Tour de France 2008

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By Ben Dirs

Stage 10 result:
1. Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) SDV - 4 hours 19 minutes 27 seconds
2. Juan Jose Cobo (Spa) SDV - at same time
3. Frank Schleck (Lux) CSC at 28secs
4. Bernhard Kohl (Aut) GST at 1min 6secs
5. Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) ALM at 2min 5secs
6. Riccardo Ricco (Ita) SDV at 2min 17secs
7. Carlos Sastre (Spa) CSC at 2min 17secs
8. Cadel Evans (Aus) SIL at 2min 17secs
9. Denis Menchov (Rus) RAB at 2min 17secs

1628: Ricco, winner of stage nine, leads in the Cadel Evans group, and Luxembourg's Kim Kirchen struggles home a few minutes back. And confirmation that Australia's Cadel Evans of Silence-Lotto has taken the yellow jersey by one second from Frank Schleck of CSC and Luxemboug. But that's a disastrous stage for Valverde, who finishes well back and looking like he's got a washing machine strapped to the back of his bike.

1624: Cobo and Piepoli stagger over the finish line, and Cobo allows his team-mate and elder statesman to take the stage. Bullish from the Saunier Duval pair, who, along with Frank Schleck, who finishes third, 27 seconds back, caused seven shades of havoc on that final climb. Kohl finishes fourth.

1622: Evans et al slice through the crowds with less than 2km left to the finish, and once again the Australian tries to kick but is quickly collared. It's going to be between Saunier Duval's Cobo and Piepoli, 1km to go...

1619: Juan Cobo summons the strength of 10 Irish navvies to break Frank Schleck, and veteran climber Leonardo Piepoli sucks on his rear tyre.

1615: Cobo, Frank Schleck and Piepoli still out ahead as Menchov takes up the reins of the ever-expanding chasing group.

1610: Cobo attacks again, with 5km left to run. Kirchen 2mins 18secs back from the leading group, with Menchov, Evans and Sastre inbetween. But this is proving a disaster for Valverde, who keeps falling off the back of groups. Is this the day Valverde lost Le Tour? He clings to the wheel of Cunago for dear life, but is quickly jettisoned.

"Goodness me, Evans attacks?!? I think my eyes just exploded... although, to be fair, he'd taken so long looking at Menchov and doing nothing Kirchen had just about come back, so he didn't have an awful lot of options." Lowlandbrit on 606

1605: Frank Schleck, Cobo and Piepoli break free of Kohl and Efinkin, and they're now one minute ahead of Evans, Menchov, Ricco, Sastre, Nibali and Vande Velde. Kirchen sticking manfully to his task, but he could well lose his lead on stage 10.

1601: Evans breaks free of the chasing group and Menchov and Sastre look slightly confused as he disappears into the distance... but he's quickly hooked and reeled back in.

1600: Kirchen clinging on to his yellow jersey for dear life now as Cobo, Piepoli, Schleck, Kohl and Efimkin shovel coal up ahead.

1556: Schleck's efforts have acted like a stick of dynamite, there are favourites scattered all over the mountain. Valverde having bike problems, so he'll lose yet more time. Cobo looking bullish, and Evans, Menchov and Sastre are dropped. Leading group of five, 20 seconds ahead of Evans and Co.

1552: The chasing group splinters, with Sastre and Cobo both attacking and Kirchen falling off the back. Di Gregorio is finally caught 12km from the finish. Frank Schleck does some serious damage, with Freire also falling out the back door. Evans and Menchov hanging on in there.

1550: Di Gregorio is the first man to hit the slopes of the Hautacam, just 41 seconds ahead of the chasing group. The yellow jersey group are 55 seconds back. Di Gregorio, as you would expect on Bastille Day, getting tons of support as he grinds his way up the lower reaches of the Hautacam, but he's going to be gobbled up...

1541: News on the winner of stage 9 - Italy's Riccardo Ricco is in the yellow jersey peloton, as is Australia's Cadel Evans. Valverde slides down the side of his group to have a chat, before taking up the reins again. Lampre team leader Damiano Cunego is really clenching his teeth now and struggling to stay in touch.

1536: Cancellara and Voigt really stepping it up now, trying to make this stage as painful as possible for Valverde. Di Gregorio looking more and more exposed up ahead. A lacerating effort from Cancellara and Voigt, they've torn this descent some new holes.

1534: Someone has just texted in to say I'm getting my 'ascent' and 'descent' mixed up. They're right, I'm a ruddy idiot... not a lot of sleep last night... Cancellara hits the front of Kirchen's group and spurs them on. The yellow jersey's peloton is 4min 10secs behind the stage leader and 1min ahead of the Valverde group with 25km to go.

1528: Cunago and Valverde really pumping those thighs trying to get back to Kirchen and Co, while Di Gregorio looking more and more vulnerable out front now. No team-mates with Kirchen, he's doing all his own work, as is Denis Menchov.

1525: Can Valverde and his team-mates reel the yellow jersey group in before they start the ascent of Hautacam? Looks like it, he's only 15 seconds behind now, with leader Di Gregorio 2mins 25secs ahead of the three chasers (Roy (FDJ), Duque (COF) and Dupont (ALM) with 29km to go.

1518: Di Gregorio's lead being cut by the chasing group and, with 35km to go and the course flattening out, he'll do very well to take the stage.

Result of the third climb, the Hors Category Col du Tourmalet:
1. Di Gregorio 20pts
2. Roy 18pts - at 2min 10secs
3. Dupont 16pts
4. Duque 14pts
5. Fothen 12pts - at 3min 10secs
6. Cancellara 10pts - at 3 min 45secs
7. Freire 8pts - at 4min 30secs
8. Ricco 7pts - at 6min
9. Voigt 6pts
10. Sastre 5pts

1517: Cadel Evans doesn't seem to be showing any ill effects from yesterday's spill, he stayed with that yellow jersey peloton throughout.

1513: Thrills and spills on the ascent - a motorbike cameraman collides with a wall and is sent sprawling, but he just misses any riders, including Sylvester Szmyd of the Lampre team, whose foot comes out of its pedal as he loses it on a corner. Fingers crossed that chap is OK.

1510: Riders in the yellow jersey's peloton grab newspaper at the summit and stuff it down their shirts before plummeting down the other side. No great damage for Valverde, who goes over the top 50 seconds behind Kirchen's group. He's a good ascender and should make up the time. Hautacam might just sort him out though.

1506: Remy di Gregorio of Francaise des Jeux claims the Souvenir Jacques Goddet and 20 points in the climbing category as the first rider over the Col du Tourmalet summit. Roy and Dupont are next over, 2mins 9secs back. Kirchen still hanging on to the tail of the main peloton, and they go over 5mins 50secs behind Di Gregorio.

1503: Cancellara and Fothen lose contact with the first chasing group while Cunego of UCI has been dropped by the yellow jersey's peloton. And Valverde has been dropped! It's house of pain stuff up there now, are CSC are the chief torturers. Cadel Evans of Australia is hanging in there, as if race leader Kim Kirchen, although this climb has really take its toll.

1457: This main peloton looks like it's developed eczema, there's a new rider peeling off the back every minute or so. The Tourmalet is the first 'Hors Category' climb of the 2008 Tour. The points for the climbing classification are 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, and 5 for the first 10 at the top. Samuel Sanchez and Stefan Schumacher are dropped. The peloton is 7mins 10secs behind Di Gregorio with 3km until the top, and this CSC pace is really sorting the men from the little boys.

1452: Cancellara, Dupont, Duque, Roy and Fothen are still sandwiched between Di Gregorio and the yellow jersey peloton, and they're only one minute behind the FDJ rider. Camper vans everywhere as the riders strive to reach the summit, it looks like every winner in Bullseye's history has decided to pay a visit.

1448: Luis Sanchez and Popovych are dropped from the yellow jersey peloton, which contains around 35 riders. CSC are calling the shots, with Gustov, Voigt, the Schleck brothers and Sastre leading the way. Di Gregorio, only 5km from the summit now, is still pumping away up ahead, it looks like he'll at least lead the riders over the top.

1442: Augustyn and Txurruka have a slight lead on the peloton and the group still contains all the riders from the top 10 of general classification. Kim Kirchen's group is now 7mins 45 secs behind the stage leader Remy di Gregorio, and it's the CSC riders really setting the pace at the front of the peloton. The classic aerial view always reminds me of that great old Partridge line: "They look like cattle in a strange way... but cattle on bikes..."

"If the gaps stay as they are now, Marcus Fothen will be in yellow at the end of the day. I'm hopeful for a strong Menchov ride today." E via text

"Remy di Gregorio - will he be the big man for France on Bastille Day? I have my doubts, although it would be nice for him if he could at least win the climb up the Tourmalet." IP on 606

1438: Saunier Duval's David de la Fuente falls off the back of the chasing bunch and he may lose the polka dot jersey today.

1436: A reminder that you will be able to listen to live commentary of the end of this stage from BBC Radio 5 Live's Peter Slater right here on this website. If you have any questions for Peter, post them on 606 (using the link at the top of the text commentary) or text in on 81111.

1427: About 15 riders have peeled off the front of the peloton and riders periodically attack but are unable to sustain their efforts and are repeatedly hooked. Up ahead, France's Remy di Gregorio has attacked the lead group 11kms from the summit and opened up a 45 second lead.

1420: Quick shot of Mark Cavendish, he really looks like he's toiling early on the early stages of the Tourmalet. This climb is 17.7km long with an average gradient of 7.5%. The peloton arrived in the feedzone eight minutes 40 seconds behind the seven escapees. Drama at the base of the Tourmalet, two riders from Saunier Duval attacking the peloton and immediately fans the peloton out. It's Josep Jufre who drops the match, and he tries a few times to spark a breakaway, but he's unable to shake himself free.

1410: Agritubel's Freddy Bichot is still chasing down the leading seven and he's now one minute behind. The peloton pass through the feedzone, picking through their little satchels, stowing the bits they fancy and discarding the stuff they don't like like disgusted schoolboys cycling to school. I think Valderde just lobbed some Dairylea triangles, although I can't see many French spectators scrambling for those...

1400: Freire changes his shoes and weaves alarmingly close to several team cars as he strives to get back in touch with the other six in the lead group. Tourmalet is the second most visited mountain on the Tour with 72 and it first appeared in the Tour in 1910. Difficult to imagine anyone doing the Tourmalet on unsurfaced roads on a bike about as sophisticated as a Chopper. You can feel the tension rising as the riders approach the base of the Tourmalet, it's almost eerie, like First World War soldiers awating the order to go over the top.

1354: Mark Cavendish has dropped back to the medical car to have his injuries looked at again. The Brit clearly suffering. Not as much as Yury Trofimov of the Bouygues Telecom team though - he's just called it quits, leaving 169 riders still in the race. At Bagnere-de-Bigorre, with 80km, the peloton was five minutes behind the lead group of seven.

1351: If you're into cycling of all kinds - and if you're reading this, the chances are you are - have a look at Chris Hoy's latest Olympic blog. It's really rather good. All riders sitting up now, assuming the position and getting ready to get their backsides smashed to bits by the mighty Tourmalet.

Chris Hoy Olympic blog

1347: The peloton becalmed now as the Tourmalet looms up ahead like an angry pimple. Oscar Freire adds the second sprint of the day to increase his green jersey lead.

Results of the second sprint:
1. Oscar Freire (RAB) 6pts
2. Leonardo Duque (COF) 4pts
3. Jeremy Roy (FDJ) 2pts

1343: A quick update on what's been happening in my absence - the lead group were finally reeled in at the 63km mark, except for a gang of seven (Cancellara (CSC), Dupont (ALM), Fothen (GST), Freire (RAB), Roy and Di Gregorio (FDJ) and Duque (COF). Thor Hushovd took the peloton over the top of the second climb 35 seconds behind and the leading seven will take a decent lead into the Tourmalet.

Results of the second climb, the cetgory three Loucrup:
1. Leonardo Duque (COF) 4pts
2. Remy di Gregorio (FDJ) 3pts
3. Markus Fothen (GST) 2pts
4. Jeremy Roy (FDJ) 1pt

1318: As the peloton passes through Lourdes - my nan went there once , it was the only time she ever left East London - I'm off for a snack. Be back in a few minutes.

"I'll be quite surprised if Kirchen is in yellow tonight, as I think he's had his day. It will become clearer as we climb the Tourmalet - we'll see there how the big lads are feeling and possibly get an insight into the GC Teams' tactics for this stage." IP on 606

1306: As expected, Oscar Freire wins the first sprint of the day, beating Romain Feillu into second and Filippo Pozzato into third. Feillu has a bit of a pop at Freire after their little tussle, but Freire stands his ground and remonstrates with his French rival. Freire now leads the green jersey category - he has 125 points, two more than race leader Kim Kirchen. Forgot to mention that Cavendish was getting patched up a few minutes back, his elbow looked to have taken the brunt of that fall. Milram and Garmin, two teams who missed the escape, are still striving to close the gap, but it remains around the minute mark after 52km.

Results of the first sprint:
1. Oscar Freire (RAB) 6pts
2. Roman Feillu (AGR) 4pts
3. Filippo Pozzato (LIQ) 2pts

1300: The Milram riders, who had started chasing the lead group, have fallen back into the peloton. David de la Fuente is first over the top of the category three Cote de Benejacq and he extends his lead in the mountain's category.

Results of the first climb, the category three Cote de Benejacq:
1. David de la Fuente (SDV) 4pts
2. Filippo Pozzato (LIQ) 3pts
3. Leonardo Duque (COF) 2pts
4. Pierrick Fedrigo (BTL) 1pt

1251: The lead group hit the first ascent of stage 10, a category three climb. The Cote de Benejacq is 2.6km long with an average gradient of 6.9% and its summit is at the 38.5km mark. Oscar Freire still doing plenty of work at the head of the lead group, he'll want to pick up some points today and it's not too long until the first sprint. Some chaps from our website recently did stage 10 - have a look and see how they got on.

How tough is Stage 10 of the Tour?

1249: Five Milram riders have hit the front of the chasing group and stepped it up - they have no riders in that lead group and will want to chop this lead by as much as possible before the Tourmalet kicks in.

1245: Six times in the last 20 years a Frenchman has won the stage on Bastille Day - David Moncoutie was the last in 2005. Smart work from Wegmann of Gerolsteiner - he flings his old bike aside like some young yobbo about to nick a load of sweets from his local cornershop, grabs a new one from the top of his team car and is back in the lead group in the blink of an eye.

1238: Cavendish really grinding to stay on the back of the chasing bunch, and that's not what he needed ahead of the savage Tourmalet. At the 21km, the peloton is 1 minute 40 seconds behind the escapees.

"If Kirchen keeps his yellow jersey after today I'll be very impressed. The big question for me is how Evans will cope - he's hurt and his team hasn't looked that impressive when it's gone uphill." Lowlandbrit on 606

1235: Eight Frenchmen in the leading bunch, and that's no real surprise given that's it's Bastille Day and there's little sign of urgency back in the peloton.

"I'm sure adrenaline helped Evans get through yesterday's stage given how hard he went down, but today will be the real test. If Menchov, Valverde or Sastre go, will he be able to follow?" IP on 606

1228: Britain's Mark Cavendish has hit the deck! It looks like he's clipped American Danny Pate and both have ended up in a ditch on the side of the road. Cavendish, a two-stage winner on this year's Tour, doesn't look badly injured, but he's not straight back on his bike either. I'll keep you posted. The lead group, comprising 24 riders, are now 42 seconds ahead of the peloton at the 17km mark and it's all got very stretched in a short space of time.

1223: Twenty-four riders in the escape group. Fabian Wegman of Gerolsteiner almost hits the deck. He's pedalling a very big gear, so his bike's obviously banjacksed, and he almost catches the rear wheel of the man in front while searching for his support car over his shoulder.

1214: Really steaming so far and quite a chunky group has broken free. Barloworld's Cheula and Agritubel's Vogondy open up a 100m gap, but are soon reeled in as Oscar Freire gets on the front and sets the pace. 10km gone already.

1208: The first sighter of the Isle of Man's Mark Cavendish - yawning! No need for that. The Tourmalet has been used more than any other climb in the Tour - this is the 78th time it's been rolled out. The Hautacam was first used in 1994. Screamer of a day in Pau as the first little attack, inspired by Leonardo Duque of Cofidis, is reeled in at the 4km mark.

1202: The riders are currently on the roll-out. They will hit the Col du Tourmalet, perhaps the most famous of the Pyreneen cycling climbs, after 100km, and the 'terrible climb', as it is often unimaginatively dubbed, will be waiting with all teeth bared. And we're off...

1157: Hello! Two whopping mountain climbs today - the Tourmalet and the Hautacam, both such swines that they are beyond classification.

Australia's Cadel Evans will be in Pau for the start of the stage - whether he will make Hautacam, 156km down the road, will become clear as the stage progresses. He crashed on stage nine, and his rivals - including Alejandro Valverde, who's 66 seconds behind the second-placed Silence-Lotto rider - may look to attack.

It will be interesting to see how Italy's Riccardo Ricco, winner of two stages so far this year, gets on today - he may have left plenty on the Col d'Aspin yesterday. And it will be worth keeping an eye on Britain's David Millar - he's given up on claiming the yellow jersey this year and the rest of the field won't mind if he stages a breakaway. And of course it's Bastille Day today, so you might want to stick some money on a Frenchman...