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Compiègne
236.5 km
Tuesday 10 July
Fabian Cancellara has claimed his second victory in four days. The winner of the prologue has taken an amazing victory ahead of all the big-name sprinters. The top 10 in Compiegne is:
1. Cancellara (CSC) 236.5km in 6h36’15" (35.81km/h)
2. Zabel (MRM)
3. Napolitano (LAM)
4. Boonen (QSI)
5. Hushovd (C.A)
6. Forster (GST)
7. McEwen (PRL)
8. Eisel (TMO)
9. Cavendish (TMO)
10. Haussler (GST)
Cancellara held off a fast-finishing Erik Zabel to take his second win in four days. The sprinter had no answer to a surge that began in the final kilometer.
What an amazing scene at the finish: the escapees were caught in the final 500m. Cancellara bolted to the lead and held off the sprinters to salute while wearing the yellow jersey!
Cancellara is leading the pursuit of the four escapees and may take the stage win...!
Auge, Willems, Vogondy and Ladagnous are all together again. They are less than 1km from the finish of the stage and it seems that the peloton won’t be able to catch them... but it’s sure trying.
Willems has hit out again and once more it’s Vogondy who responds the best.
Auge, Willems, Vogondy and Ladagnous are back together again with less than 2km to go in the stage.
Vogondy has joined Willems at the front of the stage. They have about 2.5km to go and they look likely to contest the stage win.
Willems is determined to give it all together. He passes under the 3km to go banner with a lead of 50 meters on his escape companions.
The peloton is 35" behind as it passes under the 4km to go banner.
With 5km to race, the peloton is 40" behind the four escapees. What will it be: a day for the fugitives or a bunch sprint...?
Axel Merckx has just got a flat rear tyre. He had been working near the head of the peloton for his team-mate from the Isle of Man, Mark Cavendish...
Auge, Willems, Vogondy and Ladagnous are now less than 5km from the finish. They have a lead on the peloton of 53".
The rider who instigated the escape at the 6km mark, Matthieu Ladagnous has been voted the most aggressive rider in the stage. He will wear the red ’dossard’ for stage four.
Auge, Willems, Vogondy and Ladagnous are now 1’15" ahead of the peloton with less than 7km to race.
At the 10km to go mark the peloton is 1’20" behind Auge (COF), Willems (LIQ), Vogondy (AGR) and Ladagnous (FDJ) who are all back together again after Willems surge.
Willems has attacked the lead group. He is being matched by Auge. The move happened with 9km to go.
O’Grady’s little surge wasn’t an attack rather he just rode ahead of the bunch. He and the two others are now back with the peloton which is 1’30" behind the leading quartet that’s just 10km from the finish in Compiegne.
O’Grady has done a big turn of pace at the head of the peloton. He has been joined Wegmann and Bruseghin... in a move that broke free of the bunch.
With 15km to race, the peloton is 1’50" behind the four stage leaders.
Auge (COF), Willems (LIQ), Vogondy (AGR) and Ladagnous (FDJ) are less than 15km from the finish. They have a lead of less than two minutes and CSC is now joining the sprint teams at the front of the peloton... Cancellara’s yellow jersey is under threat with Vogondy the best-placed on GC after two stages (in 77th place 54" behind the Swiss CSC rider.
The last two turns could prove hazardous if there’s a bunch finish. They are on narrow roads and the surface is cobbled and rough. The final turn is just 600m from the finish of the stage so caution is going to be the order of the day.
The peloton passed under the 20km to go banner with a deficit of 2’18". The workload at the head of the bunch was being shared by four teams. According to France Television the percentage breakdown of the chase in the last 10 minutes is as follows:
Quickstep-Innergetic - 29%
Predictor-Lotto - 28%
Lampre-Fondital - 23%
Credit Agricole - 20%
The four escapees are now 20km from the finish. They are sharing the workload well but the peloton is closing in thanks to the efforts of Credit Agricole, Lampre, Quickstep and Preditor riders...
The peloton is now powering along at a rapid rate of knots. The deficit has dropped to 2’35" to the four leaders: Auge (COF), Willems (LIQ), Vogondy (AGR) and Ladagnous (FDJ).
The peloton is now within the final 25km. It is being led by the sprinters’ teams and has a deficit of 3’00".
The teams of the sprinters are now committed to the pursuit of the four escapees. Predictor-Lotto (for McEwen), Quickstep (for Boonen... or Steegmans!), Credit Agricole (for Hushovd) and Lampre-Fondital (for Napolitano) have really picked up the pace but they don’t seem to be able to make an indent on the advantage of Auge (COF), Willems (LIQ), Vogondy (AGR) and Ladagnous (FDJ) who are still 3’20" ahead.
The points on the category-four Cote de Bierancourt were won by:
1. Stephane Auge (COF) 3pts
2. Matthieu Ladagnous (FDJ) 2pts
3. Frederik Willems (LIQ) 1pt
Auge will wear the polka-dot jersey in stage four.
Willems is leading Auge to the summit of the only categorized climb of the stage. The Cofidis rider is determined to get the polka-dot jersey today; he began the stage with five points - the same tally as David Millar but is about to collect three points at the top...
Auge (COF), Willems (LIQ), Vogondy (AGR) and Ladagnous (FDJ) are now less than 35km from the finish of the stage. They have an advantage of 3’25" on the peloton.
This is one of the slowest stages in the last 10 years of the Tour. The average after five hours was just 33.5km/h. It will be the first time that a stage has finished after 6.00pm since the neutralized stage to Aix-les-Bains in 1998.
Steegmans and his team-mate (Barredo) have rejoined the peloton which is now at the 197km mark with a deficit of 3’15" to the four stage leaders.
Steegmans is back on his bike after the crash and is currently being helped back to the peloton by one of his Quickstep team-mates.
The winner of stage two Gert Steegman has crashed into a gutter on a bridge. The other rider involved in the incident is Alexadre Botcharov.
The effort of Auge and co is putting time into the peloton which is now 2’50" behind.
France Television has calculated that, in the last 10 minutes, the riders in the lead group have spent the following amount of time at the front of the paceline:
Auge (COF) - 32%
Willems (LIQ) - 26%
Ladagnous (FDJ) - 21%
Vogondy (AGR) - 21%
The CSC team is up front of the peloton but ahead of them are is one Credit Agricole rider, Christophe Le Mevel. The Frenchman has been setting the pace that has reduced the advantage of the four leaders to just 2’00".
Auge (COF), Willems (LIQ), Vogondy (AGR) and Ladagnous (FDJ) are now at the 190km mark. They have a lead on the CSC-led peloton of 2’20".
The peloton is now 2’20" behind the four riders who are now swapping off at a decent pace at the front of the stage.
With 52km to go in the stage, Auge (COF) and Willems (LIQ) have caught up with Ladagnous (FDJ) and Vogondy (AGR).
With the peloton at the 182km mark, it is 3’05" behind the two stage leaders.
Vogondy and Ladagnous are now just 40" ahead of Auge and Willems. The peloton is at 3’40".
Riders from the CSC team has come to the front of the peloton and it surely won’t be long before they are joined by riders from the sprinters’ squads.
Auge and Willems are now just 1’10" behind the two stage leaders. The Cofidis rider is committed to the chase and is doing the majority of the work in the counter-attack but his Liquigas companion is also putting in some strong turns of pace.
Auge and Willems are 2’30" behind Vogondy and Ladagnous and the peloton is at 4’15".
The move from Stephane Auge and Frederick Willems started with 64km to go in the stage. Auge has 30km to ride if he wants to take some climbing points and push ahead of Millar (SDV) in the race for the polka-dot jersey. They are 3’20" behind the stage leaders.
Two riders have attacked the peloton. It’s Willems (LIQ) and Auge (COF). It’s the first sign of aggression in quite some time. They have 4’05" to make up if they want to catch the two stage leaders.
There are two riders from the Credit Agricole team at the head of the peloton which is now 4’00" behind Ladagnous and Vogondy.
With the four seconds worth of time bonuses that Mikel Astarloza has earned in intermediate sprints today he is likely to move up from 16th overall and into the top 10. He began the day with a deficit to Cancellara of 33" and, should the peloton finish in one group, he’s likely to end the day in ninth place.
The points for the sprint Achery were won by:
1. Nicolas Vogondy (AGR) 6pts/6"
2. Matthieu Ladagnous (FDJ) 4pts/4"
3. Mikel Astarloza (EUS) 2pts/2" - @ 3’15"
The average speed for the fifth hour of racing is 32.7km/h. The average for the first five hours combined is 33.5km/h.
There is a bit of action at the front of the peloton. Mikel Astarloza (EUS) has attacked on the approach to the intermediate sprint line and taken third-place points 3’04" behind thee stage leaders.
It’s essentially status quo for the situation of the race: the two riders are tapping out a lazy tempo up front and the peloton is content to have them there. The only thing that changes is the landscape and the colors at the head of the bunch. Right now the FDJ team is having a chance to show their jerseys off... and the two riders up front can start discussing who will lead over the line for the final intermediate sprint of the stage; that’s now 5km away.
The rider who finished second in yesterday’s stage, Tom Boonen (QSI), has previously won in Compiegne. That was the second stage of the Tour de Picardie three years ago when he beat Jimmy Casper (who was with the Cofidis squad at the time) at the end of a 184km stage from Crecy-en-Ponthieu. Boonen had also won stage one so his victory salute in Compiegne was done while wearing the yellow jersey.
Vogondy and Ladagnous are in Ribemont at the 152km mark. They are being left out the front of the stage and not even their team directors believe they stand a chance of holding off the peloton on this long stage from Waregem to Compiegne. The latest check has them 5’38" ahead.
There are four riders from the Liquigas squad the front of the peloton. They aren’t exactly putting in the big ones to reel back the two escapees who are now 5’50" ahead but they seem to be enjoying their moment in the spotlight.
The two leaders have finally pushed their chain up to the big chainring. They realize that the bunch has decided to reel them in so the least Vogondy and Ladagnous can do is put in a bit of effort before the real chase begins.
The only time that a stage of the Tour de France concluded in Compiegne was in 1980 when the winner was Jean-Louis Gauthier. That was the sixth stage and Rudy Pevenage wore the yellow jersey. The start of that stage was in Lille; Pierre Bazzo of the La Redoute team was second overall and Bernard Hinault was third.
There were many other familiar names of people who are still involved in the Tour de France in the field that year. Paul Sherwen – a commentator for the English coverage – was 12th in the stage and Roger Legeay – the manager of the Credit Agricole team – was 13th. It was a 215km stage and the average speed was 36.25km/h.
The two escapees still have their chain in the small chainring. They have less than 100km to go and have been at the front of the stage for 130km. Their maximum advantage was 13’50" at the 44km mark.
There are now riders from AG2R and Caisse d’Epargne at the front of the peloton. The advantage of the two leaders has dropped rapidly in the last 15 minutes; Vogondy and Ladagnous are now 4’45" ahead of the peloton.
The average speed for the fourth hour is 32.8km/h; for the first four hours combined it’s 33.7km/h.
After 120km of riding, it seems that the peloton is interested in sparking up some action. The advantage of Ladagnous and Vogondy has dropped to 6’40".
The impact of Vasseur and Charteau’s pacesetting is obvious. Moments after the two French riders - one from Quickstep, the other from Credit Agricole - came to the front of the peloton the time gap has dropped from nine minutes to 7’25".
Righto, the chase begins. After hours of strolling along at a lazy pace Cedric Vasseur and Anthony Charteau have moved to the head of the peloton. It’s time to reel in the two escapees who are currently nine minutes ahead.
Ladagnous and Vogondy are now 10’10" ahead of the peloton. Both escapees are still riding along with their chain in the small chainring and appear to be out on a lazy training ride. They’ve been at the head of the race since the 6km mark.
Freddy Maertens, the winner of 15 stages of the Tour de France between 1976 and 1981, has said that he believes the winner of today will be Robbie McEwen of the Predictor-Lotto team.
Nicolas Vogondy and Matthieu Ladagnous have stopped again for a toilet break. The two are currently 9’07" ahead of the peloton. "There’s no need to accelerate now," said the directeur sportif of Vogondy’s Agritubel team, Denis Leproux. "If they do then the peloton will start to chase.
"At the moment we’ll keep on going as it is. We never know, it could be a case when they get enough rest, save their legs and have an advantage they might hold until the end. I’m not optimistic though; I give the break a 10 percent chance of success."
Earlier in the day, Ladagnous’ directeur sportif was sure of one thing: the escape would not succeed - Martial Gayant said the two had "zero percent" chance of staying away.
The peloton has entered the feedzone with a deficit to the two leaders of 7’50".
Romain Feillu has moved up to third in the points classification with 46 points. He received a round of applause from Tom Boonen for his antics. The peloton was strolling towards the line in Fontaine-au-Bois but then Feillu bolted up the right side of the road and put in a dramatic surge (while still in the small chainring) to grab two points at the intermediate sprint.
The peloton is now in Jean-Marie Leblanc’s home town. The points for third place in the sprint at the 104.5km mark were taken by Romain Feillu.
One of the T-Mobile riders has just let France Television see the reading on his SRM power monitor. He was putting out 140 watts of power as he cruised along at the back of the peloton.
The pace is tranquil today with the leaders riding just 31km in the third hour. The average speed for the first three hours combined is 34km/h.
The two leaders have just crossed the line for the intermediate sprint in Fontaine-au-Bois. The six points were won by Matthieu Ladagnous, Nicolas Vogondy claimed four points... and we’ll have to wait about nine minutes before finding out who will take the third-place points in the home town of the former Tour director Jean-Marie Leblanc.
"It’s a headwind today and that’s why we’re happy enough to keep the two escapees in the lead and save ourselves until later when the action is bound to heat up," said Predictor-Lotto’s Hendrik Redant. "I must say that Ladagnous and Vogondy are riding very intelligently because if they take 15 minutes then the peloton will really start to chase. To me the tactic makes sense.
"It’s a long stage and it’s to very exciting but I’m sure we’ll see things change when the finish line gets closer.
“Robbie is alright. He was a bit sore yesterday but that’s normal after a fall. This morning he went to a chiropractor to get himself sorted and we hope that he can have a good sprint again today."
The Predictor-Lotto team had a blow at the end of stage two when both Leif Hoste and Fred Rodriguez were caught up in the crash. Both are still in the race but a little sore. "Fred seems to be okay," said the team’s directeur sportif, Hendrik Redant. "He has 10 stitches in his arm and his shoulder was dislocated but it seems to be fine. He’ll decide later in the stage if he can work for Robbie in the lead-up to the sprint.
"Hoste had some problems with his knee and it seems to be getting worse but he’s had some treatment with ice. There’s nothing broken but the ligaments of his left knee were damaged in the crash and it hurts when he walks but when he’s on the bike it’s better."
Both the riders in the lead of the stage are in cruise mode. They have a lead on the peloton of 8’20" but don’t appear too interested in exerting themselves. They have their chain in the small chainring and are tapping along at a steady pace.
The two escapees have been at the head of affairs since the 6km mark. The move was instigated by the former French champion (from 2002) Nicolas Vogondy of the Agritubel team. He was promptly joined by Matthieu Ladagnous. They are now at the 90km mark and the last time check had them 7’50" ahead of the peloton.
The two escapees are in Vechrain-Maugre at the 80km mark. They are 7’50" ahead of the peloton.
At the 66km mark, the deficit of the peloton to the two escapees is 9’20".
The two escapees have realized that they have enough time to answer the call of nature. Ladagnous and Vogondy had a maximum gain of 13’50", that has been reduced to 8’50" at the last check.
David McKenzie, the Australian Cyclist of the Year in 2000, is at the finish today. He has offered some thoughts to LeTour.fr about being in a long escape - something he knows a bit about given that he won stage seven of the Giro d’Italia after being on his own for 160km.
"It’d be in the back of their mind that they could stay away but really they’d just be trying to break the kilometers down into sections rather than thinking about the entire 236.5km," said McKenzie. "Mentally it’s as difficult as it is physically. It’s a good thing that there are two of them rather than just one guy on his own.
"Every rider who attacks early always dreams of winning the stage but it’s not something that you share with everyone because it really is just a dream.
"When I won the stage of the Giro in 2000 I was 50 seconds ahead of the peloton but my maximum advantage was 12 minutes."
The average speed for the second hour of racing was just 30.7km/h. The combined average for the first two hours was 35.5km/h.
The bunch has reached Wallers at the 64.5km mark. It is 8’50" behind the two escapees.
The town of Denain in at the 71km mark of the course today. This is where a round of the French Cup is contested in April. This year’s GP de Denain was won by Sebastien Chavanel, the Francaise des Jeux rider who has finished in the top 10 in both sprints of this year’s Tour and is currently ranked fifth in the points classification. The 26-year-old beat Mark Renshaw from Credit Agricole in a sprint on 19 April.
Vogondy and Ladagnous are currently in Wallers, a name many cycling fans will recognize because it’s part of the itinerary for Paris-Roubaix. The peloton will not travers the famous cobbled roads of the Tranchee d’Arenberg during the Tour de France but this sector of pave has been a feature of Paris-Roubaix since 1968.
One of the Quickstep-Innergetic team’s directeur sportifs, Wilfried Peeters, celebrates his 43rd birthday today. He was given the perfect by two of his riders yesterday... a win and second place in the stage to Gent from Steegmans and Boonen.
Vogondy and Ladagnous reached a maximum gain of 13’50" when the bunch was at the 44km mark. The CSC team is still in charge of the peloton which has just reached the 50km mark and has a deficit of 11’15".
Vogondy and Ladagnous have just reached Saint-Amand at the 53km mark. This town hosted a stage finish of the 1978 Tour de France and Jacques Esclassan claimed the first of two stage victories that year. The Frenchman won the green jersey the year before his success in in Saint-Amand.
With the bunch at the 44km mark of this, the longest stage of the 2007 Tour, the advantage of the escapees has grown to 13’50".
LeTour.fr recently contacted Martial Gayant, a directeur sportif of the Matthieu Ladagnous’ FDJ team, to get his thoughts on today’s stage. "For the moment the peloton is given the escape a big bonus but it will be difficult to manage this escape all the way to the finish," said Gayant.
"It’s a long stage, flat stage and I imagine that the two escapees will have a bit of time to have a discussion while they’re in the lead.
"The course is ideal for the sprinters and I believe that we’ll see a strong pursuit of this escape as we approach Compiegne."
When questioned on what chance the two escapees have of succeeding, the Frenchman was brutally honest: "Zero percent chance! The sprinters’ teams have a lot of confidence and they’ll surely be able to catch Matthieu and Nicolas before the finish."
With the advantage of the escape up to 13’00", we can report that Vogondy and Ladagnous have just crossed the border and have exited Belgium and have returned to France. This was at the 47km mark of the stage.
Vogondy and Ladagnous are now 12’10" ahead of the peloton.
The average speed for the first hour of racing in stage three is 40.3km/h.
The points for the sprint in Tournai were won by:
1. Nicolas Vogondy (AGR) 6pts/6"
2. Matthieu Ladagnous (FDJ) 4pts/4"
3. Mikel Astarloza (EUS) 2pts/2" - at 11’35"
With five kilometers to go before the first intermediate sprint, in Tournai, the two escapees have pushed their advantage up to 11’10".
Tom Steels, the Belgian rider with Predictor-Lotto who has won nine stage of the Tour, is not in this year’s event. But he has reason to celebrate: yesterday his wife Leen gave birth to their second daughter. They named her Eebe and both mother and daughter are doing well.
Vogondy and Ladagnous are now 8’05" ahead of the peloton which, in cruise mode, has just reached the 25km mark.
The rider who is currently the virtual leader of the Tour de France is Nicolas Vogondy. He was the French champion in 2002 when he was a member of the FDJ team. Last week he won stage one of the Boucles de la Mayenne which concluded in Renaze, the hometown of his former team manager, Marc Madiot.
Vogondy rode for Credit Agricole in 2005 and 2006 and, in November last year, was signed up by Agritubel. He shares a room with Freddy Bichot who was involved in the big escape during stage one.
(For more information, click on his name in the team lists of LeTour.fr and get a full breakdown of his results.)
The peloton is not interested in chasing down today’s two escapees. Vogondy and Ladagnous attacked at the 6km mark. As the bunch passed the 17.5km mark, the lead of the two Frenchman was 2’30".
With the advantage of the escapees up to 1’00", the Agritubel team has a virtual leader of the Tour de France. Nicolas Vogondy began the third stage in 77th place, 54" behind Cancellara. The other rider in today’s move, Matthieu Ladagnous was in 130th place on GC after three days of racing.
The CSC team has come to the front of the peloton which appears content with the escape selection of Ladagnous and Vogondy. The two Frenchman have a lead of 40" after attacking at the 6km mark.
"Thor fell heavily on his right side and has damaged his sciatic nerve," said Credit Agricole’s manager Roger Legeay about Mr Hushovd who was caught in the crash in Gent. "He has pain but he’s a tough rider who will still be our protected man again today."
Ladagnous and Vogondy are 20" ahead of the peloton which has just reached the 10km mark.
Nicolas Vogondy of the Agritubel team and Matthieu Ladagnous from FDJ attacked at the 6km mark. They have a lead on the peloton of just six seconds.
"I just couldn’t avoid the crash," said one of the riders caught up on The Crash of stage two, Francisco Ventoso of the Saunier Duval team. "I tried to brake, but there was nowhere to go... even if I’d managed to stay on my bike, I would’ve been caught by those coming behind.
"I was feeling good and confident, well-placed, but this is what you expect of this kind of finish. I fell on my bike, and I think most of my injuries came from hitting it. I’ve injured my knee and my elbow, and my hand hurts badly. But I’m really worried about my hip. I hope it’s nothing serious, but I can tell I’m having a hard time walking.”
There are a number of rider attempting to break free of the peloton which is now at the 4km mark. The pace is fast and none of the escape attempts have been able to get free.
The peloton is still all together at the 2.5km mark.
“Daniele has a bit of pain,” said the directeur sportif of the Lampre-Fondital team, Fabizio Bontempi about Bennati who was caught up in the crash at the end of stage two.
“We have decided that it’s best for him to take it easy today and instead of working for Daniele the team’s objective is to protect Danilo Napolitano instead. Bennati was at the hospital in Gent until 10pm his right arm is sore but doctors have said that there are no serious problems.”
Riders from six teams were subjected to drug tests this morning. There were a total of 53 controls conducted with riders from Astana, Predictor-Lotto, Francaise des Jeux, AG2R, Discovery Channel and T-Mobile receiving a visit from the UCI medical team.
The flag has been dropped to signal the start of racing in stage three. The official start time was 12.00.
“It was very nervous for the first 100km yesterday,” said the rider who will wear the polka-dot jersey as leader of the climbing classification, David Millar. “But then everyone relaxed a little. “Oh man, it was tough,” joked the Saunier Duval-Prodir rider about his defense of the jersey he acquired thanks to his efforts in an escape during Sunday’s stage to Cantebury. “But I kept it!”
There were no climbs so, in fact, he had to do nothing but finish the stage to ensure he would be back on the podium to collect another jersey.
There are three intermediate sprints in stage three. The first is in Tournai at the 33.5km mark, the second in Faintaine-au-Bois (the home town of former race director Mr Jean-Marie Leblanc) at 104.5km and the third in Achery at 167.5km.
The only climb is the Cote de Bierancourt, a category-four ascent at the 202.5km mark.
The conditions were cool for stage three with a temperature at the start of just 16 degrees Celsius.
“It wasn’t possible for me to pass my team-mate,” said Tom Boonen after finishing second in stage two behind his Quickstep-Innergetic team-mate Gert Steegmans. “If you have a guy who leads you out for the entire year and you’re able to give a present like this, then it’s not nice to pass him. I’m more excited than when I won the stage myself. It’s great to achieve this when the finish line is in your own country.”
Boonen was third in stage one and his acquisition of 30 points at the finish in Gent means that his tally is 56 points, one more than the winner of stage one Robbie McEwen (PRL) while Steegmans holds down third place in the points classification with 46pts. The 2005 world champion will wear the green jersey today.
The peloton is currently rolling along in the neutral zone on the way to the start of stage three. One rider didn’t sign on this morning. Thomas Vaitkus of the Discovery Channel team fractured a thumb in the crash at the end of the stage to Gent yesterday and was forced to abandon the race. There are 187 riders remaining in the field.
The winner of the prologue Fabian Cancellara continues to lead the general classification. The Swiss CSC rider has a lead of 13” over Andreas Kloden (AST) and 21” over David Millar (SDV). The rider in the yellow jersey was caught up in the crash with 2.5km to go in stage two but was not seriously injured.
“It’s normal when you fall that you feel pain,” said Cancellara after the stage to Gent. “I’ll have a massage and my body therapist will take a good look and make sure I’m okay. There’s nothing that seems too bad at the moment; I had a little pain but that’s normal. When your heart is racing and everything is intensified. When you have two kilometers to ride to the finish, you feel it more – it’s the release of tension that’s built up.”
The longest stage of the 2007 Tour de France is scheduled to get underway at 11.45am. There is a 5.6km neutral zone before the riders reach the site of the official start (this is expected to be at about 11.55am).
The conditions are cool for the 236.5km journey from Waregem in Belgium to Compiegne in the Oise department of France.
Live coverage of the stage will commence shortly.
