventy-seven times including sixty-four stage finishes and maintains its own museum devoted to the event at the location of its former velodrome. There is plenty of history attached.

Jasper Philipsen of Alpecin-Premier Tech knows the location well. He claimed victory in Pau two years ago and ranks among the favourites again on a day that should end with a bunch sprint. Yesterdays winner Mads Pedersen of Lidl-Trek is also in contention provided his efforts in the heat of stage four have not drained him too much. Other strong options include Tim Merlier of Soudal-Quick-Step Olav Kooij of Decathlon-CMA CGM Biniam Girmay of NSN and possibly Mathieu van der Poel of Alpecin-Premier Tech.

Our general classification leader Torstein Traen of Uno-X Pro has a solid chance of retaining yellow today and with some fortune tomorrow on the mountain stage to Gavarnie-Gedre he might still wear the maillot jaune when Norway faces England in Saturdays World Cup quarter-final. That would mark a significant occasion for his nation.

The UCI the sports governing body and the Tour organiser ASO introduced emergency steps yesterday to address the heatwave affecting the race this year. With no sign of relief and Meteo-France keeping its orange weather warning the adjusted rules around feed zones are expected to stay in place.

After taking the yellow jersey Traen remarked: With this heat you do not know how the body will respond. It may not reach the forty-plus degrees of stage four yet the road surface will be soft and teams will watch hydration levels closely. More ice packs inside jerseys are likely.

As we approach the flag drop send your predictions thoughts and comments on todays stage through the email link at the top of the page.