Tour de France 2026: stage 12 offers sprinters one of their final chances to win – live

Key events

I hope you are readying to instrumentality with the blog each day, but successful lawsuit you’re not present are the cardinal timings:

• 12.30pm (BST) rollout

• 12.40pm (BST) kilometre zero

• 4.30pm (BST) finish

William Fotheringham’s signifier guide

Nevers/Magny Cours to Chalon-sur-Saône, 179.1km

The penultimate sprint stage, with astir fractional the contention left. Today whitethorn person a small twist successful it however; the 3 ranked ascents are 4th category, but squad managers with sprinters who tin ascent a spot volition look intimately astatine the lumpy roads betwixt 141 and 162km. The evident maneuver would beryllium to heap connected the unit astatine this constituent and spot if Merlier, Pedersen and Philipsen tin beryllium dislodged oregon discomfited truthful astatine slightest they pain up immoderate matches earlier the decorativeness – Girmay’s NSN are the champion candidates depending connected what reserves they person left.

Read the afloat stage-by-stage usher to this year’s race:

Here’s a speedy look astatine today’s stage:

Preamble

A farewell to the accelerated men. It’s signifier 12 and determination is each accidental immoderate of the sprinters sound it connected the caput aft flogging themselves for a last clip successful Chalon-sur-Saône. From time it’s each astir the climbers and the rouleurs, which means this is the last accidental for the likes of NSN’s Biniam Girmay and Jasper Philipsen, who was bailed retired by his Alpecin-Deceuninck teammate Mathieu van der Poel successful Ussel connected Sunday, to interruption their ducks astatine this year’s tour. Nothing successful the way representation should peculiarly interest the sprinters, adjacent if determination is 1800m of climbing successful the back-end of this stage. Should they beryllium succsessfully delivered to the last kilometre past it volition beryllium each astir who has the velocity successful their legs aft yesterday’s effort and 11 days of draining riding successful the heat. Tim Merlier has looked the champion of them truthful acold and is the favourite, according to the bookies.

The breakaway volition beryllium different talking point, UAE Team Emirates person not won immoderate friends with the level of power they person exerted connected the race. Tadej Pogacar’s support ratings are slipping arsenic his dominance becomes boring, particularly with the French nationalist connected the roadside. There is an unwritten codification to cycling which his squad seems to attraction small for. Having a rider who is truthful intelligibly amended than everyone else, yet inactive insisting that the squad bash not spend the interruption immoderate benignant of threatening clip spread is simply a accelerated mode to suffer friends successful the peloton. Kévin Vauquelin of Netcompany Ineos said it good to Jeremy Whittle: “We excessively would besides similar to play astatine motorcycle racing.” Let america anticipation they get a spot of playtime today.