Tour de France 2022 Stage 11 LIVE – Jonas Vingegaard claims sensational win to take yellow from Tadej Pogacar

That six-man chase group was snuffled out and now it's the lone and rather ungainly figure of Mattia Cattaneo (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) who is using the tailwind as assistance as he closes in on Van Aert and Van der Poel. But the gaps are small and, on this stretch of road, the strung-out peloton can be seen behind.

It's uncontested as Van Aert leads Van der Poel through the sprint at Aiguebelle to add another 20pts to his green jersey tally. They have 30 seconds on the chasing sextet with the peloton another 12 seconds back - so it's still very much in the balance. Tom Pidcock, meanwhile, has a mechanical issue and needs to drop back to his Ineos Grenadiers car. Cofidis are doing their best to get men up the road now in pursuit of the chasers.

Peter Sagan (TotalEnergies) and Krits Neilands (Israel-Premier Tech) were both sniffing around the front of the pack but they're not part of a six-man move that has ridden clear of the pack. That man Tiesj Benoot is there - so Jumbo-Visma clearly want to get men up the road as part of their strategy today. The Belgian is joined by compatriots Stan Dewulf (Agr2-Citroen) and Brent Van Moer (Lotto Soudal), the Austrian Patrick Konrad (Bora-Hansgrohe), Slovenia's Jan Tratnik (Bahrain Victorious) and Switzerland's Silvan Dillier (Alpecin-Deceuninck).

Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe) needs an early bike change for what seems to be the umpteenth time in this Tour. Owain Doull of EF Education-EasyPost also needed mechanical assistance. Tiesj Benoot (Jumbo-Visma) has been policing many of the counter attacks for his teammate Van Aert, who is probably motivated by the green jersey points at the intermediate sprint, which today comes after only 16.5km. Not that Van Aert can exactly be caught in that competition: he leads on 284pts with his nearest challenger, Fabio Jakobsen, on 149pts.

Well, well, well... this isn't the start many of us envisioned to a day where the riders go over 2,000m twice. Right from the gun, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) kicked clear after what seemed like a pre-arranged attack. The pair were talking during the neutral zone and then it was the green jersey of Van Aert who instigated things pretty much from kilometre zero. They're now riding with a small 15-second gap over the peloton.

Christian Prudhomme waves the flag from the sunroof of his Skoda and this key mountain test is underway... This tweet gives you an idea of just how hot things are in France right now.

UAE Team Emirates happily allowed the breakaway to gain nine minutes on the peloton in Stage 10 – only to see Tadej Pogacar undo their fine work by sprinting to the finish to save his yellow jersey by 11 seconds. It seems, in the words of Romain Bardet, that “even when Pogacar wants to lose yellow, he can’t”. Click below to read my opinion piece following yesterday's opening stage in the Alps.

Tadej Pogacar saved his yellow jersey by 11 seconds yesterday after Lennard Kamna soared up to second in the standings after starring in the break. But let's be honest - we're not expecting the German to be a factor in the general classification. Pogacar is apparently not a huge fan of the heat - and it's another sweltering day in the Alps - while his UAE Team Emirates squad is down two riders and very much on the ropes. Jonas Vingegaard is lurking 39 seconds down and these kinds of longer climbs suit him far better, on paper, than the current man in yellow. Or so people think.

Finally, the first proper Alpine test. The picture-postcard Lacets de Montvernier provide the canapés and the Col du Telegraph the starter ahead of a main course that really packs a punch: dual hors categorie ascents of the Col du Galibier and the Col du Granon. At 2,413m high, the Granon hosted what was the highest finish in the Tour’s history in 1986 when Spain’s Eduardo Chozas triumphed. This was outdone 25 years later when Andy Schleck won Stage 18 atop the Galibier (2,645m). Will combining them both on one day make up for earlier lack of high-altitude tests? Time will tell.

Yesterday was all about Denmark's Magnus Cort, who out-lasted Australia's Nick Schultz to win in Megeve from the breakaway to add icing to the cake heroics of his polka dot run earlier in the Tour.