Tour de France 2023 Stage 13 recap: Michal Kwiatkowski holds on as Tadej Pogacar moves within nine seconds of yellow

Not ideal for the French national champion on Bastille Day - after showing some early intend, he's now off the back getting a wheel change following a puncture. Madouas will now have to fight back on - before seeing if he can then fight to get into the break...

The French teams - most notably Groupama, TotalEnergies and Cofidis - have been sniffing around, but it's Soudal-QuickStep who makes the first move, albeit through one of their French riders in Remi Cavagna. He's joined by two others, with many more now trying to bridge over.

Once Andrey Amador (EF Education-EasyPost) gets back after a mechanical, the peloton is primed for Christian Prudhomme's wave of the flag - and when that happens at kilometre zero, the attacks rain down from the get-go with Lotto Dstny right on the nose through Pascal Eenkhoorn.

The Groupama-FDJ rider already wears a tricolor jersey as French national champion and he has the skill set to win today - provided he can make it into the move, and start the final climb with - say - an advantage of six or seven minutes... It's a huge ask, but wouldn't that be a sight for sore eyes: Madouas winning on Quatorze Juillet in the tricolor jersey...

The French fans are out in their droves on Bastille Day to see the peloton off at Chatillon-sur-Chalaronne. It's a short 4.5km neutral section ahead of kilometre zero - and then we will no doubt see a huge battle for the day's breakaway to go. Because if the break is the right mix and gets enough time, then it could go the distance. But with Vingegaard and Pogacar set to light things up in their absorbing battle for yellow, any escapees will need a huge cushion if they want to cause an upset.

Thibaut Pinot was in the break yesterday and although he missed out on a farewell win in his final Tour, he did move up into the top 10 alongside his Groupama-FDJ team-mate David Gaudu.

1. Jonas Vingegaard
2. Tadej Pogacar +17
3. Jai Hindley +2:40
4. Carlos Rodriguez +4:22
5. Pello Bilbao +4:34
6. Adam Yates +4:39
7. Simon Yates +4:44
8. Thomas Pidcock +5:26
9. David Gaudu +6:01
10. Thibaut Pinot +6:33

On the French national holiday of Quatorze Juillet the race enters the Jura mountains for a summit finish on the fearsome Grand Colombier (17.4km at 7.1%) where the then defending champion Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) cracked in 2020.

The sport’s landscape has changed dramatically since Bernal last rode the Tour, with Tadej Pogacar, Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard dominating the battle for yellow ever since. Still somewhat short of his best, Bernal will hope at least to bury his demons on what will be the first GC showdown of the second week.

What the Grand Colombier lacks in altitude (it’s only 1,501m high) it makes up in Galibier-level difficulty, 12% ramps, and wondrous views if the weather is playing ball. And given this is a short stage without any serious obstacles until the final climb, we could see fireworks.

Of course, it is also 14th July - the French national holiday of Quatorze Juillet - and so we can expect to see a flurry of attacks from the host nation. After all, any Frenchman winning a stage of the Tour on Bastille Day will never have to buy a drink in a bar ever again - and with the vast majority of French riders no longer a factor on the GC, many will be dreaming of an unforgettable win on the Grand Colombier today.

Bonjour le Tour! Stage 13 heads to the Jura mountains with a summit showdown on the beautiful Grand Colombier climb where white jersey Tadej Pogacar will look for a yellow upgrade as he bids to overturn his small 17-second deficit behind race leader and defending champion Jonas Vingegaard. They have been inseparable these last few days but today's tough final climb should see some daylight between the two best riders on this Tour.