THE RACE LIVE

The move by Vinokourov in the closing kilometers was prompted by a crash in the peloton. The Kazakh champion has elevated himself from ninth overall to seventh because of his attack at the end of stage 17. The new top 10 is:
1. Lance Armstrong (USA) DSC - 3,065.5km in 72h55’50" (41.823km/h)
2. Ivan Basso (Italy) CSC - at 2’46"
3. Mickael Rasmussen (Denmark) RAB - at 3’09"
4. Jan Ullrich (Germany) TMO - at 5’58"
5. Francisco Mancebo (Spain) IBA - at 6’31"
6. Levi Leipheimer (USA) GST - at 7’35"
7. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kazakstahn) TMO - at 9’38"
8. Cadel Evans (Australia) DVL - at 9’49"
9. Floyd Landis (USA) PHO - at 9’53"
10. Christophe Moreau (France) C.A) at 12’07"

The peloton has been split to pieces thanks to an attack by Vinokourov on the final climb. The yellow jersey’s group of 10 finished 22’28" behind the stage winner. In the yellow jersey’s group included:
Popovych, Hincapie, Vinokourov, Leipheimer, Ullrich, Armstrong, Rasmussen, Mazzoleni, Basso, Mancebo.
This group was 20" ahead of the group which contained Evans, Moreau and Landis.

The peloton split to pieces because of an attack by Vinokouov at the base of the final climb. This group is now being led to the line by Popovych. They finished 22’34" behind Savoldelli.

Evans is setting the pace of the chase group that’s now 13" behind Armstrong’s group with 1km to go.

With 3km to go in the stage, Evans and Landis’ group is 14" behind Armstrong’s posse.

The yellow jersey’s group has just past under the 5km to go banner. This bunch has dropped the riders in seventh and eighth places in the general classification - Cadel Evans and Floyd Landis.

The yellow jersey’s bunch is now being led by Popovych and Hincapie on the final descent of the stage.

Ullrich is now attacking the yellow jersey’s peloton. It’s hard to tell exactly when this group of rider split from the peloton because there was no news from race radio and the television was broadcasting pictures form the finish.

The peloton has split into several groups at the end of the stage.
Armstrong, Hincapie, Popovych, Ullrich, Vinokourov, Basso, Mancebo, Rasmussen, Brochard, Mazzoleni, Leipheimer have just past the summit of the final climb.

There has been a crash in the peloton which is now less than 1km from the finish of the stage.

Paolo Savoldelli - the winner of the 2005 Giro d’Italia - has added a Tour de France stage to his resume. The top eight in the 239.5km stage from Pau to Revel is:
1. SAVOLDELLI Paolo DSC ITA
2. ARVESEN Kurt-Asle CSC NOR 00’ 00"
3. GERRANS Simons A2R AUS 00’ 08"
4. HINAULT Sébastien C.A FRA 00’ 11"
5. GRIVKO Andriy DOM UKR 00’ 24"
6. SEVILLA Oscar TMO ESP 00’ 51"
7. TANKINK Bram QST NED 00’ 51"
8. RIGHI Daniele LAM ITA 00’ 51"

The Discovery Channel has won three stages so far in the 2005 Tour de France (the team time trial, the stage to Pla-d’Adet and today’s stage).

Savoldelli caught up with Arvesen with about 200m to go in the stage. The Italian stayed behind the Norwegian for about 50m and then sprinted past and into the lead.

Paolo Savoldelli has won the stage in fine style! He raced into the lead in the final 100m. He is the second Discovery Channel rider to win a stage of the 2005 Tour de France.

Savoldelli and Hinault are now closing in on the attack by Arvesen. There are about 300m to go in the stage.

Arvesen has attacked the lead group with about 1,300m to to in the stage. The Norwegian has a lead of about 50m under the 1km to go kite.

There are now four riders in the front of the stage. There are about 1,500m to go and Savoldelli is leading Gerrans, Hinault and Arvesen.

Savoldelli has attacked at the front of the stage. Hinault could not respond. There are less than 2km to go in the stage...

Savoldelli and Hinault lead Gerrans and Arvesen by 5" with just 3km to go in the stage.
Savoldelli is looking behind to find out how far the chasers are. There is about 70m of road between the leading pair and the chasing duo.

Savoldelli and Hinault are about to be caught by Arvesen and Gerrans. These four are in the final four kilometers of the 239.5km stage.

The two stage leaders are just 7" ahead of Arvesen and Gerrans with 5km to go.

Savoldelli and Hinault are still in the lead of the stage. They are being pursued by Gerrans and Arvesen on the descent into Revel.

At the top of the final climb (at the 232.5km mark), the points were won by:
1. Savoldelli (DSC) 4pts
2. Hinault (C.A) 3pts
3. Arvesen (CSC) 2pts - 10"
4. Gerrans (A2R) 1pts
At 18" is Sevilla.
At 30" is Righi.

Hinault and Savoldelli are now being pursued by Gerrans, Grivko and Arversen.

The stage is now being led by Paolo Savoldelli of the Discovery Channel team. He has been joined by Hinault on the final climb of the stage.

Hinault has caught up with Tankink and immediately raced past the Dutchman.

The first rider to react to Tankink’s attack is Grivko. The Ukranian is about 100m behind the Dutchman.

The lead group has been attacked by Bram Tankink. The Quickstep rider has quickly broken free of his seven escape companions.

The course passes through Revel at the 12km to go mark before aiming out of town again to take in the Cote de Saint-Ferreol (a cat-3 rise that peaks with 7km to go).
The leaders are now 10km from the end of stage 17. They are 2’49" ahead of the nine chasers.

The seven T-Mobile riders in the peloton are leading the main pack. This group is 24’15" behind the eight stage leaders.

Savoldelli, Sevilla, Arvesen, Hinault, Tankink, Righi, Grivko and Gerrans are now 2’30" ahead of Rubiera, Dekker, Davis, Cioni, Auge, Fedrigo, Da Cruz, Lovkvist and Dumoulin.

The eight stage leaders have just past under the 15km to go banner. They are 2’28" ahead of the nine chasers.

There are now five T-Mobile riders at the head of the peloton. This group is still over 20 minutes behind the stage leaders.

Savoldelli, Sevilla, Arvesen, Hinault, Tankink, Righi, Grivko and Gerrans now lead the nine chasers by 2’15". The stage leaders are about 16km from the finish.

The 17 escapees are less than 20km from the finish. Eight lead nine by 1’50".

The eight stage leaders represent eight different teams (and seven countries). They are currently 1’45" ahead of the nine chasers.

The peloton has just reached the site of the 2nd intermediate sprint (at Gardouch, 198km). It is 24’15" behind the leaders. This is the biggest advantage of any escape in the 2005 Tour.

Savoldelli (DSC), Sevilla (TMO), Arvesen (CSC), Hinault (C.A), Tankink (QST), Righi (LAM), Grivko (DOM) and Gerrans (A2R) are now less than 25km from the finish of the longest stage this year. Their advantage over the chase group of nine riders is 1’30".

The eight-man lead group has an advantage of 1’10" on the nine-man chase group.

The peloton is now 23 minutes behind the eight stage leaders. The composition of the front group is:
Paolo Savoldelli (Italy) DSC
Oscar Sevilla (Spain) TMO
Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Norway) CSC
Sebastian Hinault (France) C.A
Bram Tankink (Netherlands) QST
Daniele Righi (Italy LAM
Andriy Grivko (Ukraine) DOM
Simon Gerrans (Australia) A2R

The advantage of Sevilla’s group over Rubiera, Dekker, Davis, Cioni, Auge, Fedrigo, Da Cruz, Lovkvist and Dumoulin is now 1’00".

Tankink, Sevilla, Savoldelli, Arvesen, Hinault, Righi, Grivko and Gerrans are now 55" ahead of the nine chasers.

Savoldelli (DSC), Sevilla (TMO), Arvesen (CSC), Hinault (C.A), Tankink (QST), Righi (LAM), Grivko (DOM) and Gerrans (A2R) are the riders now in the lead of the stage. They are 40" ahead of the nine chasers and 22’45" ahead of the peloton.

Tankink, Sevilla, Savoldelli, Arvesen, Hinault, Righi, Grivko and Gerrans are now 40" ahead of Rubiera, Dekker, Davis, Cioni, Auge, Fedrigo, Da Cruz, Lovkvist and Dumoulin.

The points for the sprint Gardouch (at the 198km mark) were won by:
1. Simon Gerrans (A2R) 6pts
2. Oscar Sevilla (TMO) 4pts
3. Sebastian Hinault (C.A) 2pts
The eight stage leaders were 20" ahead of the nine chasers (

The eight leaders are 23’10" ahead of the peloton which continues to be led by riders from the Credit Agricole team.

Tankink, Sevilla, Savoldelli, Arvesen, Hinault, Righi, Grivko and Gerrans are now 30" ahead of the remnants of the escape group.
(The 2nd intermediate sprint was contested about five minutes ago but the race jury has failed to report the results. Once they have been announced, we will post them immediately.)

There are now eight riders in the lead group (Tankink, Sevilla, Savoldelli, Arvesen, Hinault, Righi, Grivko and Gerrans). They are 12" ahead of the next group of riders.

Simon Gerrans is the first rider to catch up with Andriy Grivko. These two have been joined by Savoldelli and Sevilla.

Grivko is now at the 193km mark. His advantage on the other escapees is 10".

The attack from the Ukrainian in today’s escape is forcing Hinault to lead the chase. Grivko now leads by about 100m from the 16 others in the break today.

The attack from Dekker began at the 189km mark. He has now been caught by the others in the escape group. The latest attack has come from Grivko (DOM).

The only rider who has matched Dekker’s attack is his compatriot Bram Tankink of the Quickstep team.

The attacks have begun! The man who started it was Dekker.

Rubiera, Savoldelli, Sevilla, Arvesen, Dekker, Davis, Hinault, Cioni, Auge, Tankink, Fedrigo, Righi, Da Cruz, Lovkvist, Grivko, Dumoulin and Gerrans are 50km from the finish of the stage. They are 24’00" ahead of the peloton.

Finally there is a hint that the bunch is going to start chasing. There are two Credit Agricole riders at the front of the peloton (Sebastian Joly and Laszlo Bodrogi). The reason for their chase is that their team-mate Christophe Moreau risks losing his place in the top 10. The best French rider in the general classification was 10th at the start of the stage, 11’47" behind Armstrong. Sevilla was threatening that place by being in today’s escape group.

The peloton is 23’15" behind the 17 escapees at the 176km mark.

The advantage of the 17 escapees is now 24’20".

Oscar Sevilla (TMO) is the best-placed in the general classifcation of today’s escape group. He was 25th at the start of the stage (38’51" behind Armstrong). The Spaniard was the best young rider in the 2001 Tour de France.

The peloton is now being led by Lance Armstrong who is sauntering along at an apathetic pace while he chats to Stuart O’Grady. The pack has crested the Cote de Capens (at the 159.5km mark) 22’50" behind the 17 escapees.

The peloton is now 22’10" behind the 17 escapees.

The average speed for the fourth hour of racing in stage 17 is 42.2km/h. The average for the first four hours combined is 41.4km/h.

The advantage of the 17 escapees just continues to grow. With 86km to go Rubiera, Savoldelli, Sevilla, Arvesen, Dekker, Davis, Hinault, Cioni, Auge, Tankink, Fedrigo, Righi, Da Cruz, Lovkvist, Grivko, Dumoulin and Gerrans are 21 minutes ahead of the peloton.

As the leaders pass through Saint-Sulpice-sur-Leze (161.5km), they are 20’10" ahead of the peloton.

The points for the third categorized rise of the 17th stage, the cat-4 Cote de Capens (at 159.5km) were won by:
1. Andriy Grivko (DOM) 3pts
2. Carlos Da Cruz (FDJ) 2pts
3. Samuel Dumoulin (A2R) 1pt

After 16 stage of the 2005 Tour de France, the top 10 in the team classification which is sponsored by the official website - www.letour.fr - is:
1. T-Mobile - 198h30’13"
2. Discovery Channel - at 19’28"
3. Team CSC - at 21’58"
4. Credit Agricole - at 28’11"
5. Illes Balears - at 28’45"
6. Phonak Hearing Systems - at 31’06"
7. Liberty Seguros-Wurth - at 1h30’18"
8. Saunier Duval-Prodir - at 1h47’57"
9. Rabobank - at 1h49’23"
10. Gerolsteiner - 2h15’43"

The team classifiction is judged on the combined times of the three best riders in each formation. T-Mobile held an advantage of 19’28" over Discovery Channel at the start of the 17th stage. There are two things which could help the American-registered squad inherit the lead.
First of all, T-Mobile’s third-best rider Andreas Kloden abandoned at the 18km mark of today’s stage. The second element is the fact that Discovery has two riders in today’s big escape.
Oscar Sevilla, however, is the best-placed rider in the break (starting the stage in 25th place overall, 38’51" behind Armstrong).

Rubiera, Savoldelli, Sevilla, Arvesen, Dekker, Davis, Hinault, Cioni, Auge, Tankink, Fedrigo, Righi, Da Cruz, Lovkvist, Grivko, Dumoulin and Gerrans are now 19’20" ahead of the peloton which continues to be led by six Discovery Channel riders.

The biggest advantage of an escape group since the start of the Armstrong Era (ie. 1999 when he first won the overall title), was in stage eight of the 2001 Tour. A group of 14 escaped the peloton early on a long, wet day to Pontarlier. The peloton’s pursuit was a display of apathy like we’re seeing today. Erik Dekker won that stage and finished 35’54" ahead of the peloton.
The Dutchman is in the great escape again today.

The 17 escapees are now 18’50" ahead of the peloton which is now in the feedzone (at the 134.5km mark). This is the biggest advantage of any escape this year.
The previous best was 18’45" for Hincapie’s group in stage 15.

The 17 stage leaders are at the 139.5km mark. They have 100km to go before contesting the stage. Their advantage over the peloton is now around 17 minutes (although we await official confirmation of this margin).

Two of the riders who wee part of the group that got 18’45" ahead of the peloton as part of the escape in stage 15 (Sevilla and Davis) are also in today’s big break.

The peloton is now 15’45" behind the 17 escapees. This is the second biggest leading margin of any escape this year. (The maximum gain of any attack was 18’45" - for Hincapie, Sevilla, Pereiro, Davis, Caucchioli, Brochard, Pineau, Bertolini, Camano - in stage 15.)

The peloton is being led by riders from the Discovery Channel team. Behind the yellow jersey is Ivan Basso (CSC) and Mickael Rasmussen (RAB).

The peloton is currently 12’20" behind the 17 escapees. Unlike the last transitional stage when Davitamon-Lotto began chasing the escapists at the half-way mark, the peloton doesn’t appear interested in chasing the attacking riders today.
The reason for the pursuit in the stage to Montpellier was that Robbie McEwen wanted to add some points to his tally in the race for the green jersey. He won the stage and elevated himself up to third in the points classification.
Today the points at the finish are awarded to the first 25 riders across the line. The rider in 18th place (ie. at the front of the peloton if today’s escape succeeds) will earn eight points.

Pierrick Fedrigo attacked the peloton one kilometer after the first climb of today’s 239.5km stage. He was joined by Arvesen, then the last winner in Revel (Dekker), then Da Cruz. In the ensuing kilometers 13 more riders came across to the lead group. There are three teams with two riders in the escape group - Discovery Channel, Francaise des Jeux and AG2R Preyovance.

The 17 riders who are now over 12 minutes ahead of the peloton are:
Jose Luis Rubiera (Spain) DSC
Paolo Savoldelli (Italy) DSC
Oscar Sevilla (Spain) TMO
Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Norway) CSC
Erik Dekker (Netherlands) RAB
Allan Davis (Australia) LSW
Sebastian Hinault (France) C.A
Dario Cioni (Italy) LIQ
Stephane Auge (France) COF
Bram Tankink (Netherlands) QST
Peirrick Fedrigo (France) BTL
Daniel Righi (Italy) LAM
Carlos Da Cruz (France) FDJ
Thomas Lovkvist (Sweden) FDJ
Andriy Grivko (Ukraine) DOM
Samuel Dumoulin (France) A2R
Simon Gerrans (Australia) A2R
(Contrary to a previous flash, the CSC representative Kurt Asle Arvesen is Norwegian, not Danish. Sorry for any confusion caused by this faux-pas.)

As the peloton passes the 102km mark, it is 12 minutes behind the 17 escapees.

For the first time since today’s escape group formed (at the 50th kilometer) the advantage has dropped. The leaders had a maximum of gain 10’50" at the 92km mark. At 95.5km, the peloton is 10’40" behind.

As the peloton reaches the Haute-Garonne department (at the 92km mark), it is 10’50" behind Rubiera, Savoldelli, Sevilla, Arvesen, Dekker, Davis, Hinault, Cioni, Auge, Tankink, Fedrigo, Righi, Da Cruz, Lovkvist, Grivko, Dumoulin and Gerrans.

Riders from the Discovery Channel team are at the front of the peloton which has just crested the 2nd climb of the stage, the Cote de Betbeze (at 88.5km). They are 10’25" behind the 17 escapees.

Rubiera, Savoldelli, Sevilla, Arvesen, Dekker, Davis, Hinault, Cioni, Auge, Tankink, Fedrigo, Righi, Da Cruz, Lovkvist, Grivko, Dumoulin and Gerrans have increased their lead on the peloton. The bunch is 10’20" behind the riders who escaped just after the first climb of the stage at the 45km mark).

The points for the 2nd climb of the 17th stage were won by:
1. Andriy Grivko (DOM) 3pts
2. Samuel Dumoulin (A2R) 2pts
3. Daniele Righi (LAM) 1pt

The 17 escapees are about to reach the top of the Cote de Betbeze (at the 88.5km mark).

Rubiera, Savoldelli, Sevilla, Arvesen, Dekker, Davis, Hinault, Cioni, Auge, Tankink, Fedrigo, Righi, Da Cruz, Lovkvist, Grivko, Dumoulin and Gerrans now lead the peloton by 9’40". The bunch has just reached the 83km mark.

Today’s 239.5km stage is the longest in the Tour since stage 20 of the 2000 race. The 20th stage of the Tour five years ago was a 254km day from Belfort to Troyes. The winner of that stage was Erik Zabel (Germany). He beat Robbie McEwen in a bunch sprint.

The average speed for the 2nd hour in stage 17 is just 36.3km/h. The average for the first two hours is 41.8km/h.

The peloton is nine minutes behind the 17 escapees at the 76km mark of today’s 239.5km stage.

The last time a stage of the Tour concluded in Revel was in 2000. Erik Dekker beat a fellow escapee, Santiago Botero in a close sprint. Contrary to an earlier news flash, it was the Dutchman’s second win in the Tour (his first was in Villeneuve-sur-Lot, three days before the race visited Revel).
The day to Revel was a 218.5km stage and Dekker and Botero began their escape at the 18km mark. This pair finished 4’51" ahead of their nearest rival, Rik Verbrugghe of Belgium.

While we watch the escapees increase their advantage on the peloton we can take a moment to remember what has happened in Revel in the past. Below is a quote from the Australian edition of the Official Tour de France Guide which relates to today’s stage:
"An Italian, a Colombian, a Ukranian and an American attack the peloton in a 245km transitional stage from Mende. Their names aren’t anywhere near the top of the list of favorites and so the peloton allows them to continue with their escape. Near the end of the stage, the American looks at his rivals and figures that he’s in with a chance of claiming the stage victory. Like a rugby player running the length of the pitch to score, the opportunist sets off at a high tempo. Only the Ukranian is able to respond... and that’s when the events of what sounds like a weird joke went awry for the attacking rider.
"In 1995, Lance Armstrong was part of the aforementioned scene. He was considered a potential stage winner at most and his group worked up an advantage on the peloton of over 20 minutes in the stage to Revel. The woeful tactics he employed against Sergei Outschakov in the race to the line allowed the Ukranian to make the future six-time champion look like a hack. Oh, how times have changed. We know what happened to the American, but where the hell is Outschakov now?"

The 17 escapees have pushed their lead up to 8’20" as the peloton passes the 71km mark.

The 17 escapees are now 7’40" ahead of the peloton which is at the 67km mark.

When the bunch went through Lapeyre (at the 64.5km mark) it was 6’05" behind the 17 escapees.

The only teams no represented in today’s escape are: Illes Balears, Davitamon-Lotto, Phonak, Fassa Bortolo, Saunier Duval, Gerolsteiner and Euskaltel.

Of the 21 teams that started the 2005 Tour only three still have their full contingent of nine riders. They are: Cofidis, Bouygues and Gerolsteiner.
The retirement of Andreas Kloden takes the tally of riders down to 155.

The 17 riders who are now 6’05" ahead of the peloton represent 14 teams and eight countries. Below is the list of today’s escapees:
Jose Luis Rubiera (Spain) DSC
Paolo Savoldelli (Italy) DSC
Sevilla (Spain) TMO
Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Norway) CSC
Erik Dekker (Netherlands) RAB
Allan Davis (Australia) LSW
Sebastian Hinault (France) C.A
Dario Cioni (Italy) LIQ
Stephane Auge (France) COF
Bram Tankink (Netherlands) QST
Peirrick Fedrigo (France) BTL
Daniel Righi (Italy) LAM
Carlos Da Cruz (France) FDJ
Thomas Lovkvist (Sweden) FDJ
Andriy Grivko (Ukraine) DOM
Samuel Dumoulin (France) A2R
Simon Gerrans (Australia) A2R

The rider who finished second overall in the 2004 Tour de France, Andreas Kloden, has abandoned the race at the 18km mark of today’s stage.
The German was in 11th place in the general classification after the 16th stage. He crashed during the stage to Pau and sustained a small fracture of a bone in his wrist.

The escape group is now in the town of Antin at the 60.5km mark.

With the peloton at the 57km mark the advantage of the 17 escapees was 5’20".

At the 55km mark, the 17 escapees were 4’40" ahead of the peloton.

There are 14 teams represented in today’s escape group. The squads with two riders in the break are: Discovery Channel (Rubiera and Savoldelli), Francaise des Jeux (Da Cruz and Lovkvist) and AG2R Preyovance (Dumoulin and Gerrans).

The only rider in today’s escape who has previously won a stage of the Tour de France is Erik Dekker. The Dutchman won his first stage in Revel (the site of today’s stage finish) in 2000.

The 17-man escape group is now 4’10" ahead of the peloton.

Of the 17 riders at the front of the 17th stage, the highest placed in the general classification is Oscar Sevilla (TMO). The Spaniard who won the best young rider classification in 2001 began the stage in 25th place, 38’51" behind Armstrong.

The escape group has increased its advantage on the peloton. At the 52km mark, the 17 escapees were 3’30" ahead.

When the peloton was at the 46.5km mark, it was 2’40" behind the 17 escapees.

The average speed for the first hour of racing in stage 17 is 47.3km/h.

The points for the sprint in Rabastens-de-Bigorre were won by:
1. Carlos Da Cruz (FDJ) 6pts
2. Allan Davis (LSW) 4pts
3. Stephane Auge (COF) 2pts
At the site of the first sprint (at 44.5km) the peloton was 1’55" behind the 17 escapees.

The riders who are currently leading the peloton are: Rubiera, Savoldelli (DSC), Sevilla (TMO), Arvesen (CSC), Dekker (RAB), Davis (LSW), Hinault (C.A), Cioni (LIQ), Auge (COF), Tankink (QST), Fedrigo (BTL), Righi (LAM), Da Cruz, Lovkvist (FDJ), Grivko (DOM), Dumoulin and Gerrans (A2R).

The peloton is now at the 41km mark. It is 1’05" behind the group of 17 escapees.

Rubiera, Savoldelli, Sevilla, Arvesen, Dekker, Davis, Hinault, Cioni, Auge, Tankink, Facci, Fedrigo, Righi, Da Cruz, Lovkvist, Grivko, Dumoulin and Gerrans are now 30" ahead of the peloton.

Da Cruz joined the move from Dekker. These two riders have caught the two stage leaders at the 35km mark.
The riders in the lead of the peloton now are: Carlos Da Cruz (FDJ), Erik Dekker (RAB), Kurt-Asle Arvesen (CSC) and Pierrick Fedrigo (BTL).

There are three riders ahead of the peloton at the 34.5km mark. Arvesen and Fedrigo are 5" ahead of a counter-attack from Dekker. Alas, we have no time check for the peloton.

The two riders who have escaped the peloton at the 30km mark are Pierrick Fedrigo (BTL) and Kurt-Asle Arvesen (CSC). They are only 8" ahead of the bunch.

We reported earlier that Floyd Landis had a lead of 15" but the signal from race radio is so poor, we’re not sure if this was really the case.
We do know, however, that there are now two riders at the front of the stage. They are Fedrigo (BTL) and Arvesen (CSC).

The French champion Pierrick Fedrigo (BTL) is currently at the front of the stage. He is being chased by Arvesen (CSC).

The peloton is now at the 28km mark of the 239.5km stage. Landis is holding onto his 15" advantage over the peloton.

There is one rider currently 15" ahead of the peloton. Floyd Landis (PHO) is eighth in the general classification and he’s now on the attack. As you would expect, he’s been hotly pursued by the peloton.

The peloton has contested the first climb of the 17th stage. The riders who earned points on the Col de Baleix were:
1. Bobby Julich (CSC) 4pts
2. Alexandre Moos (PHO) 3pts
3. Joseba Beloki (LSW) 2pts
4. Alexandre Vinokourov (TMO) 1pt

The last time a stage of the Tour concluded in Revel, the winner was Erik Dekker of the Rabobank team. That was the first stage victory of the 2000 Tour for the Dutchman who went on to win two more that year.

Alas, there is still no signal from race radio. We do know that a lot of riders are trying instigate escape groups but the right combination must be found before the peloton eases its pace and ceases to chase down each attack.

There is not much new from race radio early in the 17th stage. The signal is relayed via a plane which hovers above the race but because today’s stage is so long, there’s not much news being filtered through the official channel. We can report, however, that the bunch is all together at the 8km mark.
The speed is still high and lot of riders continue to try their luck as there are plenty of attacks. None have been successful so far today. The last rider to try and escape the bunch was Juan Manuel Garate of the Saunier Duval team.

There are numerous riders attacking the peloton in the hope of establishing an escape group. The pace at the start of stage 17 is extremely rapid.

After just 500m of the longest stage of the 2005 Tour de France Yuriy Krivtsov and Anthony Geslin attempted to escape the peloton. They were quickly chased down and the peloton was back together again at the 1.5km mark.

The official start of the 17th stage was at 11.30am. There are 156 riders still in the race with no overnight retirements.

The temperature at the start of the stage from Pau to Revel is 22 degrees Celsius in the air and 30 degrees at road level. The sun is shining and the conditions for the stage that starts in the Pyrenees-Atlantique department and concludes in in Haute-Garonne are expected to be hot.
There’s no wind blowing at the start of the longest stage in this year’s race.

After 16 stages of the 2005 Tour de France, the four major prize classifications are led by the following riders:
Lance Armstrong (DSC) wears the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification. The Texan has a 2’46” advantage on Ivan Basso (CSC) and 3’09” on Mickael Rasmussen (RAB). The only other rider in the peloton who has won the Tour de France, Jan Ullrich, is in fourth place overall, 5’58” behind Armstrong. The only real change to the top order of the general classification after yesterday’s stage to Pau was the arrival of Cadel Evans (DVL) in the top 10. The Australian is now seventh overall, 9’29” behind Armstrong.
Thor Hushovd (C.A) wears the green jersey as leader of the points classification. The Norwegian has 164 points, 14 more than Stuart O’Grady (COF) and 22 more than the triple stage winner, Robbie McEwen (DVL).
Rasmussen wears the polka-dot jersey as leader of the mountains classification. The Danish rider inherited the lead in stage eight and currently has 185 points, 50 more than Oscar Pereiro Sio (PHO) and 93 more than Armstrong.
Yaroslav Popovych (DSC) wears the white jersey as the leader of the youth classification. The Ukranian is 6’08” ahead of Andrey Kashechkin (C.A) and 36’42” ahead of Alberto Contador (LSW).

There are two intermediate sprints during the 17th stage; the first in Rabastens-de-Bigorre (at 44.5km), the second in Gardouch (at 198km). The close contest in the points classification is likely to help animate this ’intermediate’ stage.
Thor Hushovd (C.A) currently leads the race for the green jersey with 164 points. Stuart O’Grady (COF) has 150pts and Robbie McEwen (DVL) has 142pts. All three riders are still in contention for the points classification and it was McEwen’s Davitamon-Lotto team which ensured the last intermediate stage (from Miramas to Montpellier on July 15) ended in a bunch sprint.

There are four small climbs in the 239.5km stage from Pau to Revel; the cat-3 Cote de Baleix (at 22.5km), the cat-4 Cote de Betbeze (at 88.5km), the cat-4 Cote de Capens (at 159.5km) and the cat-3 Cote de Saint-Ferreol (232.5km).

The longest stage of the 2005 Tour de France, from Pau to Revel, is scheduled to get underway at 11.15am. There is a 6.3km neutral zone before the riders arrive at the site of the official start. This is the longest stage of the 92nd edition of the Tour.
Live coverage will commence as soon as the flag falls to signal the start of racing.