Tour de France 2020 Stage 7 - As it happened

ByEurosport

Updated 04/09/2020 at 15:40 GMT

Follow the ebb and flow of a frenetic Stage 7 as Wout van Aert took a second win on the Tour de France after some crosswind chaos and a Bora-Hansgrohe masterclass.

Cyclists fan across the road on Stage 7 of the Tour de France

Image credit: Getty Images

Adam Yates was gifted the yellow jersey in unexpected fashion following Julian Alaphilippe's bottle faux pas on Stage 5, can Mitchelton-Scott now control the race and keep hold of the maillot jaune on a day which looks likely to end in a sprint finish?

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New top five on GC

Tadej Pogacar's problems means he plummets out of the top 10 today. Here's how things look now:

1. Adam Yates
2. Primoz Roglic +3
3. Giullaume Martin +9
4. Egan Bernal +13
5. Tom Dumoulin +13

Today's top five

1. Wout van Aert
2. Edvald Boasson Hagen
3. Bryan Coquard
4. Cristophe Laporte
5. Jasper Stuyven

Van Aert at the finish: "I'm really proud of this one. It was straight from the gun - really impressive from Bora-Hansgrohe who made sure a lot of the sprinters were dropped. In the crosswinds it was important to preserve energy - I was with Primoz for most of it. Then it was a fast finish - wow. It was a mess at the end and a small group, so I thought it would be a shame not to give it a go. I timed my sprint perfectly."

No sign of Sagan

Peter Sagan was very much out of the picture in that finish, coming home in 13th place. That adds just the 4pts in the green jersey battle. But he will take it off Sam Bennett tonight after the Irishman was dropped right at the start after Bora's masterclass.

Pogacar leads the second group home

The man in white won't be in white tomorrow after leading the chasing group over the line 1'21" down.

Victory for van Aert!

No one can stop him right now! The Belgian tyro takes his second win of the race - and Jumbo-Visma's third - after an expert sprint to power past Edvald Boasson Hagen. Alaphilippe looked to be in the mix but he bumped up against Stuyven and that ended his chances.

Final kilometre

Under the banner they go and it's show time. Can Bora finish it off or will van Aert - or one of the less illustrious sprinters - get in on the action?

2km remaining: sprint ahead

It's going to be a tailwind for the sprint so a very fast finish. Can Peter Sagan win his first race for 14 months? His team did the damage today but his form means the win is not a given, even if the green jersey is.

5km remaining: Groupama driving tempo

Last year, Thibaut Pinot lost time in similar circumstances, but this year it's his Groupama-FDJ team who are driving the pace for their man. Carapaz and Castroviejo have been caught by the Pogacar group. And we can see Hugo Hofstetter in the main group - the French sprinter who won Le Samyn earlier in the season but went down in a crash earlier today. Could he be a factor?

10km remaining: gap grows

It's not looking good for Pogacar, Landa and the other chasers as their deficit grows to 1'20". Ineos are no longer pulling because of that Carapaz mechanical. Meanwhile, the contenders for the stage - Sagan, Coquard, Laporte, Van Aert, Stuyven - are keeping their powder dry.

12km remaining: Castroviejo with Carapaz

Ineos Grenadiers have sacrificed Jonathan Castroviejo who drops back to help pace Carapaz. With the help of the Spaniard TT specialist, he could yet rejoin the leaders - but it's going to be tough tough tough. Especially given the ding dong the likes of Astana, Groupama and Jumbo-Visma are giving it now they have sniffed blood.

15km remaining: Carapaz dropped

The first Ecuadorian to ride the Tour, Richard Carapaz has been dropped from the lead group and is in no-man's-land as he awaits the capture from the Pogacar group. We're hearing it was because of a mechanical... rotten luck for the reigning Giro champion.

20km remaining: Astana in numbers

Astana have many bodies in this main group, notably Miguel Angel Lopez, Luis Leon Sanchez, the Izagirre brothers and yesterday's winner Alexey Lutsenko. Jumbo-Visma have all their main men, too, while Groupama have also edged up with Ineos. Guillaume Martin is right on the back and digging deep to hold on. Jasper Stuyven is here and could be an option for Trek in the finale. The gap is now 53 seconds back to the Pogacar group - and nine minutes to the Bennett group.

25km remaining: Sagan and van Aert here

Peter Sagan and Wout van Aert are both in the main group, as is Bryan Coquard and Christophe Laporte and Edvald Boasson Hagen. But their moment won't come until the final sprint. For now, it's a GC battle as those contenders who are here ally and gang up against those who are not - and they include Trek duo Porte and Mollema, as well as Pogacar and Landa.

30km remaining: Pogacar & Landa in trouble

Ineos are doing some damage with both Pogacar and Landa - who were near the back following their respective mechanicals and crashes - on the wrong side of the split. The Slovenian has teammate Davide Formolo with him. Trentin and van Avermaet are in the second group, so that's CCC's chances for the stage win damaged.

Yates, Uran, Guillaume Martin, Lopez, Quintana, Pinot, Bardet, Dumoulin, Roglic, Buchmann, Mas, Higuita, Alaphilippe and Valverde are all here in the main pack, along with Bernal. It's about 50-strong with the gap over 30 seconds now.

35km remaining: De Gendt caught

It's all over for Thomas De Gendt who is caught just as Ineos lead the pack through a roundabout and into that cross-tailwind. And gaps are already appearing...

40km remaining: CRASH!

A touch of wheels sees Mikel Landa tangle with his Bahrain-McLaren teammate Matej Mohoric. No biggie, but both riders will have to fight back on now. De Gendt's lead has come back down to 20 seconds.

45km remaining: Ineos come to the fore

With the riders now approaching Castres, the Ineos Grenadiers have come to the front in anticipation of the cross-tailwind forecast in the valley. The tensionn mounts in the pack.

50km remaining: Pogacar puncture

I can't recall a day going by when Tadej Pogacar hasn't got a mechanical or a flat. The white jersey is at it again and will have to fight back after a bike change. At least he's well versed at what to do. In any case, the pace has slowed a lot now that there's no chance the second group will come back. This will play into De Gendt's hands - and his gap grows accordingly to 45 seconds.

Riding in the wind

With heavy winds expected in the final 45-odd kilometres beyond Castres, it's a good opportunity to republish this old 'echelon explainer' which seeks to explain just why riding in the wind is so difficult in the peloton.

55km remaining: Mollema mechanical

Dutchman Bauke Mollema - one of two Trek-Segafredo riders, along with Richie Porte, withing 13 seconds of Adam Yates in the general classification - needs to stop for a bike change. The pace is high but he should get back on. De Gendt's lead is still 25 seconds while the Bennett group is almost six minutes behind now.

63km remaining: rolling terrain

It's rolling terrain now as the roads drop down towards Castres where those winds are expected for the long, flat run to the finish. Perhaps De Gendt is gambling his house on it blowing apart behind and him being able to stay clear? Either that or he wants to do some solo training. He has 40 seconds now on the yellow jersey group with the green jersey group at 4'55". A reminder that Dani Martinez is also in that Bennett group, so his Tour gets even worse. The Colombian will be 10-odd minutes down this evening.

The third group on the road includes the likes of Kristoff, Ewan, Viviani, Bol and Nizzolo... Ed Theuns is in the main group, so he could be a factor in the sprint alongside Sagan, Trentin, Coquard, Bonifazio, Hofstetter, Laporte, Colbrelli and van Aert... Anyone I missed?

70km remaining: Cote de Paulhe

Lone leader De Gendt takes the single point over the Cat.1 Cote de Paulhe (1.1km at 7%). His gap is still 30-odd seconds. The Bennett group is almost five minutes back now.

75km remaining: all strung out

The Bora-Hansgrohe and B&B Hotels-Vital Concept teams of Sagan and Coquard are driving a fierce pace again as the race zips through the feedzone without many musette pick-ups in sight. Behind, a handful of riders have been tailed off while others - such as Hofstetter and Marc Soler of Movistar - are trying to rejoin after that crash. De Gendt's gap is still around the 25-second mark but he's surely onto a hiding to nothing here.

82km remaining: CRASH!

Yellow jersey Adam Yates has to take evasive action when a touch of wheels causes a few riders to go down in the middle of the peloton, including the French sprinter Hugo Hofstetter of Israel Start-Up Nation (who could be a factor in the finish today). It was nothing serious for those involved - but a reminder that things can change in a flash. De Gendt, meanwhile, still has 15 seconds over the pack.

85km remaining: 'Amateur riding' from De Gendt

Sean Kelly thinks what De Gendt is doing is completely "amateur". Scathing words from the Irishman, who is probably a bit peeved off by the plight of his countryman Sam Bennett, who's now 4'30" in arrears.

90km remaining: De Gendt solo?

The peloton has now left the Aveyron and entered the Tarn region of south-west France. De Gendt has opened up a small gap after that KOM foray. He might just be stretching his legs and seeing if he can throw a cat among the pigeons - especially given his teammate Caleb Ewan is way out of the picture. Or could he genuinely think he could do something?

Brian Smith isn't impressed: "De Gendt should know better. This is going nowhere and he's just wasting energy. Why not wait till later on? He won't get a gap with two teams - Bora and B&B - riding on the front. It's like Fabio Aru yesterday..."

95km remaining: De Gendt takes KOM points

The Belgian breakaway specialist edges clear of the pack to take the two points over the summit. Could that be Thomas De Gendt laying down some foundations for a tilt at the polka dot jersey in the Pyrenees and Alps? Perhaps. Behind, the Bennett group - which also contains the current king of the mountain, Cosnefroy - is now four minutes in arrears.

100km remaining: gap grows

Bora-Hansgrohe have not eased up on the climb. They still have seven riders on the front of the pack setting the tempo on this long climb to stretch the lead over the Bennett chase group to almost three minutes. Tom Dumoulin has dropped back to the Jumbo car for an update. They have ridden an impeccable Tour so far with stage wins for both Roglic and van Aert, with the Dutchman also high on GC with the Slovenian. It wasn't in their plans but today could be rich pickings for van Aert, too.

Confirmation of the intermediate sprint top five here...

109km remaining: Col de Peyronnecn

This Cat.3 climb is a long 14.5km slog but the average gradient is a gentle 3.9%. Bora are still on the front with Jumbo-Visma behind. It's worth remembering that Wout van Aert, the Stage 5 winner, is still in this main pack and he could be a factor in the final sprint given so many of the big names have been dropped. The Bennett group came through the sprint 2'30" down with the Ewan gruppetto five minutes back.

110km remaining: Trentin pips Sagan

The Italian in orange pips the man usually in green for the maximum 20pts in the intermediate sprint - but Sagan's 17pts for second place sees him back onto the summit of the virtual green jersey standings. Coquard took a distant third. Right, what happens now? The road almost instantly heads uphill for the next long Cat.3 climb.

115km remaining: two minutes now

The Bennett chasing group is now two minutes back with the Ewan group four minutes adrift. Their only hope is for an easing up following the intermediate sprint, which is coming right up. Of course, by then Sagan should be back in the virtual green jersey. Man, he loves that jersey. The Slovakian showman is currently tucked in behind his Bora train with Coquard and Trentin on his back wheel.

120km remaining: Sagan not alone

We've talked a lot about the opportunity Peter Sagan has today from this masterclass from his Bora team, but there are still some decent sprinters in this group - sprinters who will be motivated for both the intermediate sprint and the stage victory. For instance, the likes of Sonny Colbrelli, Matteo Trentin, Luka Mezgec, Bryan Coquard, Christophe Laporte and Niccolo Bonifazio are all here...

125km remaining: Gordon Bennett!

The gap continues to grow... The green jersey group is now 1'15" down on the main pack with the Ewan gruppetto three minutes in arrears. Devastation on these rolling roads - and it will be interesting to see whether it settles a bit after the intermediate sprint. Surely Bora won't be able to sustain this all the way to Lavaur...

133km remaining: Bora bossing it

The gap back to the Bennett group is still 40 seconds as Bora-Hansgrohe continue piling on the hurt. The Irishman has Kasper Asgreen, Bob Jungels and Tim Declercq to try and close the gap but they are making no inroads. As for the second gruppetto containing Ewan and some of the other sprinters - they're 2'25" back now. The best thing about it is that we have not even reached those crosswinds... Today could be utterly brutal!

140km remaining: Trentin still there

Peter Sagan hasn't got rid of everyone: Italy's Matteo Trentin is still in this main peloton and the CCC Team rider is currently fifth in the green jersey standings on 71pts (compared to Sagan's 117pts and Bennett's 129pts). The gap back to the Bennett chasing group is now 40 seconds as Alaphilippe, the Irishman's teammate, waves away a motorcycle that he feels is giving Bora a bit of an unfair draft.

148km remaining: riders everywhere

Bora continue setting a ferocious tempo on this uncategorised, leg-sapping climb. The Bennett group, which were tantalisingly close, are now 25 seconds back. And there's another gruppetto even further back and that is the one that includes Nizzolo, Viviani, Ewan and Kristoff. Sagan is really hammering a nail into the coffins of all his sprint rivals. If he can't beat them at their own game then he can beat them at his.

150km remaining: back together?

A large gruppetto has formed from all the disparate groups of riders who lost touch on the climb. It includes the green jersey and most of the sprinters, with the exception of Sagan. Cees Bol's presence there has forced several Sunweb riders to drop back to help close the gap. They are tantalisingly close but it's proving very hard to close the door... EF Pro Cycling have been caught out, too, with Dani Martinez on the front. Luke Rowe of Ineos is there as well.

155km remaining: fast pace

With so many riders off the back, Sagan's Bora team continue to drive the pace on the front of the pack. This all plays into the hands of the Slovakian, who will hope to tire out his sprint rivals today ahead of the intermediate sprint and finish where he will hope to get back to winning ways and snatch the green jersey back off the shoulders of Sam Bennett. The Irishman is in one of the groups off the back fighting to bridge over. It's worth mentioning that Julian Alaphilippe, the former yellow jersey, is tucked in right behind the Bora train, while Thibaut Pinot is quite far back, only just holding on.

Bernie's prediction

Our man Bernie Eisel has good memories of the finish in Lavaur, which resulted in a victory for his HTC teammate Mark Cavendish. Here's what he thinks may happen today...

Eisel - 'This is the same sprint that my mate Cav won in 2011'

158km remaining: Cosnefroy's KOM gift

The Frenchman is caught around 100m before the summit - much to his indignation. He digs deep, however, and just edges ahead of the Bora-Hansgrohe train as a generous Max Schachmann waves him through, symbolically, and let's Cosnefroy take the maximum 2pts over the top. So, the break is all over - and Sam Bennett, the green jersey, is the latest sprinter to be shelled out the back.

162km remaining: Cote de Luzencon

Cosnerfroy was joined by Michael Schar of CCC before the climb but the Swiss didn't last long and has been swept up by the pack. Our lone French leader keeps going but he could well be caught before the summit of this Cat.3 climb, which is 3.1km long at 6.1%. Behind, the likes of Caleb Ewan, Giacomo Nizzolo, Alexander Kristoff, Elia Viviani and the world champion Mads Pedersen have all been dropped - along with swathes of other riders. Bora-Hansgrohe are driving an infernal pace on the front of the peloton, paving the way for their man Sagan.

165km remaining: Cosnefroy on the attack

There's an early attack from the man in polka dots, Benoit Cosnerfroy, who will hope to snare the 2pts on the early climb. The pace is quite high and the terrain is tricky - forcing many riders to be tailed off early on, including the struggling Wout Poels and some of the sprinters...

168km remaining: they're off!

The peloton rides up the valley towards the famous Millau viaduct as Christian Prudhomme waves his flag to get the ball rolling on today's stage...

Windy forecast

The local wind here is a distant cousin of the Provencal mistral known as the Vent d'Autan, which blows up from the south coast. Yesterday, the mistral was meant to buffer the bunch, but it was only a faint breeze in the end. But today we're hearing reports of 30-40km/h gusts around the town of Castres so we could possibly see some splits on the approach to the finish,

Today's menu

Here's the profile today with some rolling roads and three categorised climbs - for a total of five KOM points - before a fast finish in Lavaur. It's pretty much an identical run-in to Stage 11 from the 2011 Tour when Mark Cavendish turned the tables on his old foe Andre Greipel to take his third victory of the race. Cav's not here this year, but that man Greipel is - not that you may have noticed...

Yates in yellow for a second day

A reminder of who leads each of the classification competitions...

Yellow: Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott)
Green: Sam Bennett (Deceuninck-QuickStep)
Polka dot: Benoit Cosnefroy (Ag2R-La Mondiale)
White: Tadej Pogacar (UAE-Team Emirates)

And this stat bodes well for the Ineos-bound Yates, who still claims he's here for stage wins and not the general classification...

Sun out, riders ready...

The peloton has gathered in the start zone at Millau ahead of today's roll-out - and it's another beautiful day here in south France with temperatures set to his the early 30s but potential windy conditions likely to add another dimension... They're moving now having discarded their facemasks, such are these testing times.

Stage preview

Today's 168km Stage 7 from Millau to Lavaur looks like one for the sprinters with a flat finish. But a lumpy first half of the stage means we might not have a big bunch sprint.

The weather could also come into play with crosswinds a possibility before we embark on a week in the Pyrenees.

Tour de France 2020 Stage 7 - route and profile

Wiggins analysis

It's been all Jumbo-Visma so far but speaking on his Eurosport podcast, Bradley Wiggins says he has noticed an improvement from Ineos, who are starting to make their mark on the peloton even without Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas in tow.

"It was Ineos on the front, doing what they do best, really," Wiggins said on the podcast after Stage 6.

They were marking their territory and making a statement of intent again, which they had not done for the first few days and I noted and picked up on.

"But yesterday, Luke Rowe and the boys with that cross-wind section and then today, really just getting on the front.

"It was like them saying, 'we are here, we are here to win this race' and Jumbo letting them do that and sitting behind. It was like the hierarchy of the peloton seemed to take its proper formation today."

Stage 6 recap

Alexey Lutsenko claimed Stage 6 in a solo effort but Adam Yates kept hold of the yellow jersey for Mitchelton-Scott.

Julian Alaphilippe shaved one second off with a late burst though, leaving him 15 seconds in arrears. Primo Roglic sits just three seconds off Yates.

How to watch on TV and livestream details

Stage 7 will be broadcast live on Eurosport 1 from 12:20pm and you can also watch an uninterrupted feed on Eurosport Player and right here on eurosport.co.uk.

Dan Lloyd, Bradley Wiggins, Orla Chennaoui and the team will bring you all the best post-race analysis and reaction on The Breakaway, which will be available to watch on Eurosport Player before 7pm.

And don't forget, we are bringing you daily podcasts from the Bradley Wiggins Show - check in with your podcast platform of choice this evening...

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