THE RACE LIVE

Lance Armstrong finished the 12th stage in 41st place as part of the peloton that was led home by McEwen 10’33" behind Moncoutie.
There is no change to the top order in the general classification after the stage to Digne-les-Bains.

David Moncoutie raced the final 38km of the 12th stage on his own. The Cofidis rider has given France its first victory in the 2005 Tour. The top 10 is:
1. David Moncoutie (France) COF - 187km in 4h20’06" (43.137km/h)
2. Sandy Casar (France) FDJ at 57"
3. Angel Vicioso (Spain) LSW at 57"
4. Patrice Halgand (France) C.A at 57"
5. Jose Luis Arrieta (Spain) IBA at 57"
6. Franco Pellizotti (Italy) LIQ at 57"
7. Axel Merckx (Belgium) DVL at 57"
8. Juan Manuel Garate (Spain) SDV at 57"
9. Thor Hushovd (Norway) C.A at 3’15"
10. Stuart O’Grady (Australia) COF at 3’15"

The peloton has finished 10’32" behind Moncoutie. McEwen has claimed 14th place.

The peloton is going to finish the 12th stage over 10 minutes behind the stage winner. Davitamon-Lotto riders are leading out the sprint for 14th place.

David Moncoutie raced the 187km stage from Briancon to Digne-les-Bains at an average speed fo 43.137km/h. This is the second stage win for the French Cofidis rider in two years.

Sandy Casar has finished the 12th stage in second place. French fans can celebrate first and second on the national holiday for Bastille Day.
Casar’s group was about one minute behind the stage winner.

Moncoutie has begun to salute his victory. It has been an extraordinary effort to win the 12th stage.

It looks like France will get another Bastille Day victory. Moncoutie is less than 1km from the end of the 12th stage. He leads the chasing seven by 32".

There is nothing the chasing seven riders can do to reduce the advantage of Moncoutie. The Frenchman is inspired today. He is still 29" ahead of Merckx, Garate, Casar, Vicioso, Pellizotti and Halgand with 3km to go.

With 4km to go, Moncoutie was still 28" ahead of Merckx, Garate, Casar, Vicioso, Pellizotti and Halgand. It’s looking like France will be able to celebrate its first stage win in this year’s Tour with a victory on the national holiday for Bastille Day.

Merckx, Garate, Casar, Vicioso, Pellizotti and Halgand are 28" behind Moncoutie with 5km to go.

Moncoutie is now less than 5km from the finish. His lead is still 30".

Moncoutie has been able to maintain his advantage over the seven chasers. The Cofidis rider who won in Figeac last year is still 30" ahead of Merckx, Garate, Casar, Vicioso, Pellizotti and Halgand.

The points for the Col de L’Orme were won by:
1. Moncoutie (COF) 3pts
2. Garate (SDV) 2pts - at 32"
3. Merckx (DVL) 1pts

Moncoutie is now less than 10km from the finish of the 12th stage. Merckx is attacking the chase group right now. As Merckx’s group pass under the 10km to go kite, they are 30" behind the stage leader.

Vicioso’s attack has been reeled in by Merckx, Garate, Casar, Pellizotti and Halgand. This group is now 34" behind Moncoutie.

As Moncoutie works his way up the final climb, the chase group has been attacked by Vicioso. He is 40" behind the stage leader.

The stage leader is now 35" ahead of Merckx, Garate, Casar, Vicioso, Pellizotti and Halgand.

There are seven riders 30" behind Moncoutie (not five as reported in the previous flash). The chasers are: Merckx, Garate, Casar, Vicioso, Pellizotti and Halgand.

Pellizotti, Garate, Halgand, Arrieta and Casar cannot get closer to the stage leader who attacked at the 148km mark. Moncoutie is 30" ahead of the chasing quinet.

Schreck, O’Grady, Hushovd, Guinti and Lombardi are 2’25" behind Moncoutie with 15km to go.

At the 15km to go mark, Pellizotti, Garate, Halgand, Arrieta and Casar are still 30" behind Moncoutie.

Schreck, Lombardi, Hushovd, Guinti and O’Grady are now 2’20" behind the stage leader who has just 15km to go.

There is another cat-4 climb yet to be contested in today’s stage. The Col de L’Orme is at the 177.5km mark. It is 2.7km long and has an average gradient of 3.1 per cent.

Moncoutie is still alone at the front of the stage. He is 30" ahead of Vicioso, Pellizotti, Garate, Halgand, Arrieta and Casar.
The third group on the road is: Schreck, Lombardi, Hushovd, Guinti and O’Grady. They are 2’05" behind Moncoutie.
The peloton is 7’30" behind the stage leader.

The first chase group is now 20km from the finish. They are 25" behind Moncoutie.

Merckx has been caught by Vicioso, Pellizotti, Garate, Halgand, Arrieta and Casar. This group is 25" behind Moncoutie.

We don’t have full details of where all the riders ahead of the peloton are, but can report that Moncoutie continues to lead the stage. He is being pursued by Merckx, then Casar and Garate...
Hushovd and O’Grady are 2’00" behind the stage leader.

At the top of the Col du Corobin, the peloton was 7’40" behind Moncoutie.

Arrieta, Merckx, Garate, Vicioso, Halgand and Casar passed the 25km to go banner 50" behind Moncoutie.

Moncoutie is less than 25km from the finish of stage 12. He has a lead of 35" over: Arrieta, Merckx, Garate, Vicioso, Halgand and Casar.

Moncoutie leads:
Arrieta, Merckx, Garate, Vicioso, Halgand and Casar by 30"
Pellizotti by 50"
Guinti by 1’35"
Schreck, Lombardi, Hushovd and O’Grady by 2’10"

The situation at the summit of the Col du Corobin (at the 156.5km mark) is as follows:
1. Moncoutie 10pts
2. Garate 9pts - at 38"
3. Merckx 8pts
4. Arrieta 7pts
5. Casar 6pts
6. Halgand 5pts

Moncoutie continues to lead the stage with 1km to climb to the fourth summit. We will post the time differences of the escapees as they pass the line of the cat-2 Col du Corobin. His nearest rivals are 40" behind.

With 5km to climb to the summit of the Col du Corobin the peloton was 6’40" behind the stage leader, Moncoutie.

The peloton is being led by riders from the Discovery Channel team. This bunch is now 6’10" behind the stage leader.

The current situation has Moncoutie in the lead of the stage behind him are:
25" - Merckx, Halgand, Garate, Arrieta, Casar and Guinti and Pellizotti
35" - Vicioso
55" - O’Grady and Lombardi
1’06" - Schreck
1’20" - Hushovd

Moncoutie is less than 5km from the top of the Col du Corobin.

Moncoutie currently leads a group of eight. The remnants of the escape group trail the stage leader by the following margins:
At 25" - Merckx, Halgand, Guinti, Garate, Casar, Vicioso, Pellizotti and Arrieta.
At 40" - O’Grady and Lombardi
At 50" - Schrek
At 1’00" - Hushovd.

The attack by Moncoutie has come on the Col du Corobin. He is now 20" ahead of the remnants of the 13-man escape group.

The lead group has split because of the attack by Moncoutie. He leads a group of seven - Merckx, Guinti, Arrieta, Garate, Pellizotti, Vicioso and Casar - by 20".

Moncoutie is now on the attack at the front of the stage. He has established a good lead on the remnants of the 13-man escape group.
The first to lose contact with this group on the 4th climb were O’Grady and Hushovd.

The attack by Merckx has been caught by Halgand and Garate.

Merckx has attacked the lead group. The first to catch him is Halgand.

The Discovery Channel team is now in charge at the head of the peloton. The Davitamon-Lotto team appears content to let the escape go now. They had been chasing the 13 fugitives since the 95km mark but perhaps their representative in the lead group, Merckx, has suggested he’s in good form today...

David Moncoutie has attacked the leading group. He is being chased down by Vicioso and Merckx. The 13 leaders are back together again mid-way up the Col du Corobin.

The 13 riders who currently lead the peloton by 4’45" have been on the attack since the 70km. Here is a reminder of who is involved in the escape today: Schreck (TMO), Lombardi (CSC), Arrieta (IBA), Merckx (DVL), Giunti (FAS), Garate (SDV), Vicioso (LSW), Halgand and Hushovd (C.A), Pelizotti (LIQ), Moncoutie and O’Grady (COF) and Sandy Casar (France) FDJ

The Col du Corobin is the fourth climb in stage 12. The cat-2 rise is 12.4km long (with an average gradient of 4.5 per cent). The summit is at the 156.5km mark.
Axel Merckx is leading the escape group in the early kilometers of this climb.

The peloton is at the 140km mark. It is led by four riders from the Davitamon-Lotto team. The current deficit on the 13 leaders is 4’45".

Axel Merckx is one of the 13 riders in today’s escape group. His father, Eddy, won the stage from Briancon to Digne-les-Bains in the 1969 Tour de France.

One of the riders in the escape group has won a race in the town that hosts the finish today. Patrice Halgand claimed the fourth stage of the Criterium Du Dauphine Libere in Digne-les-Bains in 2002.

There are four Davitamon-Lotto riders at the head of the peloton. They are: Mario Aerts, Johan van Summeren, Wim Vansevenant and Christophe Brandt. They have been leading the peloton since the feedzone (at the 95km mark).

The average speed for the third hour in stage 12 is 45.4km/h. The average for the first three hours is 44.5km/h.

The peloton is closing in on the 13 escapees who are now 3’35" ahead.

There are two representatives from both Cofidis (O’Grady and Moncoutie) and Credit Agricole (Hushovd and Halgand) in the 13-man escape group which is now 3’55" ahead of the peloton.

There has been an attack by O’Grady at the front of the stage. The other 12 reacted quickly to the move by the Australian in the escape group.

The peloton continues to be led by riders from the Davitamon-Lotto team. This group is 4’05" behind the 13 escapees at the 126km mark.

There are four riders from McEwen’s Davitamon-Lotto team at the head of the peloton. They have been chasing the 13 escapees since the 97.5km mark, and are now 4’10" behind.
They are pursuing the fugitives because both Hushovd and O’Grady are involved in today’s escape. These two riders lead McEwen in the points classification.

The peloton continues to be led by the Davitamon team. This group has just reached the summit of the third climb 4’15" behind the 13 escapees.

The points at the top of the category-two Col du Labouret (at the 115.5km mark) were won by:
1. Juan Manuel Garate (SDV) 3pts
2. Axel Merckx (DVL) 2pts
3. Jose Luis Arrieta (IBA) 1pt

So far four riders have abandoned the Tour during the 12th stage. The casualties today are: Manuel Beltran (DSC), Angelo Furlan (DOM), Robbie Hunter (PHO) and Nicolas Fritsch (SDV).
There are now 162 riders in the race. The six teams with a full contingent of nine riders are: T-Mobile, Rabobank, Cofidis, Bouyges Telecom, Gerolsteiner and Euskaltel.

Schreck (TMO), Lombardi (CSC), Arrieta (IBA), Merckx (DVL), Giunti (FAS), Garate (SDV), Vicioso (LSW), Halgand and Hushovd (C.A), Pelizotti (LIQ), Moncoutie and O’Grady (COF) and Sandy Casar (France) FDJ have 75km to race.
This group of 13 has a lead of 4’05" on the peloton which continues to be led by riders from the Davitamon-Lotto team.

Casar recently stopped his attack at the front of the stage. He has been caught by the 12 other riders who escaped the peloton after 75km of racing today.

Angelo Furlan of the Domina Vacanze team has just had his numbers removed. He has retired from the Tour at the 105km mark.

The peloton is now 4’10" behind the stage leader at the 105km mark.

Casar began his attack at the 105km mark. He now leads the 12 others from the escape group by 10".

Casar has attacked the 12 other riders at the front of the stage. He began his move with 80km to go.

The third rider to retire from the Tour today is Robbie Hunter of the Phonak team.

There are four Davitamon-Lotto riders at the front of the peloton. The chase of the 13 man escape group has really begun. The maximum gain of O’Grady and Hushovd’s crew was 5’00". The peloton is now 4’27" behind the escapees.

The peloton is now five minutes behind the 13-man escape group. The next big challenge in the stage is the Col du Labouret (at the 115.5km mark).

The escapees are now 4’45" ahead of the peloton which has just exited the feedzone. The lead group consists of Schreck (TMO), Lombardi (CSC), Arrieta (IBA), Merckx (DVL), Giunti (FAS), Garate (SDV), Vicioso (LSW), Halgand and Hushovd (C.A), Pelizotti (LIQ), Moncoutie and O’Grady (COF) and Sandy Casar (France) FDJ.

The peloton is at the 95.5km mark. It is 4’30" behind the 13-man escape group.

The 13 stage leaders are now in the feedzone (at the 95.5km mark). They have an advantage of 4’03" on the peloton.

None of the riders in today’s escape are a threat to Lance Armstrong’s lead in the general classification. The best-placed rider in the lead group is Sandy Casar. He began the day in 31st place 17’29" behind the Texan.

The peloton was led by the Discovery Channel team at the top of the Col Saint-Jean. This group was 3’55" behind the 13 escapees.

The average speed of the 2nd hour in stage 12 is 37.3km/h. The average for the first two hours combined is 43.9km/h.

The points for the second climb of the stage, the cat-two Col Saint-Jean (at 88km) were won by:
1. Juan Manuel Garate (SDV) 10pts
2. Sandy Casar (FDJ) 9pts
3. Stuart O’Grady (COF) 8pts
4. Patrice Halgand (C.A) 7pts
5. Axel Merckx (DVL) 6pts
6. Jose Luis Arrieta (IBA) 5pts

Juan Manuel Garate has led the escape group over the 2nd climb of the stage.

The 13 escapees are in the final kilometer of the second climb in stage 13. This group is 3’20" ahead of the peloton.

Of the 13 riders in the lead, four have previously won a stage of the Tour de France.
Stuart O’Grady (COF) won in Grenoble in 1998 and again in Chartres last year.
Thor Hushovd (C.A) won in Bourg-en-Bresse in 2002 and in Quimper last year.
David Moncoutie (COF) won in Figeac last year.
Patrice Halgand (C.A) won in Pau in 2002.

The 13 escapees are now 3’10" ahead of the peloton.

With the peloton at the 83km mark, it is 3’00" behind the 13-man escape group. The 2nd climb of the stage is the Col Saint-Jean. The summit is at the 88km mark. It’s a 12.3km ascent with an average gradient of 4 per cent.

The peloton is now at the 81km mark. It is 2’50" behind the 13 escapees.

Here is a reminder of the 13 riders who are currently 2’40" ahead of the peloton:
Stephan Schreck (Germany) TMO
Giovanni Lombardi (Italy) CSC
Jose Luis Arrieta (Spain) IBA
Axel Merckx (Belgium) DVL
Massimo Giunti (Italy) FAS
Juan Manuel Garate (Spain) SDV
Angel Vicioso (Spain) LSW
Patrice Halgand (France) and Thor Hushovd (Norway) C.A
Franco Pelizotti (Italy) LIQ
David Moncoutie (France) and Stuart O’Grady (Australia) COF
Sandy Casar (France) FDJ

The peloton is now being led by the eight Discovery Channel riders who are still in the race. This bunch is 2’35" behind the 13-man escape group after 79km of racing.

The advantage of the 13-man escape group on the peloton is 2’25".

Manuel Beltran crashed on the first climb of the stage. The Spanish rider who is a key ’domestique’ for the Discovery Channel team has just abandoned because of the injuries he sustained in the fall. There are 164 riders still in the 92nd Tour.

Hushovd and O’Grady have caught the 11-man lead group. There are now 13 riders together at the front of the stage.

The 11 stage leaders are now on the second climb. The riders in the escape group are: Stephan Schreck (TMO), Giovanni Lombardi (CSC), Jose Luis Arrieta (IBA), Axel Merckx (DVL), Massimo Giunti (FAS), Juan Manuel Garate (SDV), Angel Vicioso (LSW), Patrice Halgand (C.A), Franco Pelizotti (LIQ), David Moncoutie (COF) and Sandy Casar (FDJ).
They are 30" ahead of O’Grady (COF) and Hushovd (C.A).
The peloton is 2’00" behind the 11 stage leaders.

The 11 stage leaders have an advantage of 30" over O’Grady and Hushovd at the 74.5km mark.
The peloton which split in two on the first climb has come together again.

The peloton which includes Lance Armstrong is currently 1’50" behind Schreck (TMO), Lombardi (CSC), Arrieta (IBA), Merckx (DVL), Giunti (FAS), Garate (SDV), Vicioso (LSW), Halgand (C.A), Pelizotti (LIQ), Moncoutie (COF) and Casar (FDJ).

O’Grady and Hushovd are now 27" behind the 11-man escape group.

The stage is currently led by 11 riders: Schreck (TMO), Lombardi (CSC), Arrieta (IBA), Merckx (DVL), Giunti (FAS), Garate (SDV), Vicioso (LSW), Halgand (C.A), Pelizotti (LIQ), Moncoutie (COF) and Casar (FDJ).
O’Grady (COF) and Hushovd (C.A) are chasing the 11 leaders down. The counter-attack is 20" behind. The yellow jersey’s peloton is at 1’05".

There are 11 riders on the attack at the moment. The move was instigated by Garate (SDV). He has been joined by 10 others at the 68km mark. After 70km of racing this group is 20" ahead of the first peloton (which is 50" ahead of the second peloton).
We await confirmation of the riders involved in the escape group.

Beltran crashed on the first climb of the stage. He is riding again but doesn’t look comfortable. The Spanish Discovery Channel rider has been consulting the race doctor for the last couple of minutes.

As the bunch winds down the descent at the 65km mark, Garate (SDV) and Vicioso (LSW) have gone on the attack.

There are now two distinct pelotons. The first is led by the Discovery Channel team. This group is 45" ahead of the second bunch.

The peloton has reeled in all the riders who had escaped at the 58km mark.

Kessler, Julich and Kashechkin have caught the five stage leaders.

The points for the Cote des Demoiselles Coiffees were won by:
1. Boogerd (RAB) 4pts
2. Fedrigo (BTL) 3pts
3. Garzelli (LIQ) 2pts
4. Martinez (EUS) 1pt...
The peloton was behind by 8".

Pierrick Fedrigo, the French champion, is one of the followed Boogerd over the line for the first climbing points.

There are five riders with a lead of about 100m on the peloton with 500m to go to the first summit. They are: Martinez (EUS), Boogerd (RAB), Garzelli (LIQ), Fedrigo (BTL) and McGee (FDJ).

Beltran has been put back on his bike and is now going to attempt to catch the peloton on the Col des Demoiselles Coiffees.

Manuel Beltran has crashed in the peloton. He is the only rider to fall and he’s still on the road receiving treatment.

Casar has been caught on the first climb of the stage. There is now an Euskaltel rider on the attack.

Nicolas Fritsch has just abandoned the Tour de France. There are now 165 riders in the peloton.

Casar and Flecha are still trying to hold off the peloton. They have a lead of about 100m on the bunch.

The nine riders have been caught by the peloton at the 58km mark.

There are six riders now attacking the peloton at the moment that the advantage of the nine escapee dropped to 12".

The leaders are 5km from the category-three Cote des Demoiselles Coiffees. They are 15" ahead of the peloton which is being led by two riders from the Liquigas-Bianchi team.

At the 55km mark, the peloton is just 15" behind Guerini (TMO), Brandt (DVL), Flecha (FAS), Contador (LSW), Chavanel (COF), Sinkewitz (QST), Lefevre (BTL, Voeckler (BTL) and Casar (FDJ).

The French rider with the Saunier Duval team, Nicolas Fritsch has been dropped by the peloton which is now 25" behind the nine escapees.

At the 51km mark, the nine escapees are just 32" ahead of the peloton.

The average speed for the first hour of racing in stage 12 is 50.5km/h.

The nine escapees are now 35" ahead of the peloton (at the 50km mark). The best ranked in the general classification is Guerini (TMO). The Italian began the stage in 24th place overall (12’19" behind Armstrong).

Of the nine riders who are ahead of the peloton, four are French. It’s what we’ve come to expect on Bastille Day.
The local representatives are:
Thomas Voeckler (BTL), Laurent Lefevre (BTL), Sylvain Chavanel (COF) and Sandy Casar (FDJ).
Their group is now 40" ahead of the peloton that’s being led by riders from the Liquigas-Bianchi team.

At the 46.5km mark the nine escapees have an advantage of 45" over the peloton.

The points for the intermediate sprint in Embrun (at the 44.5km mark) were won by:
1. Chavanel (COF) 6pts
2. Contador (LSW) 4pts
3. Lefevre (BTL) 2pts
The peloton was 25" behind the nine escapees.

Guerini (TMO), Brandt (DVL), Flecha (FAS), Contador (LSW), Chavanel (COF), Sinkewitz (QST), Lefevre (BTL, Voeckler (BTL) and Casar (FDJ) are now 20" ahead of the peloton.

The nine escapees are now just 12" ahead of the bunch which is being led by the Liquigas-Bianchi team.

The escape has a lead of 15" on the peloton. The move was instigated by Flecha and Contador at the 37km mark.

Guerini, Brandt, Flecha, Contador, Chavanel, Sinkewitz, Lefevre, Voeckler and Casar are the riders who are currently on the attack.

Seven riders have just broken free of the peloton. We await confirmation of the riders involved and if they include Flecha and Contador who attacked at the 37.5km mark.

Two riders have attacked the peloton. Flecha (FAS) and Contador (LSW) have a small lead at the 37.5km mark.

Since 1947, 14 French riders have won a stage of the Tour de France on the national holiday for Bastille Day. Those winners are:
Emile Idée in 1949 in Nîmes
Jean Robic in 1953 in Luchon
Jacques Vivier in 1954 in Vannes
Jean Bourles in 1957 in Ax-les-Thermes
Jacques Anquetil in 1961 in Périgueux and in a time trial in Paris in 1964
Roger Pingeon in 1968 in Albi
Raymond Delisle in 1969 in Luchon
Bernard Thévenet in 1970 in La Mongie and again in 1975 in Serre-Chevalier
Bernard Labourdette in 1971 in Gourette
Mariano Martinez in 1980 in Morzine
Vincent Barteau in 1989 in Marseille
Laurent Jalabert in 1995 in Mende and again in 2001 in Colmar
Laurent Brochard in 1997 in Loudenvielle
Richard Virenque in 2004 in Saint-Flour

There are riders from 26 countries still in the 2005 Tour de France. The breakdown of participants by nations is listed below.
31 - Spain (Constantino Zaballa abandoned during stage five; Isaac Galvez abandoned during stage eight; Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano and Jose Angel Gomez both abandoned with injuries sustained in crashes in stage nine).
27 - France (Mengin did not start stage eight; Sylvain Calzati abandoned during stage eight; Jean-Patrick Nazon abandoned during stage 11)
23 - Italy (Claudio Corioni abandoned during stage six; Alessandro Spezialetti did not finish stage seven; Dario Frigo did not start stage 11; Stefano Zanini abandoned during stage 11).
15 - Germany (Jens Voigt finished outside the time limit in stage 11)
10 - Australia
9 – Belgium (Kevin Hulsmans finished outside the time limit in stage 11; Tom Boonen did not start stage 12)
8 - USA (Dave Zabriskie abandoned during stage nine)
8 - The Netherlands (Van Bon Abandoned during stage eight)
6 – Switzerland (Steve Zampieri abandonded during stage seven).
4 - Ukraine (Honchar did not start start eight)
3 - Austria (Gerrit Glomser abandoned during stage 10)
3 – Kazakstahn and Sweden
2 – Denmark, Norway and Russia (Evgeni Petrov did not start stage 10).
1 – Estonian (Kirsipuu abandoned during stage nine); South Africa, Colombia, Finland, Hungary, Uzbekstahn, Portugal, Czech Republic, Slovenia and Venezuela
0 – Brazil (Luciano Pagliarini abandoned during stage nine); Luxembourg (Kim Kirchen abandoned during the 11th stage)

Voeckler (BTL), Karpets (IBA) and Arvesen (CSC) have tried to establish an escape group. They have been chased down by the peloton which is now at the 26.5km mark.

There have been no successful escapes since McGee’s effort. The Australian rider was caught at the 18.5km mark. The bunch has just ridden through Saint-Crepin (at 24km) and despite numerous attacks, the pack is all together after about half an hour of racing.

There are a number of riders attempting to escape the peloton which is now at the 20.5km mark.

The peloton caught Brad McGee at the 18.5km mark.

With the two points he claimed in La Roche-de-Rame, Hushovd now leads the points classification with 130pts. In second is O’Grady with 109 and third is McEwen with 100.

The points at the first intermediate sprint of stage 12 were won by:
1. Brad McGee (FDJ) 6pts
2. Robbie McEwen (DVL) 4pts
3. Thor Hushovd (C.A) 2pts

McGee has been in the lead of the stage since the 8km mark. He gained a maximum lead of 30" but as the bunch closes in on the first intermediate sprint (in La Roche-de-Rame, at 17.5km), his lead has been reduced to 20".

McGee is 30" ahead of the peloton which is at the 14.5km mark.

McGee’s lead is 18" at the 11.5km mark.

McGee has pushed his advantage over the peloton up to 14". He attacked at the 8km mark.

The advantage of the escapee, Brad McGee, is eight seconds.

McGee (FDJ) has launched an attack at the head of the peloton. Alas, we don’t have a time check at this moment.

There have been numerous escape attempts but the peloton has chased them all down. The first six kilometers have been raced at a rapid pace.
With the green jersey up for grabs because of Boonen’s retirement, we can expect to see the Credit Agricole, Cofidis and Davitamon-Lotto teams controlling the peloton until the first intermediate sprint which is in La Roche-de-Rame (at the 17.5km mark).

There have been a few early escape attempts - the latest from Erik Dekker (RAB) - but he was caught at the 4.5km mark. The peloton is currently all together in stage 12.

Lance Armstrong (DSC) wears the yellow jersey. He leads Mickael Rasmussen (RAB) by 38 seconds in the general classification. In third place overall is Christophe Moreau (C.A) 2’34” behind the Texan.
Rasmussen wears the polka-dot jersey. He leads the mountains classification with 160 points, 71 more than Moreau and 72 more than Santiago Botero (PHO).
Alejandro Valverde (IBA) wears the white jersey. The winner of stage 10 is 3’09” ahead of Yaroslav Popovych (DSC) in the youth classification. In third place is Andrey Kashechkin (C.A), 3’16” behind Valverde.

There will be no green jersey in the 12th stage. The previous leader of the points classification, Tom Boonen (QST) was forced to abandon the 2005 Tour de France because of the injuries he sustained in a crash at the start of stage 11. This means that Thor Hushovd (C.A) has been elevated from second to first place in the points classification. The Norwegian has a tally of 128 points, 19 more than Stuart O’Grady (COF) and 32 more than the dual stage winner, Robbie McEwen (DVL).

The leader of the points classification after 11 stage was forced to forfeit his place in the peloton because of an injury sustained in a crash at the start of yesterday’s stage. He is the only rider who didn’t take the start today.
There are now 166 riders in the 92nd Tour de France.

The flag has been dropped to signal the start of the 12th stage at 11.57am. There was an immediate attack by Stephane Auge (COF).

The peloton is currently rolling through the 3.4km neutral zone at the start in Briancon.

The temperature at the start of the 12th stage is warm. The sun is shining in Briancon and the temperature is 24 degrees Celsius in the air and 31 degrees at road level. It’s expected to get hot during this stage on the French national holiday for Bastille Day.

The Tour’s medical team reported that 10 riders visited them either during or after the stage to Briancon yesterday.
The riders and their complaints are listed below.
Tom Boonen (QST) crashed on the descent from Courchevel at the start of stage 11. He has a swollen and bruised left knee.
Alejandro Valverde (IBA) has also injured his left knee.
Tobias Steinhauser (TMO) has abraisions on his right elbow and knee.
David Etxebarria (EUS) has contusions on his on his right elbow.
Bernhard Eisel (FDJ) has problems with both his knees.
Angelo Furlan (DOM) has problems with his right knee.
Magnus Backstedt (LIQ) has injured his left wrist and knee.
Juan Manuel Garate (SDV) has problems with his right knee.
Thor Hushovd (C.A) has severe muscle pain.
Jean-Patrick Nazon (A2R) abandoned the 11th stage because of breathing difficulties.

There are five categorized climbs in the 12th stage, from Briancon to Digne-les-Bains. They are the cat-3 Cote des Demoiselles Coiffees (at 61km), the cat-2 Col Saint-Jean (at 88km), the cat-4 Col du Labouret (at 115.5km), the cat-2 Col du Corobin (at 156.5km) and the cat-4 Col de L’Orme (at 177.5km).

There are two intermediate sprints in the 12th stage. We are likely to see the Davitamon-Lotto, Credit Agricole and Cofidis teams control the peloton on the way to these ’primes’. They will be chasing the sprint classification points which are on offer for the first three riders across the line in La Roche-de-Rame (at the 17.5km mark) and in Embrum (at 44.5km).

The 12th stage of the 2005 Tour de France, from Briancon to Digne-les-Bains, is scheduled to begin at 11.50am. There is a 3.4km neutral zone before the riders reach the site of the official start.
The 187km course starts in the Hautes-Alpes department and concludes in the Alpes-de-Haute Provence.