Racewatch: Tour stage 12

Stage 12: Lannemezan to Plateau de Beille - 199.5km.

Stage 12 guide

All the action as Lance Armstrong surges clear on the final ascent to win his second straight stage.

Latest pictures from stage 12

---

Click refresh for updates. All times in BST.

1611: In a very nice gesture, four riders join Jalabert and salute him as he crosses the line more than ten minutes behind stage winner Armstrong.

1608: Long-time pace-setter Laurent Jalabert gets the biggest cheers of the day as he labours to the finish. He gets taps on the back from passing rivals, who show their respect for his early aggression.

  Top finishers

1 Armstrong

2 Heras

3 Beloki

4 Botero

5 Gonzalez de Galdeano

1601: Heras has the legs to shake off Beloki for second place. Both riders finish a minute down and are shortly followed home by Botero and Gonzalez de Galdeano.

1600: Armstrong is tightening his stranglehold on the Tour de France and he wins the stage in style. His confidence is so high that he chose to attack alone from 6km out, when team-mate Heras was still available to him.

1556: This is an impressive ride from Beloki and Heras in the chase group, but it is even more impressive from the imperious Armstrong, who looks set to win. Further back, Botero and Gonzalez de Galdeano are trying to limit their arrears.

1552: Armstrong leads the stage by 40 seconds from Heras and Beloki, who is fighting his way back into contention.

1548: The irrepressible Heras bursts clear of Beloki to complete another poor day for the ONCE team. Barring a miracle, their team leader will be losing more valuable time.

Armstrong split the field again

1541: Armstrong strikes for the top on his own, shaking off everyone except for Heras and Beloki, who follow just behind.

1535: The lead group contains Armstrong, Beloki, Rumsas, Botero, Gonzalez de Galdeano and another six riders as the climb gets steeper.

1526: The chasing pack has dwindled in numbers and for once the ONCE riders outnumber the US Postals. Armstrong may yet come under some real pressure.

1523: The big names of Armstrong, Beloki, Sevilla, Rumsas and Hamilton are leading the chase group, which is less than two minutes behind Jalabert. Behind them the field is stretching out across the severe climb to Plateau de Beille.

1518: Riders are falling off the back of Armstrong's chasing group rapidly now. ONCE have moved to the fore though and look set to attack the yellow jersey.

1510: The peloton is already beginning to string out on the foothills as the pace starts to pick up again. No prizes for guessing which team is leading the way - it's Armstrong's US Postal.

1504: The final climb starts kindly enough, but very steep slopes lie ahead on the road to Plateau de Beille, making the lead trio's gap of 4:10 extremely precarious.

  Leaders at 1458:

Jalabert, Dufaux, Nozal

Armstrong and peloton (+4:15)

1453: One of the big surprises of the day is that sprint ace Erik Zabel is still in touch with the medium-sized peloton after four tough climbs.

1441: There is a minor sprint at the top of the climb as the peloton passes by four minutes and 40 seconds back. Virenque is the fourth rider to reach the peak.

1436: Jalabert adds to his King of the Mountains lead by heading Dufaux and Nozal over the Col de la Port. He is certain to be wearing polka dots on Saturday.

1430: US Postal riders form a spear-like front edge of the peloton, which is cracking on at pace. The gap to Jalabert's lead trio is 4:45.

1418: ONCE rider Nozal is still refusing to do any work at the front and is forcing Laurent Jalabert and Laurent Dufaux to set the pace.

1412: Only three men head Armstrong's group now. Their gap is under five

1400: US Postal are looking formidable as they drive on the peloton. Lance Armstrong is being led through by all eight of his team-mates.

  Leaders at 1355:

Jalabert, Dufaux, Nozal

Mazzoleni (+3:51)

Armstrong and peloton (+4:52)

1348: Jalabert, Dufaux and Nozal stretch their lead to almost six minutes over the group featuring Armstrong and the major Tour contenders.

1337: Riders are taking plenty of risks on the lightning-quick descent and gaps are opening up in the peloton. The fourth climb of the day is about 40km away.

1324: Virenque comes over the day's fourth climb in fourth place with Mazzoleni and Botcharov still with him. Armstrong is coaxed over by his US Postal team-mates four minutes back.

1319: Jalabert leads over the Col de la Core. Dufaux is second and Nozal third.

1303: Etxebarria is dropped by the chasing group. Martinez and Zberg follow suit so Virenque, Botcharov and Mazzoleni are the only ones left together of that group.

1246: Carlos Sastre and Christophe Moreau have just been embroiled in a fight on their bikes. It is not clear what the argument was about.

  1246:

Leaders: Jalabert, Dufaux, Nozal

Virenque, Martinez, Zberg, Etxebarria, Botcharov and Mazzoleni (+2:23)

Armstrong and peloton (+3:58)

1241: The Col de la Core, the third climb of the day, is now looming.

1235: Armstrong and the peloton are now 3m30s behind the trio of Jalabert, Nozal and Dufaux, as they take their lunch on the road.

1225: It is not contested but Jalabert takes the second intermediate sprint ahead of Dufaux in second and Nozal.

1213: Jalabert comes over the second climb clear in front. He is just six seconds ahead of Dufaux and Nozal.

1206: Dufaux has launched his bid to close down Jalabert and Oriol and others are suffering as a result.

1144: Oriol passes over the top of the Col de Mente, 36 seconds before Jalabert. The group of Zberg, Etxebarria, Nozal and Mazzoleni are another minute back. Lance Armstrong and the peloton are 2m10s behind Oriol.

  1144:

Leader: Oriol

Jalabert (+0:36)

Zberg, Etxebarria, Nozal and Mazzoleni (+1:36)

Armstrong and peloton (+2:10)

1133: David Etxebarria is trying to catch Jalabert. The Frenchman is one minute shy of Oriol's lead. The peloton is spread out along the mountain.

1125: Jalabert has launched a fresh solo attack in a bid to reel in Oriol. He has pulled clear of a series of other breakaway riders. That group includes Virenque and Oscar Sevilla.

1116: Richard Virenque looks up for it today. He is on another break and is joined by Laurent Jalabert, Thursday's long-time leader. Patrice Halgand completes the trio of breakaway riders.

1112: Oriol is now one-and-a-half minutes in front. He is just getting to the start of the first climb of the day - the Col de Mente.

1102: Peter Luttenberger takes a tumble, while the break is caught. Oriol, part of that quartet, manages to pull away on his own. He is 16 seconds clear.

McEwen won the first sprint

1051: Robbie McEwen wins the intermediate sprint, taking six points. Erik Zabel takes second and four points to hold on to the green jersey. Stuart O'Grady is third.

1028: The peloton is still slowly meandering along the flat terrain. No riders have broken off the front and only Grischa Niermann has fallen so far. But he is back in action now.

1020: Sandstod is the most seriously injured of the retirements. He broke eight ribs and damaged his lung. His condition is said to be stable.

The top Tour retirements

1000: Michael Sandstod, Jonathan Vaughters, Santiago Perez and Jaan Kirsipuu have all retired and do not start stage 12. Once again the racing is officially under way.

0952: The riders are now away from the start for the 3km neutral zone of the day's stage.