Australia's Richie Porte (SKY) won the 176-kms fifth stage between Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Montagne de Lure. He takes the yellow jersey away from Andrew Talansky (GRS).

Has Talansky been too bold? He chases with Tejay Van Garderen (BMC) and Nairo Quintana (MOV) but Porte is out to win the stage.

Richie Porte (SKY) has now gone on his own. He catches Menchov and his alone in the front under the red flame.

The overall leader attacked behind Menchov, but Richie Porte took his wheel and countered!

Denis Menchov (KAT) goes in turn with 1.8 km to go. The Russian leads the yellow jersey group by 12 seconds.

Two kilometres to go and Talansky goes again! Aggressive tactics for the Yellow Jersey holder. But he is reined in....

Talansky's attack took the bunch back on Scarponi and dropped Andriy Grivko (AST), his closest rival in the overall standings.

Andrew Talansky (GRS) attacked in turn behind Scarponi with Richie porte on his heel!

Michele Scarponi (LAM) now goes on his own with 4 kms to go. Reminder he lies 18 seconds behind Andrew Talansky in the GC.

Michel Scarponi (LAM) has caught Le Mevel in front of a peloton that just lost Robert Gesink (BLA).

The Cofidis rider surged with five kilometres to go.

The overall leader is in the wheel of Richie Porte and looks good.

Robert Gesink (BLA) attacked, followed by Michele Scarponi (LAM). But David Lopez Garcia (SKY) bridges the gap.

Davide Malacarne (EUC) attacked behind Voigt, who was caught in the process.

Only 30 seconds left for Voigt with 9 kms to go while only 39 riders are left in the chasing peloton.

... and the gap between Voigt and the peloton is one minute.

as Team Sky's David Lopez Garcia and Kanstantsin Siutsov lead the chase, about a minute behind Voigt, with Richie Porte on their heels.

Among the first riders to be dropped are Thomas Voeckler (EUC), world champion Philippe Gilbert (BMC) or stage 4 winner Michael Albasini (OGE).

Lemoine is the first of the former escapees to be caught.

Team Sky have seized the reins at the bottom of the climb with Richie Porte in third spot.

14 kms to go, at the bottom of the climb and Voigt attacks to try and get rid of his breakaway companions.

... for the four escapees, who are 2 kms from the last climb and currently lead the peloton by 1:40.

Riders from the Italian team have been leading the peloton in the descent.

... and the gap between the break and the peloton is two minutes.

The peloton is narrowing the gap on the top of Cote des Mourres, with 24 kms to go.

The IAM French rider just called it quits.

Result on the 3rd category Cote des Mourres (km 152)

1. Hupond 4 points

2. Voigt 2 points

3. Longo Borghini 1 point

Riders from Dutch team Blanco are leading the bunch in the Cote des Mourres. Has Robert Gesink views on the stage? 

... and the four lead the peloton by three minutes.

Voigt, Hupond, Lemoine and Longo Borghini are in the penultimate climb, Cote des Mourres (3rd cat, top at km 152).

Result of the second intermediate sprint in Forcalquier (km 149)

1. Longo Borghini 3 points, 3 seconds

2. Voigt  2 points, 2 seconds

3. Hupond 1 point, 1 second.

Km 146 - The gap between the four and the peloton is now down to 3:30.

144 - Jerome Coppel (COF), Romain Sicard (EUS), Egoitz Garcia (COF) and Sebastien Turgot (EUC) were among riders involved in a massive pile-up at the back of the peloton.

Team Sky's Jonathan Tiernan-Locke has given up.

Several Garmin Sharp riders, including David Millar, who worked hard for Andrew Talansky since the start, have been dropped. The peloton is 4:25 adrift at the top of Col de la Mort d'Imbert.

The German finished 6th in the 2009 stage up Montagne de Lure.

Result on  the 3rd category Col de la Mort d'Imbert (Km 134.5)

1. Hupond 4 points

2. Voigt 2 points

3. Lemoine 1 point

Km 130 - The peloton tackles the 3rd category Col de la Mort d'Imbert five minutes behind the break.

The peloton is in Manosque (km 128) from where the start of stage 6 will be given tomorrow. Manosque held 11 stage finishes on Paris-Nice, the last in 2007, when Yaroslav Popovych  won the stage.

At the top of Cote de St Martin-les-Eaux (Km 123), the peloton was trailing the four escapees by 5:40.

Result on the 3rd category Cote de St Martin-les-Eaux (Km 123)

1.Hupond  4 points

2. Voigt 2 points

3. Lemoine 1 point

Cyril Lemoine (SOJ) was already in the day's break in 2009 when Paris-Nice first finished on top of Montagne de Lure.

Voigt, Hupond, Longo Borghini and Lemoine are in the third climb of the day, Cote de St Martin-les-Eaux (3rd cat, top at km 123).

The average speed in the third hour of the stage is 38.1 kph. The overall average speed is 39.3 kph.

Thirty nations were left in the race at the start from Chateauneuf-du-Pape.
37 - France (42 at the start and abandons by Fedrigo -FDJ- in stage 1, Bouhanni -FDJ- and Pichot -EUC- in stage 2, Geniez - FDJ - and Tulik - EUC - in stage 4).
19 - Spain (20 at the start, and abandon by Gutierrez -MOV- in stage 3) and Belgium (22 at the start and abandon by Seeldrayers -AST- DNS stage 2, Meersman - OPQ - and Bille - LTB - both in stage 5)
17 - Italy (18 at the start and abandon...

Km 97 - Voigt, Hupond, Longo Borghini and Lemoine lead the main pack by 5:30.

to Laurent Bezault, second of Paris-Nice in 1993, who is 47 today, and Joost Posthuma, winner of a stage in 2005, who is 32.

Result on the 2nd category Col d'Oppedettte (Km 85)

1. Hupond 7 points

2. Lemoine 5 pts

3. Voigt 3 pts

4. Longo Borghini 2 pts

5. Johan Tschopp (IAM) 1 pt

The peloton 6:25 adrift.

Km 80 - Voigt, Lemoine, Longo Borghini and Hupond lead the peloton by 6:35.

The average speed in the second hour of the stage was 38.1 kph for an overall average speed of 39.9 kph.

Km 77 - Voigt, Lemoine, Hupond and Longo Borghini lead the peloton by 6:25.

Km 74 - The four escapees are in the second climb of the day with a six minutes lead over the peloton.

Voigt, Hupond, Longo Borghini and Lemoinel led the peloton by 5:40.

Gianni Meersman (OPQ) and Gaetan Bille (LTB) have given up.

Result of the first intermediate sprint in St Saturnin-les-Apt (km 67)

1. Longo Borghini 3 points, 3 seconds

2. Voigt 2 points, 2 secs

3. Hupond 1 point, 1 sec.

The team-mates of race leader Andrew Talansky are at the front of the the peloton.

Km 55 - Voigt, Hupond, Longo Borghini and Lemoine lead the peloton by 4:55.

Result on the 2nd category Col de Murs (Km 47)

1. Lemoine 7 points

2. Hupond 5 pts

3. Longo Borghini 3 pts

4. Voigt 2 pts

5. Tschopp 1 pt

The peloton 6:00 adrift

The Movistar Colombian rider, seen by many as the leading favourite today, has punctured.

The four leaders tackle the first climb of the day, the 2nd category Col de Murs, with a five minutes lead over the peloton.

Interviewed by www.letour.fr before the start of the stage, AG2R team director Vincent Lavenu said it was the time of truth for his leader Jean-Christophe Peraud and for all the favourites: "It's a moment of truth for him too, we'll know more tonight.  Obviously the race can be lost today, but it can also be won. It will be decisive for the ones bidding for a podium place in this Paris-Nice and it's the case for Jean-Christophe. I don't know yet whether he'll attack, it will depend on how...

While the sun was shining at the start in Chateauneuf-du-Pape, clous are now hanging over the peloton while it has been raining steadily in Forcalquier, at the bottom of Montagne de Lure.

Km 30 - The four escapees now lead the main bunch by 4:30.

Km 24 - The four now lead the peloton by 2:50. Hupond punctured a few kilometres back but is now back in the break.

In l'Equipe, Philippe Bouvet believes Richie Porte (SKY) is the most impressive rider in the peloton: "They're still half a dozen bidders for final victory. But it is still Richie Porte who made the biggest impression. The Team Sky Australian, one of the best aides to Wiggins last year on the Tour, plays his own card this time.
"When you have many good riders in a team, it's not always easy to tell someone who can finish in the top 10 to sacrifice himself. That's why it is very...

PHILIPPE GILBERT ‏@PhilippeGilbert
Châteauneuf du pape! Let's drink a bottle before the start! It's a good painkiller!

Jonathan Vaughters ‏@Vaughters
Pit Bull, ‪@andrewtalansky‬, stayed cool as a cucumber today. He showed excellent poise in last 15kms when he was isolated. True champion.

Romain Bardet ‏@romainbardet
Here we go for the queen stage and the first altitude finish of the year. A long day ahead! #fullgas

Km 14 - Jens Voigt attacks. He is chased by Cyril Lemoine (SOJ), Paolo Longo Borghini (CAN) and Thierry Hupond (ARG)  

Km 16 - Jens Voigt (RLT) has been caught by Hupond, Longo Borhini and Lemoine. The four now lead the pelootn by 1:10.

Km 6 - The peloton is packed after a brief attack by green jersey holder Elia Viviani (CAN).

Team director Yvon Ledanois (BMC) told www.letour.fr Tejay Van Garderen was tired like everybody else and cited Andrew Talansky and Colombia's Nairo Quintana as the men to watch today: "Since the start of this Paris-Nice the weather has constantly been changing from rain to sun and wind. It's always tiring for the riders but it's always the case in Paris-Nice.Today is the D Day when you see how everybody reacted to the conditions. Tejay is tired like everybody else but he has prepared for...

Orica Greenedge team director Lionel Marie told www.letour.fr that Simon Gerrans suffered from a slight bronchitis since the start of Paris-Nice: "It didn't improve with the weather conditions we've had. He could hardly breathe this morning and it was not ideal in these conditions for him to go riding in the rain."

The real start was given at 11:22 to 170 riders.

Astana are leading the team standings ahead of AG2R La Mondiale and Omega Pharma Quick Step.

Two Americans lead the white jersey classification, which could quickly reflect the fight for GC victory. Overall leader Andrew Talansky (GRS) leads Tejay Van Garderen (BMC) by 16 seconds and the fight between the two compatriots on the climb to Montagne de Lure is one of the main interests of the day. Italy's Diego Ulissi, the two times junior world champion, is third 18 seconds adrift.

The long breakaway between Brioude and St Vallier was a fruitful one for the contenders for the best climber's jersey. Swiss Johann Tschopp (IAM) is a comfortable leader on 29 points, followed by France's Thomas Voeckler (EUC) on 17 points and Gianni Meersman (OPQ) on 11.

Italy's Elia Viviani (CAN) retained his points jersey on 55 points, ahead of Slovenia's Borut Bozic, on 43, but overall leader Andrew Talansky (GRS) is a close third with 41 points and could move up a place at least should he feature well in the climb to Montagne de Lure. Sylvain Chavanel (OPQ) is also on 41 points.

Andrew Talansky (GRS) retained his yellow jersey in St Vallier with his three seconds lead over Ukraine's Andriy Grivko (AST). In third place now lies Slovakia's Peter Velits (OPQ) level on time with his fourth-placed team-mates Sylvain Chavanel. Both trail the American race leader by four seconds.

170 riders are heading towards the actual start. Simon Gerrans (OGE)  does not start.

Km 47 - Col de Murs (2nd cat.)
Km 85 - Col d'Oppedette (2nd cat)
Km 123 - Cote de St Martin-les-Eaux (3rd cat.)
Km 134.5 - Col de la Mort d'Imbert (3rd cat.)
Km 152 - Cote des Mourres (3rd cat.)
Km 176 - La Montagne de Lure (1st cat.)

Km 67 - St Saturnin-les-Apt
Km 149 - Forcalquier

Welcome on the 176-kms 5th stage of Paris-Nice between Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Montagne de Lure.