Live updates on stage from Toulouse to Bagnères-de-BigorreEwan silences the doubters with maiden Tour stage winDrop Barry an email | Tweet @bglendenning 10.52am BST More withdrawals: Suffering from illness, Rick Zabel from Katusha-Alpecin did not start yesterday’s stage, while Total Direct Energie’s Niki Terpstra was forced to abandon after suffering a double fracture of his shoulder with 30 kilometres to go in yesterday’s stage. UAE team Emirates rider Philipsen Jasper did not start this morning. With eight men gone over 11 stages, the field has been reduced from 176 riders to 168. 10.44am BST Christian Prudhomme on today’s stage: “The Pyrenean part of the Tour will start in the valley and that should motivate the usual breakaway suspects to give it a go but it’ll carry on with climbs up Peyresourde and La Hourquette d’Ancizan,” says the race director. “Only the best climbers among them will be in a position to triumph as they head down to Bagnères-de-Bigorre.”Currently leading the peloton along in his red Skoda, Prudhomme will give the signal to start racing once the riders have covered another five kilometres or so. “”It’s going to be frantic from the start,” muses Eurosport commentator Carlton Kirby. 10.40am BST The roll-out has begun: The riders are currently wending their way through the streets of Toulouse, with aerial shots showcasing the picturesque terracotta slates and bricks from which many of the locale’s buildings are constructed. The Pink City, they call it and it’s not difficult to see why. 10.28am BST Australia’s Caleb Ewan silenced a few doubters as he entered the pantheon of great sprinters able to combine technical ability and raw speed in a cauldron of pressure Related: Caleb Ewan silences the doubters with maiden Tour de France stage win | Kieran Pender 10.26am BST 10.22am BST 10.21am BST From William Fotheringham’s stage-by-stage guide: A relatively gentle introduction to the Pyrenees: two first category climbs with long run-in to the opener, the Col de Peyresourde. There is 130km for the break to build a lead so expect someone from the early move to win; the overall contenders may well end up watching each other for signs of weakness over the Peyresourde and Hourquette d’Ancizan while saving strength for the coming days. Not the toughest mountain climbing, so the stage winner could be a breakaway specialist who isn’t one of the very best climbers. Britain’s Steve Cummings could be one to watch. Continue readingread full article
