Bonjour le Tour! Hello and welcome to live coverage of stage 16 of the Tour de France - an out-and-back loop through the Gard from Nimes to Nimes. And it's going to be a scorcher...

Finally the gap creeps up above the two-minute mark for these three Frenchmen, a Dane and a Pole in the break. Although it may have been because Tony Martin was answering a call of nature because it's gone down to 1'50" as I write. I have to say, it's a wretch watching this one on TV when all these swimming pools and chateaux are being caught by the aerial cameras...

The riders have gone over a little hill with some respite from the sun from teh shade of the trees. The gap is very stable - it has not crept above the 1'30" mark since the metronomic Tony Martin has come to the front.

Here's a little rest day blog I wrote about the battle for yellow - asking whether one of the dazzling Frenchman can end the host nation's long 34-year wait for an overall win, but concluding that perhaps the more likely scenario is a first-ever Tour triumph for a Colombian...

Paul Ourselin is in the break for Total-Direct Energie, the only team in this race which has yet to finish in the top 10 of any stage. It's a torrid record for Jean-Rene Bernaudeau's men, who are crying out for a rider in the Voeckler or Chavanel mould. Lilian Calmejane was meant to be that man, but he's more off the boil than Jeremy Hunt's Prime Ministerial campaign.

The race has just passed over the resplendent Pont du Gard, where tomorrow's stage starts.

It's the last real chance of a bunch sprint before Paris and the Champs-Elysees and so it's no surprise to see Jumbo trying to keep a leash on the break. What a Tour they have had, with victories for Van Aert, Groenewegen and Teunissen, as well as the TTT, plus their man Kruijswijk still in with a shout of winning the whole thing. The best all-round team? Without a doubt.

The gap is up to 1'35" but the Jumbo-Visma team of Dylan Groenewegen is doing a good job to keep things in check because they will want today's stage to come down for a sprint. It's currently Tony Martin doing the honours on the front, as is his custom.

That man Rossetto is in the break for a fourth or fifth time in this race. He has the most amount of breakaway kilometres in the peloton - or out of the peloton, if you will. LeTour.fr spoke to him at the start today and he didn't seem overly fazed by the weather: "I’m fine. I feel in good shape to break away again. It’s summer time, I love it! It’s hot but as pro riders we are used to it. I rode La Vuelta four times and I’ve already experienced one week of such heat in Andalusia. I definitely prefer the heat than the rain."

Those three riders have managed to make the connection. They are Lukas Wisnowski (CCC), Lars Bak (Dimension Data) and Paul Ourselin (Total-Direct Energie). The gap is 40 seconds.

Geraint Thomas is off the back with one Ineos teammate after what must have been a mechanical. If it has to happen, now's the time because the pace isn't high in the break.

Alexis Gougeard (AG2R) and Stéphane Rossetto (Cofidis) are the riders who zip clear from the outset with three others now trying to bridge over.

And they're off! A slightly delayed start today after someone picked up a mechanical in the neutral zone and the official start was put back a bit. But the show is now on the road with a flurry of attacks...

A reminder of who's wearing each of the jerseys: Alaphilippe is in yellow (but for how much longer?), Peter Sagan (who else?) is in green, Egan Bernal in white, and Tim Wellens in polka dots. The only one that could realistically change hands today is the yellow because the gaps are so big everywhere else - and there's just the one KOM point up for grabs.

One withdrawal to report: Dutchman Wilco Keldermann (Sunweb) is out with a painful shoulder. He becomes only the 13th rider to withdraw - this is the lowest amount since dual rest days became standard in 1999.

And the riders are currently rolling through the neutral zone ahead of the stage start.

Here's the official profile today as the race resumes with the 177km Stage 16, a slightly rolling ride through the Gard which starts and finishes in Nimes and could well reopen the door to some of the remaining sprinters. Although don't rule out a break going the distance.

And a quick reminder of the top 10 as we enter the final five competitive stages of the race, with that man Julian Alaphilippe still top of the pack.