Hello and welcome to Cyclingnews' live coverage of stage 7 of the Tour de France
It's around half an hour until stage 7 of the Tour de France gets underway. Stay with us all day for updates on all the action as the race heads from Tomblaine, in the east of France, 176.3km south to La Super Planche des Belles Filles, the first summit finish of this year's Tour.
Yesterday's explosive stage from Binche to Longwy saw the yellow jersey change hands, as Tadej Pogačar put in a huge injection of pace at the finish to take the stage win and the maillot jaune.
After a day spent in the break, taking his yellow jersey on one final mad sojourn, Wout Van Aert reverts to his green jersey today. The Belgian leads the points classification by 61 ahead of Fabio Jakobsen in second.
Magnus Cort (EF Education-EasyPost) continues his reign in polka dots as King of the Mountains. Will he contest for the points available on today's ascents - two category threes, prior to the category one finish at La Super Planche des Belles Filles?
The white jersey has a new owner - although not its rightful one. Tadej Pogačar continues to lead the young rider classification, but Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) will wear the jersey on his behalf, following his strong performance so far, which sees him currently in 5th position on GC.
La Planche des Belles Filles has been a decisive climb in a number of previous editions of the Tour de France. The last time it featured in the Tour was in the infamous final time trial of the 2020 edition, where Primož Roglič snatched defeat from the jaws of victory as Tadej Pogačar stormed to victory on the stage and took control of the yellow jersey at the crucial moment.
The climb itself has been extended from its original form - the 'Super' section that has been added relates to around 700m of climbing on gravel, at pitches of up to 24%.
The new maillot jaune, Tadej Pogačar, spoke ahead of today's stage.
The riders are just a few hundred metres from the beginning of stage 7 of the Tour de France.
Tadej Pogačar, the new yellow jersey, has a mechanical issue dealt with and catches up with the peloton ahead of the official start.
The Tour de France peloton heads through the streets of Tomblaine on their way to the stage start. It's another bright, sunny day in eastern France.
Christian Prudhomme waves the yellow flag and we are underway.
There is likely to be another battle for the breakaway today, as the climbers look to maximise on their first legitimate opportunity to open up their legs.
Teams interested today include Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert, Lotto Soudal, Bahrain-Victorious and AG2R-Citroen, who put pressure on at the front of the bunch, stringing it out into a long line along the streets of Tomblaine.
More mechanical issues for UAE Team Emirates as George Bennett receives assistance off the back of the bunch. He struggled yesterday with similar issues combined with the high pace and had a fight on his hands to get back into the peloton.
AG2R Citroën instigate attacks at the front. B&B Hotels are also paying close attention to the moves at the front of the race.
Following a breathless start to yesterday's stage, in which it took over 80km for the break to be established, it will be interesting to see how long the battle goes on for today.
A lone rider, Mikkel Honoré (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl) finds space between himself and the rest.
170km to go
The mechanical issues continue for UAE Team Emirates. This time Marc Soler has to drop back to the team car. Not an ideal start for the race leader's team.
Honoré is slowly carving out a gap, still working alone - he is currently 9 seconds ahead.
It will be tough for Honoré to maintain this if he doesn't get some company soon. A few more riders try to bridge to him.
Six riders have joined Honoré in the breakaway attempt, including two riders from Trek-Segafredo - Mads Pedersen and Giulio Ciccone.
There are still a number of riders trying to pull clear of the peloton, but nothing has stuck so far.
165km to go
Riders from Bahrain-Victorious and Team BikeExchange-Jayco are the next to try their luck.
The second time Soler has struggled at the back of the peloton, as he receives a push start from a team mechanic following another stop.
Lennard Kämna of Bora-Hansgrohe pushes the pace - today would be an ideal chance for him to go for a stage.
Two more Bora riders, Marco Haller and Maximilian Schachmann, take over at the front of the group and begin to make an impact, as gaps open up behind them.
A number of splits have appeared with a group of six riders ahead of another group of six, and the rest of the peloton fight to bring them back.
There's a brief hiatus as the road kicks up and the splits at the front disappear. The attacks begin again.
160km to go
Marc Soler is clearly having a difficult start to the day - he's still out the back of the peloton trying to resolve the mechanical issues that continue to plague him.
It's stalemate as the bunch are back together again. Patience will be required for any riders determined to be a part of today's breakaway.
A fresh attack from Mikkel Honoré is quickly reeled back in again.
155km to go
A few more riders have a crack at getting away, including riders from BikeExchange and Lotto Soudal. They ride through twisting, turning streets as they wait for their opportunity to drop the hammer and try to get a gap.
The peloton are stretched out once again in a long line. Just over 25km have been covered and there's still no sign of a breakaway establishing itself.
150km to go
The riders at the front are all looking at each other, waiting for the moment to strike.
A line of breakaway hopefuls try the snap the elastic but there's nothing doing and they concertina back into the bunch.
The next attacks come, with Bora-Hansgrohe aggressive once again. Can this one make it clear of the bunch?
Two Bora riders are joined by three more riders, including Peter Sagan of Team TotalEnergies.
Two riders from both Bora and TotalEnergies along with one from Movistar, Gorka Izagirre, try to break free. They have other hopefuls on their tail, though.
145km to go
Still the attacks are neutralised by the teams controlling the race, and we are no closer to establishing the day's break.
There is clearly interest from a range of teams in being a part of this move, and it has the potential to become unwieldy if they are all involved. So the stalemate continues.
With UAE Team Emirates policing any and all moves, it's hard to tell exactly which ones they will deem appropriate.
140km to go
Chaos once more at the front of the bunch as more riders try to escape, with huge numbers trying to make the break now, and the peloton strung out once again.
Magnus Cort (EF EducationEasyPost), the poka dot jersey wearer, shows his face at the front of the attack for the first time today.
Simon Geschke (Cofidis) has some space, but Lotto Soudal and B&B Hotels have sent riders in pursuit, among others.
Geschke has some breathing room now as the rest of the chasers look at one another. He has 8 seconds, the first rider since Honoré to actually gain a decent gap.
Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) rides straight past the chasing group and in pursuit of Geschke.
Ganna drills it across to Geschke and they become a group of two. They have 10 seconds over the peloton who are not satisfied.
Despite doubling in size with Ganna's arrival, the breakaway pair still can't make any head way.
The pair of Ganna and Geschke have 14 seconds - the biggest gap of any breakaway effort so far today.
The day is 46km old, and the breakaway pair have 17 seconds on the rest. It's not 100% clear whether they are content to let this one go, or if anyone else will try their luck at bridging across.
130km to go
And we have our answer - no, we're not done. There is still plenty of interest in getting across, however the more time passes, the tougher the job - they are up to 20 seconds.
Well, that was a strange one - Filippo Ganna sits up and removes himself from the break, leaving Simon Geschke alone once more.
Ganna drops back to the bunch as the hopefuls gather themselves for another stab at their escape attempt.
B&B Hotels, Cofidis, and Bora-Hansgrohe the usual suspects trying to get away from the rest.
Geschke is still clear, although he has just 7 seconds' lead now.
And just like that, we have it - from nowhere, suddenly we have a leading group of 11 riders, and the peloton call time on the attacking and block the road, taking comfort breaks.
It's a strong group, and is composed of the following riders:
Magnus Cort decides belatedly that he wants to be a part of the group and tries to bridge across to them. He is only around 9 seconds ahead of the bunch, though.
There are still riders hopefully trying to make it across, from the teams who have missed out - the likes of AG2R-Citroen.
120km to go
The breakaway settle in for the day as the peloton eases the pace. The gap goes out to two minutes, with Magnus Cort collected back into the fold.
So, with 11 men in the breakaway, there's a good chance it could be a day for them today. Two of the riders have battled for victory on the same climb previously - Ciccone and Teuns came first and second on the stage finish in 2019.
The gap goes out to 2:30, with 70km covered on today's stage.
The yellow jersey looks calm and assured at the front of the bunch, led by his UAE Team Emirates team mates.
105km to go
The UAE team apparently aren't in the mood to sit back and let the breakaway have all the fun today. They up the pace and the gap goes down to 2:16.
Despite a strong composition and good numbers, there's an ominous sense that the breakaway are already doomed, with Pogačar's team mates turning the screw at the front of the group.
UAE Team Emirates have decided two minutes is the gap they are willing to allow.
100km to go
The route goes steadily uphill for some time now, with the first categorised climb of the day in around 30km.
Vegard Stake Laengen is called back by his team, and the breakaway group drops from 11 to 10.
95km to go
The gap continues to diminish, albeit slowly. The leading group have 1:48 over the chasing pack. They must be cursing their luck, as the yellow jersey is clearly gearing up to make a big statement on today's summit finish.
UAE continue to turn the screw, keeping the breakaway on a very tight leash.
90km to go
UAE Team Emirates police the bunch with yellow jersey Tadej Pogačar.
The gap holds steady around 1:45 as the UAE riders take the opportunity to eat and drink. An intermediate sprint is imminent, before the first climb of the day, the category 3 Col de Grosse Pierre.
85km to go
The climbing is backloaded on today's stage, with two category 3 and a category 1 climb all coming in the final 70km. With a summit finish of the short, sharp, shock of La Super Planche des Belles Filles, the stage should see a real explosive conclusion.
As a reminder, there are ten riders up the road, including former winner on La Planche des Belles Filles, Giulio Ciccone. However given the pace being set by the yellow jersey's team, their efforts seem as though they may be in vain.
80km to go
UAE continue to push the pace on the front, stretching the peloton out in a long line. The intermediate sprint is incoming - the breakaway will mop up most of the available points for that one.
The breakaway group rolls through the intermediate sprint, not interested in contesting for points.
Van Aert and Jakobsen are visible at the front of the bunch, so look out for them contesting for the remaining points shortly.
75km to go
Christophe Laporte leads out Wout Van Aert for the intermediate points, with Jakobsen opting not to sprint for the points after all.
Mads Pedersen takes the full 20 points from the intermediate sprint, and propels himself into the top ten of the green jersey competition.
Attacks from within the breakaway group, as the Bora-Hansgrohe riders try to drop the rest of the group, and Luke Durbridge goes with them.
Lennard Kämna looks really up for this, as they begin the first categorised climb of the day, the Col de Grosse Pierre (Cat 3).
The climb is 2.7km in length, and Giulio Ciccone is the first to decide he's had enough. He drops away from the breakaway group, which is in disarray now.
The pair of Bora riders, along with Durbridge, have pushed on and opened up a 17 second gap to the remnants of the group, which is now scattered along the road behind.
The remaind
The leading group have opened out their gap to the GC group, which stretches to 2:30 as the rest of the breakaway struggle to stay together.
70km to go
Some of the other breakaway riders catch the front group and they coalesce back into a group of five - Simon Geschke and Dylan Teuns are the riders to have bridged back across.
The gap is steady again at just over 2:30 as the peloton crests the first climb of the day and begin the descent. The next one beckons in just under 35km, with a small uncategorised climb in between.
65km to go
The breakaway group of 5 attack the descent to try and extend their lead.
The peloton snakes down the descent, as the gap increases slightly to 2:42.
The gap is still going out, by degrees. It's up to 2:47 - this group of five are working well together and are motivated to make this move stick.
A chasing pair of Cyril Barthe (B&B Hotels) and Imanol Erviti (Movistar) haven't given up hope of rejoining their breakawy colleagues - they are currently 11 seconds behind the leading group of 5.
The breakaway work hard to stay away on stage 7 of the Tour de France.
Asgreen and Ciccone are caught by the peloton and slide straight through to the back.
50km to go
The breakaway pushes on along reasonably flat roads, with the next category 3 climb imminent in around 5km. They are building on their lead, with 3:13 over the rest as it stands.
45km to go
The category 3 Col des Croix is next on the menu for the riders, the breakaway riders have begun the climb, the peloton will arrive in around 3:10.
The Col de Croix is a 3.2km ascent at an average gradient of 6.3%.
UAE Team Emirates have been present at the front defending the yellow jersey all day. They lead the bunch onto the climb. The gap hovers around the 3:00 mark.
Simon Geschke is the first man to crest the climb. He has taken the maximum available mountains points today and opens his account in the KOM competition, immediately going into second place in the standings behind Magnus Cort.
40km to go
The peloton works up the Col des Croix, 2:40 behind the breakaway.
The break are back on the descent. One climb remains and it's a brute - 7km long at an average gradient of 8.7% - with the final gravel stretch packing pitches of up to 24%. It's undoubtedly going to cause ripples in the GC - will the break prevail and win the stage?
35km to go
Prior to the summit finish of La Super Planche des Belles Filles, the riders face an uncategorised climb though - the Col de la Chevestraye. A difficult run-in to a killer finish.
A fearsome challenge faces the riders as they reach the end of stage 7 - La Super Planche des Belles Filles.
The gap is holding steady at around 2:45 as UAE Team Emirates chase the 7-man breakaway.
One rider who has been the focus of a lot of attention today is Thibaut Pinot. He lives locally to the final climb and it's ten years to the day since the French rider's first stage win at the Tour de France. He spoke earlier today about how special the climb is to the race.
With 25km to go the gap begins to fall, as UAE ramp up the tempo in the bunch once again.
25km to go
The peloton are tightly packed across the road, as UAE Team Emirates hope for support from other teams heading into the final chase.
Nils Pollitt (Bora-Hansgrohe) holds firm as he has two team mates in the breakaway, he's doing a fantastic job of forcing UAE to work.
Almost down to 20km to go - the break are still going at a steady pace, with a 2:20 lead which is coming down. UAE continue to press on at the front of the bunch, and it's a question of when, not if, they make the catch.
20km, two minutes - Jumbo-Visma come to the front to assist in the pacing effort.
20km to go
Jumbo-Visma drop back again as UAE take up the reins once more. They seem keen to push the pace, with George Bennett taking up the pace-setting. Marc Hirschi has been dropped from the train, his work done for the day.
Arkéa–Samsic are also present at the front, riding for Nairo Quintana. Movistar and Cofidis join them. UAE can finally share the workload.
The gap drops below two minutes for the first time and the chase is very much on. 17.5km to go.
The breakaway are tackling the uncategorised climb ahead of the final climb of the day. The gap stabilises once more. Will the break make it to the finish or will the chasing group of GC riders make the catch?
The colour blocking begins as the teams line up in preparation for the final kilometres on today's stage.
Wout Van Aert leads the charge for Team Jumbo-Visma, Ineos and Groupama-FDJ are also working hard for position at the front of the bunch.
We are just a few kilometres away from the first summit finish of this year's Tour de France - La Super Planche des Belles Filles.
15km to go
The breakaway are riding over the top of the uncategorised climb, there will then be a short descent before the climbing begins once more ahead of the final climb.
Crowds line the streets and urge the 7 riders up to the summit of the uncategorised climb of Col de la Chevestraye. They begin the descent.
Erviti is the first rider to drop off the pace in the front group. They are now down to 6.
Filippo Ganna takes up the pace at the front of the peloton.
10km to go - Ganna is powering through this descent with his team in his wheel, and they are not making any in-roads into the lead of the breakaway which remains around 1:40.
10km to go
Ineos aren't the only team visible at the front - Groupama-FDJ are also present, and must be hoping to deploy Thibaut Pinot on the final climb.
The break are 1km from the foot of the climb.
Erviti is swept up by a surging peloton, still led by Filippo Ganna.
The break attacks the climb and Lennard Kämna is straight on the attack with Schachmann dropping away, his work done for the day. Just four riders remain in the break - Geschke, Teuns and Durbridge complete the quartet.
Simon Geschke is the next to attack. He tries to move away from the rest and gets himself a small gap.
The gap back to the peloton is down to 1:20.
Magnus Cort, Wout Van Aert and Quinn Simmons are among the riders drifting out the back of the peloton.
Luke Durbridge is the next to lose touch with the front runners.
Geschke can't hold the next pair at arm's length - Kämna and Teuns are almost reaching him.
Simon Geschke of Cofidis has a few seconds over the next two on the road, and 1:15 to the chasing GC group, which is being thinned out in the lower section of this climb.
UAE Team Emirates take over once again at the front of the race. Pogačar still has three lieutenants ahead of him.
Nairo Quintana is well-positioned for a potential attack. Who will be the first to go from the main group?
Lennard Kämna puts in a huge dig to drop Dylan Teuns. He bridges to Simon Geschke. The two have 1:15 over the yellow jersey.
UAE are setting a sensible tempo at the front of the bunch, not pushing to close the gap just yet.
5km to go
Kämna puts in another attack and leaves Geschke in his wake.
With less than 5km to go to the summit, UAE continue to pull on the front of the peloton.
Ineos, Jumbo-Visma and Groupama-FDJ are the next teams on the road.
The GC group has slimmed significantly now. Thibaut Pinot is unable to stay with the pace and is dropped.
Ben O'Connor is also struggling at the back of the group.
4km to go
Plenty of riders dropping out the back of the group as the intensity increases.
The GC group is slimming down rapidly, with most of the key players still present.
Neilson Powless is next to be dropped - his second place on GC in jeopardy.
This climb is really picking out who has got a chance of hanging on in the GC race and who hasn't. It's absolutely brutal.
3km to go
The gap to Lennard Kämna is falling, he has just 47 seconds, but with 2.8km to go and some brutal gradients left to face, his chances of victory seem to be diminishing.
Tom Pidcock is now at the back of the group of GC riders, with Powless trying to hang on.
George Bennett peels off, UAE have just one domestique left - Rafal Majka.
Pogačar looks over his shoulder - you sense an attack is imminent.
2km to go
Kämna remains 47 seconds ahead and pulls out a few more seconds. Can he make it?
The gradient is cruel as Kämna attacks the gravel segment.
Majka continues to set the pace, it's stalemate behind, no-one choosing to attack yet.
Just a handful of elite riders remain.
The flamme rouge for Kämna - he has one last kilometre between himself and victory.
The dust is thick in the air as Kämna hits the gravel.
Majka waves the yellow jersey through and he attacks into the final section.
Vingegaard and Roglic are in close behind the yellow jersey.
Kämna has less than 400m to go to what would be an incredible stage victory.
Just 8 riders remain in the GC group.
The gradient kicks up for Pogacar and the rest.
Vingegaard passes Pogacar and flies past Kämna
Tadej Pogačar wins stage 7 of the Tour de France ahead of Jonas Vingegaard.
That final couple of hundred metres was one of the most brutal finishes in recent memory.
Vingegaard attacked first but Pogačar caught and passed him just before the line.
The rest of the riders drag themselves one by one over the summit.
Heartbreak for Lennard Kämna after a heroic ride saw him almost make it to the line, before the GC leading pair rode past him.
Reeling from the intensity of those final few hundred metres. What a spectacular finish. Pogačar was pushed all the way, with Vingegaard putting in a very strong ride.
Pogačar embraces his fiancée Urska Zigart at the finish.
The GC looks very different following today's stage. With Vingegaard moving up to second, Geraint Thomas and Adam Yates occupy third and fourth place in the standings.
The gruppetto come in as those who have completed the stage ride back down again.
Jonas Vingegaard: "it was definitely a brutal finish. I think I can be happy, I tried in the end but he just came with 20m to go and I didn't have an answer.
Tadej Pogačar:
Tadej Pogačar wins stage 7 of the Tour de France, his second victory in as many days.
Lennard Kämna:
Today's results in full.
The GC, as it stands following today's stage.
Tadej Pogačar retains the yellow jersey, following victory on stage 7 of the Tour de France.
Thanks for joining us for what has been another thrilling day of racing at the Tour de France.
Wout Van Aert after the stage: "It was quite an easy day. Obviously, it was a hard pace in the bunch because UAE really wanted to race for the stage win. So, it's never easy, it's the Tour de France. I tried to help the guys toward the last climb and I think they did well, so nothing special.
Read about how the stage unfolded and how the action has affected the GC standings here.
Join us again tomorrow for stage 8, as the peloton tackle a hilly test from Dole to Lausanne.
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