Alejandro Valverde has got what he was working for: a stage win in the Tour de France. It's the third time since 2005 that he's won a stage of this race. He beats Froome by 18".

Froome is looking behind more than he's looking ahead. He has to check that Wggins can match his pace and he seems to be begging the race leader to be allowed to go ahead...

Valverde is only 24" ahead of Wiggins and Froome and there is less than 1km to go.

Valverde now has a fight on his hands if he is going to hold off Froome who seems to be saying, "Brad, can I please go...? I've got the legs and we could win this stage..." but there's no reaction from the yellow jersey.

The Brits are 37" behind the Spanish stage leader.

The two Sky guys in the yellow jersey's group look like they're going to race away from everyone. Froome is asking, "Can I go?" and he's getting no reaction from Wiggins. The two are together again and there's daylight between them and the Rolland/Pinot/VDB group...

Only 45" separates Valverde from Froome and Wiggins.

Valverde is only 1'10" ahead with 3km to go. Horner and Van Garderen have been dropped by the yellow jersey and so too has Nibali.

Valverde is holding his advantage but the yellow jersey's group has arrived on the final uphill section. Wiggins is at the front but now Froome moves ahead. Van den Broeck is attacking but the others seem able to respond.

Valverde still has a lead in the stage but, from the gesture given by Wiggins, it seems as though we might soon see an attack from Froome. The Spaniard is 1'25" ahead of the yellow jersey's group but there is an enormous crowd on the final climb which offers double points for the first at the top.

Wiggins is now leading his group of eight. Is this lead-out time for Froome?

Thibaut Pinot is now at the front of the yellow jersey's group but he's no longer attacking. He takes swig of drink and, behind him, Froome and Wiggins discuss how they're going to handle the last 6km of the stage.

Wiggins has been able to respond to van den Broeck's attack but many others haven't. The riders with the yellow jersey are:

Van den Broeck, Vanendert, Pinot, Rolland, Froome, van Garderen, Wiggins, Horner and Nibali... and Pinot is now attacking.

Roche, Menchov, Evans and Basso were all dropped with the attack by VDB.

Vanendert has been caught by Van den Broeck who has attacked the yellow jersey's group with 8.5km to go in the stage. Evans is completely out of this selection now but Rolland, Pinot and Nibali are reacting to the move by van den Broeck.

Van Garderen has suggested that there's still things to work for in the 2012 Tour even if the 2011 champion is no longer in contention for the podium.

When Evans was dropped recently there was not even a sideways glance from the leader of the youth classification, Tejay van Garderen...

Could we see the defending champion lose more time today? It's looking likely as he's sliping behind the bunch that's led by Basso and Nibali.

Evans, Van Garderen, Horner, Kloden, Kern, Rolland, Basso, Nibali, Martin, Roche, Wiggins, Froome, Porte, Van den Broeck, Menchov, Pinot are the riders who are in the yellow jersey's group. They are still chasing after Vanendert who is in between the elite selection and the stage leader (Valverde).

Rogers has been dropped because of the pace that's being set by Basso at the front of the yellow jersey's group. Others to lose contact are Kern (EUC) and Brajkovic (AST). They are 1'55" behind Valverde.

With 10km to go, Vanendert is 2'00" behind Valverde and the yellow jersey's group is at 2'10".

Valverde is inside the final 10km of the stage. He is well ahead of the yellow jersey's group and Vanendert has just attacked. He has 2'15" to make up if he wants to win another stage in the Pyrenees.

Basso, Nibali, van den Broeck, Froome, Wiggins, Rogers, Porte, Roche, Van Garderen, Evans, Pinot, Menchov, Caruso, Horner, Rolland, Vanendert, Martin, Brajkovic...

Andreas Kloden (RNT) is now out of the yellow jersey's group because of a rear tyre puncture.

There are 24 men in the group with Wiggins. It includes:

Evans, Horner, Kloden, Monfort, Scarponi, Menchov, Martin, Roche, Trofimov, Basso, Boasson Hagen, Wiggins, Rogers...

There are just 12km to go in the stage and Valverde doesn't look like slowing down. He has a lead of 2'25" on the Wiggins group and only Martinez is between the yellow jersey's group and the stage leader.

Zubeldia is the only one from the top 10 overall to have lost contact with Wiggins' group...

There are only two men ahead of the peloton that continues to be led by Basso. Costa has just been caught by the yellow jersey's group.

Valverde is 2'20" aheaad of Martinez, and 2'35" ahead of the peloton that has just dropped Zubeldia. Otherwise all the others from the top 10 overall are present in the yellow jersey's group.

Martinez (EUS) is 2'00" behind Valverde (MOV) and they are inside the final 15km of the stage. Costa is at 2'18".

This trio are the only men ahead of the yellow jersey's peloton that is led by Basso (LIQ).

Nerz's has been a key team-mate for the rider in third overall but now Nibali only has Basso with him for support on the final climb.

Kessiakoff (AST) has been caught by the yellow jersey's group that has started the final climb with a deficit of 2'35" to Valverde.

Voeckler has also been caught by the bunch led by Nerz, Basso and Nibali.

Costa is now out of the second group. He was with Martinez but turned left when he should have gone right. This error has cost him plenty of time but he doesn't seem too annoyed. Not that there's anything that can be done about it anyway...

Valverde has started the final climb with an advantage of 1'25" on his nearest rivals - Costa and Martinez. This is a 15.4km long ascent with an average gradient of 5.1 per cent.

Valverde is still on his own at the front: he has an advantage of 50" on Martinez and Costa and 2'05" on the next group - Leipheimer, Kadri, Kessiakoff and Voeckler... but the Swede has lost contact recently...

The peloton with the yellow jersey continues to be led by Nerz, Basso and Nibali. It is 2'30" behind the stage leader who is 20km from the finish.

Could this be a day when Movistar earns its second stage win since becoming a title sponsor? Costa gave the tel-co a victory at Super Besse in the 2011 Tour and now Valverde is well clear of his nearest challenger and inside the final 25km of the stage.

He has won two stages at the Tour in the past, in 2005 (his debut) and in 2008 (on day one when he took the yellow jersey for a couple of days).

The points for the fourth climb of stage 17 have been won by:

1. Valverde (MOV) 25pts

2. Martinez (EUS) 20pts - at 35"

3. Costa (MOV) 16pts

4. Kadri (ALM) 14pts - at 1'37"

5. Leipheimer (OPQ) 12pts

6. Voeckler (EUC) 10pts - at 2'00"

7. Kessiakoff (AST) 8pts

8. Izaguirre (EUS) 6pts - at 2'12"

9. Van den Broeck (LTB) 4pts - at 2'30"

10. Nerz (LIQ) 2pts

Valverde has reached the top of the final HC climb of the 99th Tour. He has 25 points for first place and now he's on the road that's famous for being the site of the so-called "Chaingate" from the 2010 Tour.

Even the yellow jersey's group is inside the final kilometre of the Port de Balès. It is 2'20" behind Valverde.

Voeckler's trio is 1'55" behind the Spanish stage leader.

There are 34 men in the group that contains Wiggins - including all the men in the top 10 overall...

Valverde leads the stage by 25" (ahead of Costa).

Casar has been caught by the peloton that continues to be led by Nerz (LIQ) and Basso (LIQ).

In between the stage leader and the yellow jersey is Voeckler, Izaguirre and Kessiakoff at 1'25".

Peraud, Stortoni and Weening have just been caught by the peloton.

Casar is in a group that is 1'45" behind Valverde.

Vinokourov - who was in the escape earlier today - has just been caught by the peloton which is 2'15" behind Valverde.

Costa is 17" behind his team-mate. Martinez (EUS) is at 20". Kadri and Leipheimer are at 30"... Voeckler and Kessiakoff are at 1'25".

Valverde is now on his own at the front of the stage. He is inside the final 3.5km of the Port de Balès and the rider nearest to him is the Tour de Suisse champion and his team-mate Rui Costa.

As the stage leaders ride into the mist of the Port de Bales, Costa has been joined by his team-mate Valverde at the front of the stage.

Martinez, Leipheimer and Kadri are the next three...

The top of this climb is 32km from the finish and the final ascent of stage 17 is 15.4km long.

With 5km to go on this climb, Costa (MOV) has a lead of 13".

Kadri is at 25".

Weening, Stortoni, Vinokourov, Casar, Peraud, Voeckler is at 1'10".

Ten Dam is at 1'40".

The yellow jersey's peloton is at 1'55".

Stortoni (LAM) has initiated a little surge in the second group. He is being chased down by Weening, Vinokourov and Casar. But now we see Peraud, Kessiakoff and Voeckler coming back to that group.

The peloton is 2'00" behind this group with 6km to go before reaching the top of the Port de Balès.

Two of the early escapees - Hoogerland (VCD) and Azanza (EUS) - have been caught by the peloton that continues to be led by Liquigas.

Rui Costa (MOV), the winner of the Tour de Suisse in June, is now on his own at the front of the stage.

There are about 40 riders in the yellow jersey's group which is 2'00" behind the Movistar rider.

Izaguirre and Kadri are six seconds ahead of a group of six: Martinez (EUS), Stortoni (LAM), Valverde (MOV), Costa (MOV), Leipheimer and Weening (OGE) but the chase is about to catch the leaders. They are 8km from the top of the Port de Balès.

Voeckler's group is at 30".

The peloton is 10km from the top of the Port de Balès and is 2'10" behind the stage leaders (Izaguirre and Kadri).

Veltis, Riblon, Vanendert, Jeandesboz, Moinard, Coppel, Hincapie, Morkov, Gilbert, Cavendish are some of the riders who are losing contact with the yellow jersey's peloton.

There are now 11 in the second group as Plaza (MOV) and Ten Dam (RAB) have been dropped by the selection being led by Leipheimer.

The Liquigas team has led the peloton for about 50km. There are six from Nibali's team at the front of the bunch on the early part of the Porte de Balès and Sky is tucked right behind the bright green and white jerseys...

The escapees are on the early slopes of the final HC climb of the 2012 Tour, the Port de Balès.

Azanza (EUS) is the dropped rider and now Kadri and Izaguirre are working together on a steep section of the 11.5km long ascent.

The 25-year-old Frenchman who is in the lead of the stage is Blel Kadri (ALM). He has been a pro since 2009 and has always ridden for the same team. One of his three victories was a stage of the Rud du Sud in 2010 when he won a stage in St-Gaudens in the Pyrenees.

Plaza, Costa and Valverde are the riders at the front of the second group that is 25" behind the first three.

One of the riders in the lead, Jorge Azanza has ridden the Tour (2007), Giro (2011) and Vuelta (2011) before this year's Tour de France. He was 82nd in his first three-week race, 68th overall in last year's Giro and 97th in the Vuelta.

He is 30 years old and has raced for Euskaltel since the 2007 season.

The three at the front have an advantage of 30" on Plaza, 38" on the Vinokourov/Voeckler group of 13 and 2'55" on the peloton.

With 47km to go, Plaza has dropped out of the lead group which is composed of two Euskaltel riders - Izaguirre and Azanza - and a Frenchman, Blel Kadri (ALM).

Porte (SKY) is now back with the peloton and getting some treatment for a wound on his left arm. He doesn't appear to be too badly injured because of the crash in the feedzone.

Plaza (MOV), Azanza (EUS), Izaguirre (EUS) and Kadri (ALM) are about to start the fourth climb of the stage. They are 23" ahead of the other escapees and 2'55" ahead of the peloton.

The original newsflash announcing latest escape named Plaza as the Movistar representative. This is correct but, in recent postings, it's been said that the Movistar rider is Costa.

Apologies for the confusion caused.

Azanza (EUS), Izaguirre (EUS), Kadri (ALM) and Costa (MOV) have an advantage of 20" on the group of 13 that's led by Weening (OGE) and Kessiakoff (AST).

Kadri has caught the three stage leaders with 50km to go.

After his crash, Cavendish has been able to rejoin the bunch which is still without Porte who had mechanical problems after the incident in the feedzone (86km).

Azanza, Izaguirre and Costa are 10" ahead of Kadri (ALM) and the other escapees are at 17".

There are now three men at the front of the stage. The other 14 riders in the escape have split in to two distinct groups.

Plaza (MOV) is marking a move by Izaguirre and Azanza of the Euskaltel-Euskadi team at the front of the stage.

“It was a bad day for Cadel,” said the directeur sportif of the defending champion's BMC team, John Lelangue, after the 16th stage. “We tried as a team to make it happen - we were in the front in the breakaway with two guys, which was the plan this morning but he was not feeling great... we saw that already on the Col d'Aspin.

“At the moment, the best way was to leave Tejay van Garderen, with the white jersey and also in the top 10, in the front and stick right there. We moved...

The world champion has been caught up in a crash with team-mate Richie Porte in the feedzone. Both are standing again and Porte is waiting for a new bike from the team car.

At the entry to the feedzone (86km), the peloton is 2'35" behind Vinokourov's group.

The bunch is closing in on the leaders who are 2'30" ahead at the latest check (60km to go). The maximum advantage of the escape was 3'05" at the 71km mark of the 143.5km stage.

The peloton is led by riders from Liquigas and Katusha with 62km to go in stage 17. Wiggins and his Sky team-mates are just behind the Italian and Russian squads. The peloton is 2'15" behind the Martinez group.

The points for the intermediate sprint were won by:

1. Kadri (ALM) 20pts

2. Casar (FDJ) 17pts

3. Plaza (MOV) 15pts

4. Peraud (ALM) 13pts

5. Izaguirre (EUS) 11pts

6. Ten Dam (RAB) 10pts

7. Valverde (MOV) 9pts

8. Costa (MOV) 8pts

9. Vinokourov (AST) 7pts

10. Leipheimer (OPQ) 6pts

11. Stortoni (LAM) 5pts

12. Kessiakoff (AST) 4pts

13. Voeckler (EUC) 3pts

14. Hoogerland (VCD) 2pts

15. Martinez...

The 17 escapees are just 2'15" ahead of the bunch as they approach the sprint line in Loures-Barousse (at 81km).

The bunch has arrived at the top of the Cote de Burs, 3'00" behind the 17 stage leaders.

Liquigas is one of few teams with all nine riders. They have all assembled at the front of the peloton on the third climb of the stage but the Sky guys are close behind.

It looked, for a minute, as though Voeckler was going to let a Basque rider take some points but then, when Kessiakoff attacked, Voeckler responded.

At the top of the third climb in stage 17, the points have been won by Voeckler (2pts) and Kessiakoff (1pt).

The more things change, the more they stay the same...

Casar had been setting the pace but now Azanza (EUS) is at the front but, according to the script that Voeckler continues to write, an attack is due any second now... wait for it... wait for it... it's surely coming... ah. Thomas, where are you?

The third climb of the stage is just 1.2km long with an average gradient of 7.6 per cent. Weening (OGE) is a thte front along with Costa and Valverde (MOV). Casar is keeping a close eye on these riders but so far there have been no attacks of the escape group except for the two mountain top sprints by Voeckler and Kessiakoff.

Of the 17 in the lead of stage 17, seven have previously won at least one stage of the Tour de France. Those riders are:

Voeckler (EUC), Casar (FDJ), Valverde (MOV), Costa (MOV), Vinokourov (AST), Leipheimer (OPQ), and Weening (OBE).

Pardon, but we missed the crash of Sorensen and the presence of Plaza when naming riders in the lead group recently.

To recap: this is the group that is currently 3'05" ahead of the peloton: Voeckler (EUC), Azanza (EUS), Izaguirre (EUS), Martinez (EUS), Stortoni (LAM), Peraud (ALM), Kadri (ALM), Hoogerland (VCD), Casar (FDJ), Ten Dam (RAB), Valverde (MOV), Costa (MOV), Plaza (MOV), Kessiakoff (AST), Vinokourov (AST), Leipheimer (OPQ) and Weening (OGE).

Sorensen was named in the lead group but he had a crash around the 58km mark and is now being treated for a nasty wound on his left hand by the race's medical staff.

There are now 17 men in the front of the stage. The capture has come at 68km. The lead group is: Voeckler (EUC), Azanza (EUS), Izaguirre (EUS), Martinez (EUS), Stortoni (LAM), Peraud (ALM), Kadri (ALM), Hoogerland (VCD), Casar (FDJ), Ten Dam (RAB), Valverde (MOV), Costa (MOV), Sorensen (STB), Kessiakoff (AST), Vinokourov (AST), Leipheimer (OPQ) and Weening (OGE).

They are 1'55" ahead of the peloton.

As the peloton passes the 63km mark, it is 2'25" behind the eight stage leaders who are just 15" ahead of the counter-attack.

There are five or six Liquigas riders at the front of the peloton at the moment. The commissaires have also called the cars out of the gap between the first and second group which means they are expecting that the chase will soon catch those at the front.

At the 63km mark, Weening (OGE) caught up with the seven stage leaders and so there are now eight in the front and nine in the chase...

Several riders in the peloton are now taking the chance to answer the call of nature and the advantage of the seven leaders (1'50") is likely to grow quickly now.

There is 21 between the col des Ares and the cote de Burs.

The chasing group of 10 - Azanza (EUS), Izaguirre (EUS), Stortoni (LAM), Kadri (ALM), Hoogerland (VCD), Ten Dam (RAB), Sorensen (STB), Vinokourov (AST), Leipheimer (OPQ) and Weening (OGE) - are 35" behind the second at the front.

1. Voeckler (EUS) 5pts

2. Kessiakoff (AST) 3pts

3. Casar (FDJ) 2pts

4. Martinez (EUS) 1pt

The peloton reached the top of the climb 1'30" behind the lead group. In between is Vinokourov's group of 10, 40" from the front.

About 500m from the line, with Martinez on the front of the lead group, Voeckler came from behind and attacked Kessiakoff. The jump that the Europcar rider got was enough; he held off the challenge by the Swede and collected the five points for first over the col de Ares.

The seven in the front of the stage are at the 54.5km mark. They have a lead of 1'40" on the yellow jersey's peloton and about 45" on the 10-man chase group. We can expect to see Voeckler sprint for the five points on offer for first over the top... but Kessiakoff isn't going to let him have it without a fight.

With 92km to go, the Voeckler group is 1'50" ahead of the yellow jersey. There is still a second group - with 10 - in between the front group and the main pack that includes all the GC specialists.

“It's disappointing because we have lofty goals,” said the BMC rider who is now best on GC, Tejay van Garderen. He leads the youth classification and is one place ahead of his team leader, Cadel Evans on GC after the Australian's collapse in stage 16. “We came here to win and that's not going to happen. But we still have two people in the top 10 and the white jersey, we're still going to race aggressively. Maybe someone like George or 'Boogey' [Burghardt] can jump into a breakaway and...

There are two men from Liquigas ahead of the Sky team at the front of the main peloton which has arrived at the base of the Col des Ares - a 6km long climb - with a deficit of 1'40" on the seven stage leaders.

Voeckler (EUC), Martinez (EUS), Nibali (LIQ), Peraud (ALM), Casar (FDJ), Valverde (MOV), Costa (MOV) and Kessiakoff (AST) are still at the front of the stage. Then comes a group of 10:

Azanza (EUS), Izaguirre (EUS), Stortoni (LAM), Kadri (ALM), Hoogerland (VCD), Ten Dam (RAB), Sorensen (STB), Vinokourov (AST), Leipehimer (OPQ) and Weening (OGE). This group is 1'00" behind the stage leaders.

The yellow jersey's group is at 1'35".

There are 10 men together in a group that's 55" behind the seven stage leaders.

The peloton is at 1'05".

Riders in the second group include: Kadri (ALM), Hoogerland (VCD), Ten Dam (RAB), Vinokourov (AST), Sorensen (STB), Weening (OGE) and Leipheimer (OPQ)...

With the advantage of the seven-man escape group up to 1'15", there are three riders in a counter-attack: Kadri (ALM), Hoogerland (VCD), Ten Dam (RAB). Now there are a number of others jumping off the front of the peloton including Weening, Sorensen, Vinokourov...

Although the best placed of the escape group on GC is Martinez, there are several others who are relatively high on the overall rankings in the seven-man lead group. Martinez is 18th overall after 16 stages, at 21'41"

Costa is 19th overall at 22'47".

Valverde is 21st overall at 33'57".

Casar is 22nd overall at 35'11".

Voeckler is 23rd overall at 37'19".

With 100km to go in the stage, the seven escapees have a lead of just 40" on the Sky-led peloton.

Voeckler (EUC), Martinez (EUS), Nibali (LIQ), Peraud (ALM), Casar (FDJ), Valverde (MOV), Costa (MOV) and Kessiakoff (AST) are the men who are 26" ahead of the peloton.

Rogers has led the yellow jersey peloton up to Nibali (LIQ) who had been in the lead of the stage but he never did at turn at the front once he bridged the gap to Voeckler's group on the descent.

Although he had a lead of 25" on the yellow jersey, Nibali has shaken hands with Valverde and wished him all the best: if the Italian stays on the attack, the front group has little chance of staying ahead.

The rider in third overall is now waiting for the yellow jersey.

Nibalii (LIQ) has moved up to virtual second place overall with his current advantage of 25" on the Wiggins group.

Boasson Hagen appeared to have been in pursuit of Nibali but the Norwegian champion is now ahead of the yellow jersey's peloton with who of his Sky team-mates following him down the technical descent.

Nibali is with the lead group but he's looking around and doesn't seem as though he's going to go to the front of hte bunch that also includes Voeckler. Martinez (EUS) is the rider at the front of the lead group.

Voeckler (EUC), Martinez (EUS), Nibali (LIQ), Peraud (ALM), Casar (FDJ), Valverde (MOV), Costa (MOV) and Kessiakoff (AST) are the men in the lead of the stage.

The rider in third overall has caught the Voeckler and Peraud pairing that's ahead of the yellow jersey's group.

Casar (FDJ) and Valverde (MOV) are well ahead of the next riders. We don't know the actual time gap on the descent but we can now see an Euskaltel rider about to catch the leading pair with another Movistar rider nearby.

The current standings of the climbing classification has Voeckler first with 117 points and Kessiakoff second with 110. These two are still on the attack near the front of the stage but there are a number of others with them as they return to wet roads and a dangerous, slippery downhill stretch.

1. Voeckler (EUC) 10pts

2.Kessiakoff (AST) 8pts

3. Rolland (EUC) 6pts - at 18"

4. Valverde (MOV) 4pts - at 22"

5. Casar (FDJ) 2pts - at 30"

6. Boasson Hagen (SKY) 1pt

Voeckler has collected 10 points for the category-one Col de Mente. He has increased his lead of the second rider to the top of the first climb today...

Kessiakoff is now trying to jump ahead of Rolland and Voeckler but the French apir are just behind the Swede while spectators run alongside.

Rolland is now out of the lead and the two at the top of the climbing classification are going head-to-head in the sprint for 10 points.

Rolland is on his own at the front of the stage. He is less than 1km from the top of the col de Mente. There is an elite selection just behind the Frenchman who won at La Toussuire earlier in this year's Tour de France.

Valverde was attacking on the dry roads near the top of the col de Mente but he has been caught and now Rolland is trying his luck. He is marked by Kessiakoff and Voeckler.

The rider in fifth overall, Zubeldia, has been dropped at the 25km mark and now Valverde (MOV) is on the attack. He has 1.5km to climb before reaching the top of the Col de Mente.

There are four riders from Sky at the front of the peloton. Behind them are four Liguigas riders but there's another from the team of Nibali in the group that's about to catch the pack that's led by Kessiakoff and Voeckler.

Plaza and Feillu who were in the lead group have been reeled in by the peloton that's led by Edvald Boasson Hagen.

There are a number of riders being dropped by the peloton including Cobo (who had been on the attack), Sagan, Gilbert, Hincapie, Millar, Marzano, Azanza, Riblon...

After 24km of racing, the leading group of about 20 riders is 15" ahead of the peloton.

Trofimov is at the front of the stage with Menchov. The mist is starting to soak the road and although it doesn't seem to be raining, the roads are slippery and wet. The leading group - which has thinned out since the list was posted a few minutes ago - is 16" ahead of the yellow group that's led by Boasson Hagen, Porte, Rogers and Wiggins with Basso right on the wheel of the race leader.

There are 23 riders at the front of the stage they are:

Monfort (RNT), Taaramae (COF), Plaza (MOV), Valverde (MOV), Voeckler (EUC), Rolland (EUC), Martin (GRS), Peraud (ALM), Kadri (ALM), Feillu (SAU), Jeandesboz (SAU), Vanendert (LTB) Menchov (KAT), Trofimov (KAT), Casar (FDJ), Sorensen (STB), Kessiakoff (AST) and Leipheimer (OPQ).

If Dan Martin has watched this race since you were a kid, LeTour.fr asked the Irishman this morning, has racing the Tour de France live up to your expectations? “I just try to blank out all the people on the side of the roads and concentrate on what we're doing. But when we got to the Peyresourde it was just crazy. There were so many people and, at that point in the race, we were going pretty slow and it was possible to soak it up a bit – absorb it a bit more. And it was great to have...

Cobo was at the front of the leading peloton but he has just been caught by the yellow jersey's group that is led by Edvald Boasson Hagen.

Hincapie, Burghardt, Gilbert are three BMC riders who have recently been dropped by the peloton very early in the 17th stage.

Leipheimer, Taaramae, Monfort, Martin, Sorensen, Minard, Casar, Vanendert are other riders who have made the front group.

Cobo (MOV) is ahead of Rolland (EUC) and Menchov (KAT) at the front of a big group that's riding away from the yellow jersey. Other riders in the lead are: Voeckler, Feillu, Vorganov, Plaza and Kessiakoff...

After a day of racing in temperatures over 30 degrees, the riders will have to adjust to cold conditions today.

Mark Cavendish is one of many who have been dropped by the peloton on the col de Monte. Where it's about 15 degrees but it's reportedly less than 10 degrees at the top of some climb today.

Was Dan Martin (GRS) surprised that Voeckler was able to ride away like he did?
“In this last week, he's been super strong," said the Irishman who was the last to be dropped by the winner and runner-up of stage 16, Voeckler and Sorensen.

"Yesterday, [Voeckler] could just keep going at that high pace and if I'd been able to hold him at 10 or 15 seconds for about another kilometre longer then it might have been a bit different. But he had an incredible day yesterday and when he...

Kessiakoff and Voeckler at in a group of about 20 riders who are ahead of the yellow jersey's peloton. The former leader of the climbing classification, Kessiakoff, is now trying setting the tempo and Voeckler is keeping a close eye on the Swede.

The tall Movistar rider at the front of the stage is Ruben Plaza. He is dragging a few others with him on his move early on the Col de Mente and now it looks like Feillu who is pushing hard...

There are five riders, including two Movistar riders, who are about to catch the Ukrainian stage leader.

Once again the champion of Ukraine, Andriy Grivko (AST) is on the attack. He led the peloton to the foot of the Col de Mente.

Voigt (RNT) is at the front of the stage, swapping off with Vasili Kiryienka (MOV) and an Astana rider. They have been joined by Jerome Pineau and Levi Leipheimer but they've linked to the peloton that's strung out in one long line of riders in what is a fast start to stage 17.

Albasini spent five kilometres at the front of the stage but, on his own, he seemed resigned to the fact that it would have been too much too soon. He waited for the counter-attack but that happened to be effectively the front of the peloton. It's a long was of saying: Escape Over.

The 12-man counter-attack group is just ahead of the peloton and it contains, of course, Jens Voigt (RNT). Also in the mix in the chase group is Kiryienka (MOV) but they are about to get caught.

Albasini's advantage is 12" at the 12km mark. There are 12 men in between the Orica-GreenEdge stage leader and the peloton.

We saw Dan Martin in the escape yesterday and the Irishman with Garmin-Sharp was the last to be dropped by Voeckler and Sorensen towards the end of stage 16. Before the 17th stage, LeTour.fr spoke with the 25-year-old about the experience and what he expects from the race today.
“Obviously it was a lot of fun to be out there. When I was a kid we used to do a lot of cycling around here when we were on holidays so it's region that I really love and so to experience the Tour de France by...

Michael Albasini (OGE) has launch off the front of the peloton at the 9km mark. It's a fast start today and no one has yet bridge the gap to the Swiss rider but there are a few who seem to realise that this could be the move that gains an advantage on the bunch.

At the 6km mark, the peloton is all together. Timmer has been reeled in and he doesn't seem too upset. It was either a move with a few or not at all...

Timmer (ARG) remains at the head of the stage. He is now being chased by four riders: one each from Saur, Movistar, Omega Pharma and Astana.

Timmer's advantage is just 12" at 5km.

There is a rider from FDJ and another from Euskaltel now trying to chase down the Argos-Shimano rider at the front of the stage. Albert Timmer (ARG) has a lead of 15" at 3km.

Burghardt (BMC) has attacked the moment that the flat has been waved to start a stage at least five times this year. He did it again today but it was, more or less, just to lift the tempo a little. He was followed by a few but the move didn't go anywhere.

Now we see someone from Argos-Shimano sneaking off the front but the peloton is reacting.

The official start of the 17th stage was at 1.02pm.

Once again Burghardt (BMC) has attacked immediately.

There are 153 riders in the race with no one retiring overnight. Jan Ghyselinck (COF) was allowed to start even though he finished outside the time limit yesterday. He was 43'38" behind Voeckler in stage 16 but that was only four second outside the limit, so he was given some leeway...

Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) has won a stage and seemed to be within striking distance of becoming the second successive Frenchman to win the white jersey but the youngest man in the 99th Tour lost almost two minutes to his main rival in the youth classification yesterday. Tejay van Garderen (BMC) finish the stage in 15th place (8'07” behind Voeckler) while Pinot was 23rd at 10'01”. This means that the American who is now ranked sixth overall is well ahead of the young star from France who is...

Levi Leipheimer (OPQ) and Tejay van Garderen (BMC) are at the front of the peloton as it makes its way through the short neutral zone. A Cofidis rider has punctured even before the official start.

The bunch is near the site of the official start and racing is due to start in less than a minute.

Thomas Voeckler is back in the lead of the climbing classification after his impressive ride to claim his second stage win in the 2012 Tour. Yesterday he was first over the Aubisque, Tourmalet, Aspin and Peyresourde passes and collected a total of 70 points to put himself four points head of the former leader of this competition, Frederik Kessiakoff (AST).
The climbs in stage 17 are: the category-one Col de Menté (at 27.5km), the category-two Col des Ares (at 55.5km), the...

The peloton is lined up in Luchon about to start rolling through the short neutral zone. Thomas Voeckler, the winner of the stage that finished in Luchon yesterday, is near the head of the peloton in the polka-dot jersey.

Peter Sagan (LIQ) is sure to win the green jersey in his debut Tour. He has 356 points, well ahead of the other triple stage winner from this year, André Greipel (LTB) with 254. This pair is followed by three other sprinters in the points classification – Matt Goss (OGE), Mark Cavendish (SKY) and Edvald Boasson Hagen (SKY).

Ranked sixth is the overall leader, Brad Wiggins (SKY) with 109 points while Cadel Evans (BMC) is ranked seventh with 100 points.

The intermediate sprint...

Although the top three in the general classification remain separated by the same time gaps as they were a day earlier, the impact of stage 16 on the overall rankings was significant. The biggest difference is the status of the Tour's defending champion Cadel Evans (BMC) who slipped from fourth overall 3'19” behind Wiggins – and still within reach of a fourth podium appearance in Paris – to seventh at 8'06”.
Wiggins (SKY) still leads Froome (SKY) by 2'05”, and Nibali (LIQ) is...

The 143.5km 17th stage of the 99th Tour de France, from Bagnères-de-Luchon to the mountain-top finish at Peyragudes, is due to begin shortly. There is a 2.9km neutral zone before riders arrive at the site of the official start - that is expected to be at around 1pm.

It's considerably cooler than the hot conditions experienced in stage 16 yesterday and although there is plenty of cloud above Luchon, it's dry for the moment.

The site of the finish is covered in mist and has been...