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Thursday, July 17: Stage 12, Bourg en Bresse - St Etienne, 185.5 km

Stage 12 live updates | Stage 12 photos | Stage 12 map and profile |

Alexander Kristoff wins stage 12. Photo ©Sirotti

Rated ascents:

• Km 58.5: Col de Brouilly, 1.7 km @ 5.1% average gradient - category 4
• Km 83.0: Côte du Saule-d'Oingt, 3.8 km @ 4.5% - category 3
• Km 138: Col de Brosses, 15.3 km @ 3.3%, category 3
• Km 164: Côte de Grammond, 9.8km @ 2.9%, category 4

The Race: Andrew Talansky was unable to start stage 12.

Five riders were allowed to escape early in the stage: Sebastian Langeveld (Garmin-Sharp), Gregory Rast (Trek), Simon Clarke (Orica), David De La Cruz (NetApp) and Florian Vachon (Bretagne-Séché).

De la Cruz suffered a nasty fall while rounding a corner and abandoned with a broken collarbone.

The other four pressed on, but the kilometers took their toll. By the final climb Simon Clarke was alone, but with two Europcar riders chasing him, Perrig Quémeneur and Cyril Gautier. The pair caught Clarke just as they crested the final climb, the Côte de Grammond.

While the peloton ramped up its high-speed chase, Quémeneur was dropped from the break. Near the finish Gautier and Clarke were caught, setting things up for a big sprint finale.

But, the speedy chase over the technical final kilometers split the peloton. Among the missing from the front group were Marcel Kittel and yesterday's winner, Tony Gallopin. With about three kilometers remaining André Greipel and Sylvain Chavanel fell. After they remounted, Griepel was seen griping at the Frenchman, seeming to blame Chavanel for the crash.

Cannondale, which had been missing from the front all day, tried to impose its will on the pack, but it was chaos. Katusha's Alexander Kristoff chose Omega Pharma's Matteo Trentin's wheel in the sprint. It must have been a good choice because Kristoff, after patiently waiting for the right moment, pounced and won the stage with Peter Sagan second. Sagan has still to win a stage in this year's Tour, though he has a commanding lead in the points classification.

Vincenzo Nibali finished in the front group, 25th, and remains the overall leader.

Complete Results:

Winner's average speed: 40.892 km/hr

1	Alexander Kristoff	TEAM KATUSHA	4hr 32min 11sec
2	Peter Sagan	CANNONDALE
3	Arnaud Demare	FDJ.FR
4	Michael Albasini	ORICA GREENEDGE
5	Ramunas Navardauskas	GARMIN - SHARP
6	Matteo Trentin	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP
7	Daniele Bennati	TINKOFF-SAXO
8	Bryan Coquard	TEAM EUROPCAR
9	Daniel Oss	BMC RACING TEAM
10	Samuel Dumoulin	AG2R LA MONDIALE
11	José Joaquin Rojas Gil	MOVISTAR TEAM
12	Romain Feillu	BRETAGNE-SECHE ENVIRONNEMENT
13	Armindo Fonseca	BRETAGNE-SECHE ENVIRONNEMENT
14	John Degenkolb	TEAM GIANT-SHIMANO
15	Jurgen Roelandts	LOTTO-BELISOL
16	Bauke Mollema	BELKIN PRO CYCLING
17	Michal Kwiatkowski	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP
18	Heinrich Haussler	IAM CYCLING
19	Cyril Lemoine	COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS
20	Anthony Delaplace	BRETAGNE-SECHE ENVIRONNEMENT
21	Richie Porte	TEAM SKY
22	Christopher Horner	LAMPRE - MERIDA
23	Simon Gerrans	ORICA GREENEDGE
24	Ben Gastauer	AG2R LA MONDIALE
25	Vincenzo Nibali	ASTANA PRO TEAM
26	Geraint Thomas	TEAM SKY
27	Brice Feillu	BRETAGNE-SECHE ENVIRONNEMENT
28	Bram Tankink	BELKIN PRO CYCLING
29	Alexander Porsev	TEAM KATUSHA
30	Jurgen Van Den Broeck	LOTTO-BELISOL
31	Jakob Fuglsang	ASTANA PRO TEAM
32	Mikel Nieve Iturralde	TEAM SKY
33	Elia Viviani	CANNONDALE
34	Alejandro Valverde	MOVISTAR TEAM
35	Pierre Rolland	TEAM EUROPCAR
36	Jean-Christophe Péraud	AG2R LA MONDIALE
37	Thibaut Pinot	FDJ.FR
38	Bernhard Eisel	TEAM SKY
39	Tejay Van Garderen	BMC RACING TEAM
40	Romain Bardet	AG2R LA MONDIALE
41	Steven Kruijswijk	BELKIN PRO CYCLING
42	Laurens Ten Dam	BELKIN PRO CYCLING
43	Leopold Konig	TEAM NETAPP-ENDURA
44	Paul Voss	TEAM NETAPP-ENDURA
45	Haimar Zubeldia Agirre	TREK FACTORY RACING
46	Jean-Marc Bideau	BRETAGNE-SECHE ENVIRONNEMENT
47	Tanel Kangert	ASTANA PRO TEAM
48	Rui Alberto Costa	LAMPRE - MERIDA
49	Frank Schleck	TREK FACTORY RACING
50	Jérôme Pineau	IAM CYCLING
51	Yury Trofimov	TEAM KATUSHA
52	Peter Velits	BMC RACING TEAM
53	Peter Stetina	BMC RACING TEAM
54	Cyril Gautier	TEAM EUROPCAR
55	Jens Keukeleire	ORICA GREENEDGE
56	Yukiya Arashiro	TEAM EUROPCAR
57	Markel Irizar Arranburu	TREK FACTORY RACING
58	Sébastien Reichenbach	IAM CYCLING
59	Tony Martin	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP
60	Jérémy Roy	FDJ.FR
61	Michael Schär	BMC RACING TEAM	@ 16 seconds
62	Koen De Kort	TEAM GIANT-SHIMANO	+ 00' 20''
63	Adam Hansen	LOTTO-BELISOL
64	Mickaël Delage	FDJ.FR	+ 00' 24''
65	Andriy Grivko	ASTANA PRO TEAM	+ 00' 25''
66	Michael Morkov	TINKOFF-SAXO	+ 00' 31''
67	Kévin Reza	TEAM EUROPCAR	+ 00' 41''
68	Florian Guillou	BRETAGNE-SECHE ENVIRONNEMENT
69	Roy Curvers	TEAM GIANT-SHIMANO
70	Giovanni Visconti	MOVISTAR TEAM	+ 00' 45''
71	Fabio Sabatini	CANNONDALE
72	Kristijan Koren	CANNONDALE
73	Jan Bakelants	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP	+ 00' 52''
74	Luca Paolini	TEAM KATUSHA	+ 01' 12''
75	Marco Marcato	CANNONDALE	+ 01' 16''
76	Benoit Jarrier	BRETAGNE-SECHE ENVIRONNEMENT	+ 01' 20''
77	Michal Golas	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP	+ 01' 34''
78	Alessandro De Marchi	CANNONDALE
79	Maciej Bodnar	CANNONDALE
80	Luis ngel Mate	COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS
81	Cedric Pineau	FDJ.FR
82	Arnold Jeannesson	FDJ.FR
83	Benjamin King	GARMIN - SHARP
84	Michael Rogers	TINKOFF-SAXO
85	Mikael Cherel	AG2R LA MONDIALE
86	Christian Meier	ORICA GREENEDGE
87	Tom Dumoulin	TEAM GIANT-SHIMANO
88	Rudy Molard	COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS
89	Marcel Sieberg	LOTTO-BELISOL
90	Niki Terpstra	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP	+ 01' 39''
91	Gatis Smukulis	TEAM KATUSHA	+ 02' 06''
92	Jan Barta	TEAM NETAPP-ENDURA
93	Daniel Navarro Garcia	COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS	+ 02' 24''
94	Arnaud Gerard	BRETAGNE-SECHE ENVIRONNEMENT
95	Thomas Voeckler	TEAM EUROPCAR
96	Marcel Wyss	IAM CYCLING
97	Martin Elmiger	IAM CYCLING
98	Lars Bak	LOTTO-BELISOL
99	Lieuwe Westra	ASTANA PRO TEAM
100	Imanol Erviti Ollo	MOVISTAR TEAM
101	Ruben Plaza Molina	MOVISTAR TEAM
102	John Gadret	MOVISTAR TEAM
103	Kristijan Durasek	LAMPRE - MERIDA
104	Reto Hollenstein	IAM CYCLING
105	Julien Simon	COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS
106	Sébastien Minard	AG2R LA MONDIALE
107	Johan Van Summeren	GARMIN - SHARP
108	José Serpa	LAMPRE - MERIDA
109	Maarten Wynants	BELKIN PRO CYCLING
110	Greg Van Avermaet	BMC RACING TEAM
111	Lars Boom	BELKIN PRO CYCLING
112	Zakkari Dempster	TEAM NETAPP-ENDURA
113	Andreas Schillinger	TEAM NETAPP-ENDURA
114	Sergio Paulinho	TINKOFF-SAXO
115	Matteo Tosatto	TINKOFF-SAXO
116	Alessandro Petacchi	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP
117	Amaël Moinard	BMC RACING TEAM
118	Vasili Kiryienka	TEAM SKY
119	Nicolas Roche	TINKOFF-SAXO
120	Simon Yates	ORICA GREENEDGE
121	Svein Tuft	ORICA GREENEDGE
122	Matteo Montaguti	AG2R LA MONDIALE
123	Perrig Quemeneur	TEAM EUROPCAR	+ 02' 53''
124	Vladimir Isaichev	TEAM KATUSHA	+ 03' 29''
125	Bartosz Huzarski	TEAM NETAPP-ENDURA	+ 04' 01''
126	Tom Jelte Slagter	GARMIN - SHARP
127	Simon Spilak	TEAM KATUSHA
128	Sylvain Chavanel	IAM CYCLING	+ 04' 44''
129	Sep Vanmarcke	BELKIN PRO CYCLING	+ 04' 53''
130	Adrien Petit	COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS	+ 05' 11''
131	Rafal Majka	TINKOFF-SAXO	+ 05' 40''
132	David Lopez Garcia	TEAM SKY	+ 05' 45''
133	Joaquim Rodriguez	TEAM KATUSHA
134	Rafael Valls	LAMPRE - MERIDA
135	José Pimenta Costa Mendes	TEAM NETAPP-ENDURA
136	Nicolas Edet	COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS
137	Blel Kadri	AG2R LA MONDIALE
138	Matthieu Ladagnous	FDJ.FR
139	Tony Gallopin	LOTTO-BELISOL
140	André Greipel	LOTTO-BELISOL	+ 05' 58''
141	Simon Clarke	ORICA GREENEDGE	+ 06' 23''
142	Dries Devenyns	TEAM GIANT-SHIMANO	+ 07' 09''
143	Jack Bauer	GARMIN - SHARP	+ 07' 14''
144	Roger Kluge	IAM CYCLING
145	Jon Izaguirre Insausti	MOVISTAR TEAM
146	Rein Taaramäe	COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS
147	Albert Timmer	TEAM GIANT-SHIMANO
148	Jens Voigt	TREK FACTORY RACING	+ 10' 12''
149	Marcel Kittel	TEAM GIANT-SHIMANO
150	Jesus Herrada Lopez	MOVISTAR TEAM
151	Tiago Machado	TEAM NETAPP-ENDURA
152	Mark Renshaw	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP
153	Luke Durbridge	ORICA GREENEDGE
154	Alex Howes	GARMIN - SHARP
155	Alessandro Vanotti	ASTANA PRO TEAM
156	Tom Veelers	TEAM GIANT-SHIMANO
157	Janier Acevedo	GARMIN - SHARP
158	Marcus Burghardt	BMC RACING TEAM
159	Gregory Rast	TREK FACTORY RACING
160	Nelson Oliveira	LAMPRE - MERIDA
161	Matthew Busche	TREK FACTORY RACING
162	Danny Pate	TEAM SKY
163	William Bonnet	FDJ.FR
164	Thomas Leezer	BELKIN PRO CYCLING
165	Benat Intxausti	MOVISTAR TEAM
166	Davide Cimolai	LAMPRE - MERIDA
167	Sebastian Langeveld	GARMIN - SHARP
168	Maxim Iglinskiy	ASTANA PRO TEAM
169	Dmitriy Gruzdev	ASTANA PRO TEAM
170	Michele Scarponi	ASTANA PRO TEAM
171	Jean Marc Marino	CANNONDALE
172	Yohann Gene	TEAM EUROPCAR
173	Florian Vachon	BRETAGNE-SECHE ENVIRONNEMENT
174	Alexandre Pichot	TEAM EUROPCAR
175	Arthur Vichot	FDJ.FR	+ 12' 04''
176	Christophe Riblon	AG2R LA MONDIALE
177	Cheng Ji	TEAM GIANT-SHIMANO

GC after Stage 12: 2,156.5 km raced so far at an average speed of 41.85 km/hr

1	Vincenzo Nibali	ASTANA PRO TEAM	51hr 31min 34sec
2	Richie Porte	TEAM SKY	@ 2min 23sec
3	Alejandro Valverde	MOVISTAR TEAM	+ 02' 47''
4	Romain Bardet	AG2R LA MONDIALE	+ 03' 01''
5	Thibaut Pinot	FDJ.FR	+ 03' 47''
6	Tejay Van Garderen	BMC RACING TEAM	+ 03' 56''
7	Jean-Christophe Péraud	AG2R LA MONDIALE	+ 03' 57''
8	Bauke Mollema	BELKIN PRO CYCLING	+ 04' 08''
9	Jurgen Van Den Broeck	LOTTO-BELISOL	+ 04' 18''
10	Jakob Fuglsang	ASTANA PRO TEAM	+ 04' 31''
11	Michal Kwiatkowski	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP	+ 04' 39''
12	Geraint Thomas	TEAM SKY	+ 05' 17''
13	Rui Alberto Costa	LAMPRE - MERIDA	+ 05' 34''
14	Mikel Nieve Iturralde	TEAM SKY	+ 06' 03''
15	Pierre Rolland	TEAM EUROPCAR	+ 06' 47''
16	Christopher Horner	LAMPRE - MERIDA	+ 07' 33''
17	Laurens Ten Dam	BELKIN PRO CYCLING	+ 07' 42''
18	Haimar Zubeldia Agirre	TREK FACTORY RACING	+ 08' 01''
19	Leopold Konig	TEAM NETAPP-ENDURA	+ 08' 25''
20	Tony Gallopin	LOTTO-BELISOL	+ 08' 57''
21	Cyril Gautier	TEAM EUROPCAR	+ 09' 12''
22	Yury Trofimov	TEAM KATUSHA	+ 10' 32''
23	Steven Kruijswijk	BELKIN PRO CYCLING	+ 10' 35''
24	Brice Feillu	BRETAGNE-SECHE ENVIRONNEMENT	+ 11' 32''
25	Frank Schleck	TREK FACTORY RACING	+ 11' 51''
26	Tanel Kangert	ASTANA PRO TEAM	+ 15' 27''
27	Tom Dumoulin	TEAM GIANT-SHIMANO	+ 17' 17''
28	Jan Bakelants	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP	+ 20' 42''
29	John Gadret	MOVISTAR TEAM	+ 23' 51''
30	Peter Velits	BMC RACING TEAM	+ 24' 24''
31	Bram Tankink	BELKIN PRO CYCLING	+ 25' 51''
32	Tony Martin	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP	+ 28' 24''
33	Ben Gastauer	AG2R LA MONDIALE	+ 35' 06''
34	Peter Sagan	CANNONDALE	+ 41' 08''
35	Giovanni Visconti	MOVISTAR TEAM	+ 42' 07''
36	Greg Van Avermaet	BMC RACING TEAM	+ 42' 22''
37	Daniel Navarro Garcia	COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS	+ 44' 40''
38	Kristijan Durasek	LAMPRE - MERIDA	+ 45' 16''
39	Arnold Jeannesson	FDJ.FR	+ 45' 18''
40	José Joaquin Rojas	MOVISTAR TEAM	+ 45' 26''
41	Michael Rogers	TINKOFF-SAXO	+ 47' 48''
42	Michal Golas	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP	+ 48' 20''
43	Michael Schär	BMC RACING TEAM	+ 51' 15''
44	Luis Angel Mate	COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS	+ 52' 43''
45	Paul Voss	TEAM NETAPP-ENDURA	+ 53' 29''
46	Michele Scarponi	ASTANA PRO TEAM	+ 54' 44''
47	Marcel Wyss	IAM CYCLING	+ 55' 36''
48	Simon Gerrans	ORICA GREENEDGE	+ 55' 39''
49	Sylvain Chavanel	IAM CYCLING	+ 55' 46''
50	Daniel Oss	BMC RACING TEAM	+ 56' 26''
51	Nicolas Roche	TINKOFF-SAXO	+ 57' 34''
52	Michael Albasini	ORICA GREENEDGE	+ 58' 14''
53	Tom Jelte Slagter	GARMIN - SHARP	+ 59' 10''
54	José Serpa	LAMPRE - MERIDA	+ 59' 33''
55	Peter Stetina	BMC RACING TEAM	+ 59' 58''
56	Jens Keukeleire	ORICA GREENEDGE	+ 01h 00' 08''
57	Martin Elmiger	IAM CYCLING	+ 01h 01' 11''
58	Thomas Voeckler	TEAM EUROPCAR	+ 01h 01' 14''
59	Rafael Valls	LAMPRE - MERIDA	+ 01h 02' 18''
60	Jon Izaguirre Insausti	MOVISTAR TEAM	+ 01h 03' 29''
61	Amaël Moinard	BMC RACING TEAM	+ 01h 04' 55''
62	Arthur Vichot	FDJ.FR	+ 01h 07' 07''
63	Matteo Trentin	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP	+ 01h 08' 28''
64	Alessandro De Marchi	CANNONDALE	+ 01h 09' 23''
65	Marco Marcato	CANNONDALE	+ 01h 09' 30''
66	Mikael Cherel	AG2R LA MONDIALE	+ 01h 09' 41''
67	Tiago Machado	TEAM NETAPP-ENDURA	+ 01h 12' 49''
68	Simon Spilak	TEAM KATUSHA	+ 01h 13' 50''
69	Adam Hansen	LOTTO-BELISOL	+ 01h 13' 57''
70	Joaquim Rodriguez	TEAM KATUSHA	+ 01h 14' 15''
71	Florian Guillou	BRETAGNE-SECHE ENVIRONNEMENT	+ 01h 16' 43''
72	Matteo Montaguti	AG2R LA MONDIALE	+ 01h 16' 45''
73	Nicolas Edet	COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS	+ 01h 18' 01''
74	Lars Bak	LOTTO-BELISOL	+ 01h 18' 16''
75	Sep Vanmarcke	BELKIN PRO CYCLING	+ 01h 19' 11''
76	Lieuwe Westra	ASTANA PRO TEAM	+ 01h 20' 44''
77	Niki Terpstra	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP	+ 01h 21' 01''
78	Rudy Molard	COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS	+ 01h 21' 54''
79	Cyril Lemoine	COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS	+ 01h 22' 32''
80	Julien Simon	COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS	+ 01h 22' 43''
81	Markel Irizar Arranburu	TREK FACTORY RACING	+ 01h 22' 54''
82	Sébastien Reichenbach	IAM CYCLING	+ 01h 23' 01''
83	Johan Van Summeren	GARMIN - SHARP	+ 01h 23' 25''
84	Daniele Bennati	TINKOFF-SAXO	+ 01h 24' 18''
85	Koen De Kort	TEAM GIANT-SHIMANO	+ 01h 24' 29''
86	Ruben Plaza Molina	MOVISTAR TEAM	+ 01h 24' 51''
87	Kévin Reza	TEAM EUROPCAR	+ 01h 24' 57''
88	Samuel Dumoulin	AG2R LA MONDIALE	+ 01h 26' 04''
89	Benjamin King	GARMIN - SHARP	+ 01h 26' 08''
90	Matthieu Ladagnous	FDJ.FR	+ 01h 26' 11''
91	Blel Kadri	AG2R LA MONDIALE	+ 01h 26' 25''
92	Jérémy Roy	FDJ.FR	+ 01h 26' 27''
93	Bryan Coquard	TEAM EUROPCAR	+ 01h 26' 30''
94	Fabio Sabatini	CANNONDALE	+ 01h 27' 39''
95	Jérôme Pineau	IAM CYCLING	+ 01h 27' 42''
96	Heinrich Haussler	IAM CYCLING	+ 01h 27' 50''
97	Vasili Kiryienka	TEAM SKY	+ 01h 28' 00''
98	Sébastien Minard	AG2R LA MONDIALE	+ 01h 28' 08''
99	Yukiya Arashiro	TEAM EUROPCAR	+ 01h 28' 16''
100	Jan Barta	TEAM NETAPP-ENDURA	+ 01h 28' 57''
101	Jesus Herrada Lopez	MOVISTAR TEAM	+ 01h 29' 05''
102	Sergio  Paulinho	TINKOFF-SAXO	+ 01h 29' 07''
103	Maciej Bodnar	CANNONDALE	+ 01h 29' 14''
104	Andriy Grivko	ASTANA PRO TEAM	+ 01h 30' 01''
105	Nelson Oliveira	LAMPRE - MERIDA	+ 01h 30' 23''
106	Jurgen Roelandts	LOTTO-BELISOL	+ 01h 30' 24''
107	Gregory Rast	TREK FACTORY RACING	+ 01h 31' 11''
108	Bartosz Huzarski	TEAM NETAPP-ENDURA	+ 01h 31' 49''
109	Simon Clarke	ORICA GREENEDGE	+ 01h 31' 54''
110	Jens Voigt	TREK FACTORY RACING	+ 01h 33' 21''
111	Simon Yates	ORICA GREENEDGE	+ 01h 33' 26''
112	Roy Curvers	TEAM GIANT-SHIMANO	+ 01h 35' 14''
113	Perrig Quemeneur	TEAM EUROPCAR	+ 01h 36' 01''
114	Lars Boom	BELKIN PRO CYCLING	+ 01h 36' 33''
115	Maarten Wynants	BELKIN PRO CYCLING	+ 01h 36' 34''
116	Gatis Smukulis	TEAM KATUSHA	+ 01h 36' 39''
117	Luke Durbridge	ORICA GREENEDGE	+ 01h 37' 38''
118	John Degenkolb	TEAM GIANT-SHIMANO	+ 01h 38' 25''
119	Imanol Erviti Ollo	MOVISTAR TEAM	+ 01h 39' 05''
120	David Lopez Garcia	TEAM SKY	+ 01h 39' 13''
121	Benat Intxausti	MOVISTAR TEAM	+ 01h 40' 24''
122	Cedric Pineau	FDJ.FR	+ 01h 42' 09''
123	Reto Hollenstein	IAM CYCLING	+ 01h 42' 23''
124	Rein Taaramäe	COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS	+ 01h 42' 44''
125	Alexander Kristoff	TEAM KATUSHA	+ 01h 43' 32''
126	Alexander Porsev	TEAM KATUSHA	+ 01h 44' 06''
127	Jean-Marc Bideau	BRETAGNE-SECHE ENVIRONNEMENT	+ 01h 44' 21''
128	Sebastian Langeveld	GARMIN - SHARP	+ 01h 47' 17''
129	Anthony Delaplace	BRETAGNE-SECHE ENVIRONNEMENT	+ 01h 48' 29''
130	Rafal Majka	TINKOFF-SAXO	+ 01h 48' 54''
131	Alexandre Pichot	TEAM EUROPCAR	+ 01h 48' 56''
132	Florian Vachon	BRETAGNE-SECHE ENVIRONNEMENT	+ 01h 49' 56''
133	Svein Tuft	ORICA GREENEDGE	+ 01h 50' 42''
134	Yohann Gene	TEAM EUROPCAR	+ 01h 50' 55''
135	Christian Meier	ORICA GREENEDGE	+ 01h 52' 43''
136	Luca Paolini	TEAM KATUSHA	+ 01h 54' 00''
137	Kristijan Koren	CANNONDALE	+ 01h 54' 10''
138	Matteo Tosatto	TINKOFF-SAXO	+ 01h 54' 25''
139	Alex Howes	GARMIN - SHARP	+ 01h 57' 01''
140	Bernhard Eisel	TEAM SKY	+ 01h 58' 53''
141	Maxim Iglinskiy	ASTANA PRO TEAM	+ 01h 59' 19''
142	Dmitriy Gruzdev	ASTANA PRO TEAM	+ 01h 59' 21''
143	Thomas Leezer	BELKIN PRO CYCLING	+ 01h 59' 26''
144	Arnaud Gerard	BRETAGNE-SECHE ENVIRONNEMENT	+ 02h 00' 59''
145	Jack Bauer	GARMIN - SHARP	+ 02h 04' 22''
146	Dries Devenyns	TEAM GIANT-SHIMANO	+ 02h 04' 36''
147	Marcel Sieberg	LOTTO-BELISOL	+ 02h 04' 44''
148	Armindo Fonseca	BRETAGNE-SECHE ENVIRONNEMENT	+ 02h 05' 15''
149	José Pimenta Costa Mendes	TEAM NETAPP-ENDURA	+ 02h 05' 25''
150	Matthew Busche	TREK FACTORY RACING	+ 02h 05' 32''
151	Mark Renshaw	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP	+ 02h 08' 21''
152	Marcus Burghardt	BMC RACING TEAM	+ 02h 09' 11''
153	Vladimir Isaichev	TEAM KATUSHA	+ 02h 09' 24''
154	Ramunas Navardauskas	GARMIN - SHARP	+ 02h 09' 32''
155	Michael Morkov	TINKOFF-SAXO	+ 02h 10' 08''
156	Zakkari Dempster	TEAM NETAPP-ENDURA	+ 02h 10' 20''
157	Albert Timmer	TEAM GIANT-SHIMANO	+ 02h 11' 21''
158	Benoit Jarrier	BRETAGNE-SECHE ENVIRONNEMENT	+ 02h 11' 50''
159	Mickaël Delage	FDJ.FR	+ 02h 11' 59''
160	Tom Veelers	TEAM GIANT-SHIMANO	+ 02h 12' 23''
161	Christophe Riblon	AG2R LA MONDIALE	+ 02h 12' 36''
162	Roger Kluge	IAM CYCLING	+ 02h 13' 38''
163	Alessandro Vanotti	ASTANA PRO TEAM	+ 02h 14' 07''
164	Romain Feillu	BRETAGNE-SECHE ENVIRONNEMENT	+ 02h 14' 43''
165	Alessandro Petacchi	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP	+ 02h 15' 27''
166	Andreas Schillinger	TEAM NETAPP-ENDURA	+ 02h 15' 41''
167	André Greipel	LOTTO-BELISOL	+ 02h 16' 07''
168	Arnaud Demare	FDJ.FR	+ 02h 19' 29''
169	Danny Pate	TEAM SKY	+ 02h 19' 36''
170	Adrien Petit	COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS	+ 02h 20' 21''
171	Janier Acevedo	GARMIN - SHARP	+ 02h 21' 16''
172	Jean Marc Marino	CANNONDALE	+ 02h 25' 14''
173	Marcel Kittel	TEAM GIANT-SHIMANO	+ 02h 25' 55''
174	William Bonnet	FDJ.FR	+ 02h 27' 13''
175	Elia Viviani	CANNONDALE	+ 02h 27' 35''
176	Davide Cimolai	LAMPRE - MERIDA	+ 02h 28' 33''
177	Cheng Ji	TEAM GIANT-SHIMANO	+ 02h 53' 31''

Points Classification:

1	Peter Sagan	CANNONDALE	341 points
2	Bryan Coquard	TEAM EUROPCAR	191
3	Alexander Kristoff	TEAM KATUSHA	172
4	Marcel Kittel	TEAM GIANT-SHIMANO	167
5	Mark Renshaw	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP	118
6	André Greipel	LOTTO-BELISOL	117
7	Greg Van Avermaet	BMC RACING TEAM	100
8	Vincenzo Nibali	ASTANA PRO TEAM	95
9	Tony Gallopin	LOTTO-BELISOL	87
10	Samuel Dumoulin	AG2R LA MONDIALE	80
11	Tony Martin	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP	76
12	Arnaud Demare	FDJ.FR	74
13	José Joaquin Rojas	MOVISTAR TEAM	72
14	Daniel Oss	BMC RACING TEAM	70
15	Ramunas Navardauskas	GARMIN - SHARP	64
16	Blel Kadri	AG2R LA MONDIALE	63
17	Michael Albasini	ORICA GREENEDGE	63
18	Sylvain Chavanel	IAM CYCLING	55
19	Romain Feillu	BRETAGNE - SECHE ENVIRONNEMENT	55
20	Sep Vanmarcke	BELKIN PRO CYCLING	53
21	Tom Dumoulin	TEAM GIANT-SHIMANO	51
22	Lieuwe Westra	ASTANA PRO TEAM	48
23	Cyril Lemoine	COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS	44
24	Michal Kwiatkowski	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP	43
25	Daniele Bennati	TINKOFF-SAXO	42
26	Martin Elmiger	IAM CYCLING	41
27	Alexandre Pichot	TEAM EUROPCAR	40
28	Simon Gerrans	ORICA GREENEDGE	39
29	Alejandro Valverde	MOVISTAR TEAM	36
30	Romain Bardet	AG2R LA MONDIALE	35
31	Nicolas Edet	COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS	35
32	Kévin Reza	TEAM EUROPCAR	35
33	Thibaut Pinot	FDJ.FR	34
34	Jakob Fuglsang	ASTANA PRO TEAM	32
35	Simon Clarke	ORICA GREENEDGE	32
36	Elia Viviani	CANNONDALE	32
37	Matteo Trentin	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP	31
38	Thomas Voeckler	TEAM EUROPCAR	31
39	John Degenkolb	TEAM GIANT-SHIMANO	31
40	Lars Boom	BELKIN PRO CYCLING	30
41	Tejay Van Garderen	BMC RACING TEAM	30
42	Luis Angel Mate	COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS	30
43	Anthony Delaplace	BRETAGNE - SECHE ENVIRONNEMENT	30
44	Cyril Gautier	TEAM EUROPCAR	29
45	Richie Porte	TEAM SKY	28
46	Jean-Christophe Péraud	AG2R LA MONDIALE	28
47	Matteo Montaguti	AG2R LA MONDIALE	28
48	Heinrich Haussler	IAM CYCLING	28
49	Perrig Quemeneur	TEAM EUROPCAR	28
50	Niki Terpstra	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP	26
51	Bauke Mollema	BELKIN PRO CYCLING	26
52	Matthew Busche	TREK FACTORY RACING	26
53	Alessandro Petacchi	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP	25
54	Arnaud Gerard	BRETAGNE - SECHE ENVIRONNEMENT	24
55	Alessandro De Marchi	CANNONDALE	23
56	Jan Barta	TEAM NETAPP-ENDURA	23
57	Michael Rogers	TINKOFF-SAXO	22
58	Fabio Sabatini	CANNONDALE	22
59	Mikael Cherel	AG2R LA MONDIALE	21
60	Jens Voigt	TREK FACTORY RACING	20
61	Jean-Marc Bideau	BRETAGNE - SECHE ENVIRONNEMENT	20
62	Florian Vachon	BRETAGNE - SECHE ENVIRONNEMENT	20
63	Thomas Leezer	BELKIN PRO CYCLING	20
64	Marco Marcato	CANNONDALE	20
65	Tom Veelers	TEAM GIANT-SHIMANO	20
66	Armindo Fonseca	BRETAGNE - SECHE ENVIRONNEMENT	19
67	Maciej Bodnar	CANNONDALE	18
68	Jurgen Van Den Broeck	LOTTO-BELISOL	17
69	Gregory Rast	TREK FACTORY RACING	17
70	Adrien Petit	COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS	17
71	Joaquim Rodriguez	TEAM KATUSHA	16
72	Alberto Costa Rui	LAMPRE - MERIDA	15
73	Jens Keukeleire	ORICA GREENEDGE	15
74	Jérôme Pineau	IAM CYCLING	15
75	Benoit Jarrier	BRETAGNE - SECHE ENVIRONNEMENT	15
76	Christophe Riblon	AG2R LA MONDIALE	15
77	Davide Cimolai	LAMPRE - MERIDA	14
78	Steven Kruijswijk	BELKIN PRO CYCLING	13
79	Daniel Navarro Garcia	COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS	13
80	Markel Irizar Arranburu	TREK FACTORY RACING	13
81	Giovanni Visconti	MOVISTAR TEAM	12
82	Brice Feillu	BRETAGNE - SECHE ENVIRONNEMENT	11
83	Simon Yates	ORICA GREENEDGE	11
84	Rein Taaramäe	COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS	11
85	Yohann Gene	TEAM EUROPCAR	11
86	Mikel Nieve Iturralde	TEAM SKY	10
87	Amaël Moinard	BMC RACING TEAM	10
88	Adam Hansen	LOTTO-BELISOL	10
89	Bartosz Huzarski	TEAM NETAPP-ENDURA	10
90	Zakkari Dempster	TEAM NETAPP-ENDURA	10
91	Pierre Rolland	TEAM EUROPCAR	9
92	Alexander Porsev	TEAM KATUSHA	9
93	Leopold Konig	TEAM NETAPP-ENDURA	8
94	Paul Voss	TEAM NETAPP-ENDURA	8
95	Christian Meier	ORICA GREENEDGE	8
96	Kristijan Koren	CANNONDALE	8
97	Michele Scarponi	ASTANA PRO TEAM	7
98	Jurgen Roelandts	LOTTO-BELISOL	7
99	Roy Curvers	TEAM GIANT-SHIMANO	7
100	Sebastian Langeveld	GARMIN - SHARP	7
101	Arthur Vichot	FDJ.FR	6
102	Rafal Majka	TINKOFF-SAXO	6
103	Dries Devenyns	TEAM GIANT-SHIMANO	6
104	Cheng Ji	TEAM GIANT-SHIMANO	5
105	Geraint Thomas	TEAM SKY	4
106	Bram Tankink	BELKIN PRO CYCLING	4
107	Rafael Valls	LAMPRE - MERIDA	4
108	Lars Bak	LOTTO-BELISOL	4
109	Sergio Paulinho	TINKOFF-SAXO	4
110	Reto Hollenstein	IAM CYCLING	4
111	Albert Timmer	TEAM GIANT-SHIMANO	4
112	Haimar Zubeldia Agirre	TREK FACTORY RACING	3
113	Jan Bakelants	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP	3
114	Marcel Wyss	IAM CYCLING	3
115	Koen De Kort	TEAM GIANT-SHIMANO	3
116	Andriy Grivko	ASTANA PRO TEAM	3
117	Jean Marc Marino	CANNONDALE	3
118	John Gadret	MOVISTAR TEAM	2
119	Dmitriy Gruzdev	ASTANA PRO TEAM	2
120	Jérémy Roy	FDJ.FR	1
121	Mickaël Delage	FDJ.FR	1
122	Alessandro Vanotti	ASTANA PRO TEAM	1
123	Tom Jelte Slagter	GARMIN - SHARP	-5
124	Sébastien Minard	AG2R LA MONDIALE	-5
125	Tiago Machado	TEAM NETAPP-ENDURA	-13
126	Andreas Schillinger	TEAM NETAPP-ENDURA	-20

Mountains Classification:

1	Joaquim Rodriguez	TEAM KATUSHA	51 points
2	Thomas Voeckler	TEAM EUROPCAR	34
3	Tony Martin	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP	26
4	Vincenzo Nibali	ASTANA PRO TEAM	20
5	Alessandro De Marchi	CANNONDALE	18
6	Blel Kadri	AG2R LA MONDIALE	17
7	Thibaut Pinot	FDJ.FR	16
8	Alejandro Valverde	MOVISTAR TEAM	12
9	Giovanni Visconti	MOVISTAR TEAM	12
10	Nicolas Edet	COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS	12
11	Michal Kwiatkowski	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP	11
12	Amaël Moinard	BMC RACING TEAM	10
13	Jean-Christophe Péraud	AG2R LA MONDIALE	9
14	Cyril Lemoine	COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS	6
15	Sylvain Chavanel	IAM CYCLING	6
16	Martin Elmiger	IAM CYCLING	5
17	Simon Yates	ORICA GREENEDGE	5
18	Jens Voigt	TREK FACTORY RACING	4
19	Romain Bardet	AG2R LA MONDIALE	4
20	Lieuwe Westra	ASTANA PRO TEAM	4
21	Christophe Riblon	AG2R LA MONDIALE	4
22	Nicolas Roche	TINKOFF-SAXO	3
23	Luis Angel Mate	COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS	3
24	Pierre Rolland	TEAM EUROPCAR	2
25	Tom Jelte Slagter	GARMIN - SHARP	2
26	Perrig Quemeneur	TEAM EUROPCAR	2
27	Sebastian Langeveld	GARMIN - SHARP	2
28	Simon Clarke	ORICA GREENEDGE	2
29	Tejay Van Garderen	BMC RACING TEAM	2
30	Brice Feillu	BRETAGNE-SECHE ENVIRONNEMENT	2
31	Peter Sagan	CANNONDALE	2
32	Niki Terpstra	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP	2
33	Greg Van Avermaet	BMC RACING TEAM	1
34	Andriy Grivko	ASTANA PRO TEAM	1
35	Benoit Jarrier	BRETAGNE-SECHE ENVIRONNEMENT	1
36	Tom Dumoulin	TEAM GIANT-SHIMANO	1
37	Jan Bakelants	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP	1
38	Tiago Machado	TEAM NETAPP-ENDURA	1
39	Lars Bak	LOTTO-BELISOL	1
40	Gregory Rast	TREK FACTORY RACING	1
41	Rein Taaramäe	COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS	1

Young Rider Classification:

1	Romain Bardet	AG2R LA MONDIALE	51hr 34min 35sec
2	Thibaut Pinot	FDJ.FR	@ 46 seconds
3	Michal Kwiatkowski	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP	+ 01' 38''
4	Tom Dumoulin	TEAM GIANT-SHIMANO	+ 14' 16''
5	Peter Sagan	CANNONDALE	+ 38' 07''
6	Tom Jelte Slagter	GARMIN - SHARP	+ 56' 09''
7	Jon Izaguirre Insausti	MOVISTAR TEAM	+ 01h 00' 28''
8	Matteo Trentin	OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP	+ 01h 05' 57''
9	Rudy Molard	COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS	+ 01h 18' 53''
10	Sébastien Reichenbach	IAM CYCLING	+ 01h 20' 00''
11	Benjamin King	GARMIN - SHARP	+ 01h 23' 07''
12	Bryan Coquard	TEAM EUROPCAR	+ 01h 23' 29''
13	Jesus Herrada Lopez	MOVISTAR TEAM	+ 01h 26' 04''
14	Nelson Oliveira	LAMPRE - MERIDA	+ 01h 27' 22''
15	Simon Yates	ORICA GREENEDGE	+ 01h 30' 25''
16	Luke Durbridge	ORICA GREENEDGE	+ 01h 34' 37''
17	John Degenkolb	TEAM GIANT-SHIMANO	+ 01h 35' 24''
18	Anthony Delaplace	BRETAGNE-SECHE ENVIRONNEMENT	+ 01h 45' 28''
19	Rafal Majka	TINKOFF-SAXO	+ 01h 45' 53''
20	Armindo Fonseca	BRETAGNE-SECHE ENVIRONNEMENT	+ 02h 02' 14''
21	Benoit Jarrier	BRETAGNE-SECHE ENVIRONNEMENT	+ 02h 08' 49''
22	Arnaud Demare	FDJ.FR	+ 02h 16' 28''
23	Adrien Petit	COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS	+ 02h 17' 20''
24	Elia Viviani	CANNONDALE	+ 02h 24' 34''
25	Davide Cimolai	LAMPRE - MERIDA	+ 02h 25' 32''

Team Classification:

1	Ag2R La Mondiale	154h 42' 16''
2	Astana Pro Team	@ 3min 19sec
3	Belkin Pro Cycling	+ 04' 25''
4	Team Sky	+ 04' 56''
5	BMC Racing Team	+ 21' 20''
6	Movistar Team	+ 23' 19''
7	Team Europcar	+ 29' 23''
8	Lampre - Merida	+ 29' 40''
9	Omega Pharma-Quick Step	+ 30' 07''
10	Trek Factory Racing	+ 43' 31''
11	Team Katusha	+ 49' 53''
12	Cofidis, Solutions Credits	+ 50' 37''
13	Lotto-Belisol	+ 52' 23''
14	FDJ.Fr	+ 54' 13''
15	Team Netapp-Endura	+ 01h 02' 17''
16	Iam Cycling	+ 01h 11' 01''
17	Tinkoff-Saxo	+ 01h 39' 57''
18	Orica Greenedge	+ 01h 42' 47''
19	Garmin - Sharp	+ 01h 52' 05''
20	Cannondale	+ 02h 14' 08''
21	Team Giant-Shimano	+ 02h 14' 10''
22	Bretagne-Seche Environnement	+ 02h 22' 49”

Stage 12 photos:

Tony Martin, the panzerwagen, heads to the start. Photo ©Sirotti

Peter Sagan is feeling beter today after being under the weather. Photo ©Sirotti

Arnaud Démare. Photo ©Sirotti

Chris Horner has just signed in. Photo ©Sirotti

André Greipel. Photo ©Sirotti

Luca Paolini (Katusha, with beard), heads to the front. Photo ©Sirotti

The Omega Pharma train: Tony Martin (unzipped jersey) leads Michal Kwiatkowski and Matteo Trentin. Photo ©Sirotti

Here they come! Kristoff, Sagan and Démare head for the line. Photo ©Sirotti

Alexander kristoff gets it. Photo ©Sirotti

Stage winner Alexander Kristoff. Photo ©Sirotti

Race leader Vincenzo Nibali. Photo ©Sirotti

KOM Joaquin Rodriguez. Photo ©Sirotti

Simon Clarke with his well-deserved combativity award. Photo ©Sirotti

Stage 12 Live Updates:

Weather at St. Etienne, 2:45 local time: Sunny, no chance of rain. 30C (86F), wind from the north-northeast at 6 km/hr (4mph). 47% humidity.

Km 0: Andrew Talansky will not start today's stage, the last day of Tour racing before the Alps. 178 riders remain to contest today's 185.5 kilometers with its four categorized ascents.

Km 9: Dutch road champion Sebastian Langeveld (Garmin-Sharp) has taken off and has a lead of 10 seconds.

Km 15: Langeveld was quickly joined by four other riders: Gregory Rast (Trek), Simon Clarke (Orica), David De La Cruz (NetApp) and Florian Vachon (Bretagne-Séché). The quintet are 20 seconds ahead of the peloton.

Km 22: It looks like the peloton is content to let these five riders get away. After 26 minutes of racing their lead has gone out to 2min 15sec. Average speed so far has been 50.1 km/hr.

Km 34: The five are well gone, 3min 55sec ahead of the field.

Km 40: Whoa! The five riders have a 5 minute gap. Green Jersey owner Peter Sagan, who has yet to win a stage this Tour, has been under the weather. He said today he is coughing less and plans to try to win today.

Km 67: Florian Vachon was the first of the breakaway riders to cross the intermediate sprint finish line. Marcel Kittel, at 6th, won the field sprint. Kittel was follwed by Bryan Coquard, Mark Renshaw, Romain Feillu, André Greipel and Peter Sagan. Sagan picked up 5 green jersey points for his 11th place.

David de la Cruz was first over the fourth category Col de Brouilly.

The breakaway's gap has settled down now, it's at 3min 27sec. Ji Cheng of Giant-Shimano has assumed his regular place at the front of the peloton.

Km 77: The riders are winding their way through narrow, little roads on their way to the next climb, the third category Côte du Saule-d'Oingt. I count seven Giant-Shimano riders at the front of the peloton. Nibali is just moving up towards the front. Gap is 4min 9sec.

Rui Costa's problems with staying with the leaders yesterday have been explained. The world champion has bronchitis has has been on a regimen of antibiotics.

Km 85: David de la Cruz was also the first over the Côte du Saule-d'Oingt. Peloton is at 4min 42sec.

Km 91: David de la Cruz (a rider in the break) was just going around a banal little corner when his front wheel gave out from underneath him, taking down Sebastian Langelveld with him. De La Cruz looks to be in agony. Langeveld is chasing, more than 40 seconds behind Clarke, Vachon and Rast, who have pressed on.

The peloton passed safely through the same corner where de la Cruz crashed. Langeveld has rejoined the break. No word on de la Cruz's condition. Gap is 5 minutes.

Km 97: De la Cruz has abandoned. Ironically, this was what he said before the stage started, “This is my first Tour de France. Some friends of mine like Purito and Juan Antonio Flecha told me to forget everything I've experienced before. They were right. I'm living the most extraordinary moment of my life. I was targeting the polka dot jersey but Purito is too strong. We arrive on a terrain that I like. I aim at breaking away and I'd like to shine at Pla d'Adet close to my home.”

Km 106: Europcar has put a couple of riders at the front applying a bit of pressure and stringing out the field. Do they want to try to shell Marcel Kittel on the 15-km long Col de Brosses? Europcar rider and terrific sprinter Bryan Coquard must be feeling pretty good.

Km 110: The four breakaway riders - Sebastian Langeveld (Garmin-Sharp), Gregory Rast (Trek), Simon Clarke (Orica) and Florian Vachon (Bretagne-Séché) - are 3min 13sec ahead of the peloton.

Km 122, 62 km to go: The break has started the Col de Brosses. Europcar remains at the front of the strung-out pack and have brought the break's lead down to 2min 23sec.

Km 132: Florian Vachon and then Gregory Rast can't stay with their breakaway partners and are dropping back. It's now just Simon Clarke and Sebastian Langeveld up front, 2min 18sec ahead of the pack. In the peloton, FDJ GC man Thibaut Pinot flatted and is being paced back by two teammates.

Km 135: Vachon has been swept up by the Europcar-led peloton. Pinot has regained the back of the peloton after his puncture. The riders have been averaging 39.6 km/hr so far over the stage's 3hr 24min. There are still 50 km remaining in the stage.

Km 140: Langeveld led Clarke over the Col de Brosses, the pair did not contest the KOM. Neither of the breakaway pair is looking cooked. Both look good and are working well together. The peloton passed over the crest 2min 13sec later.

Km 142: Gregory Rast has been caught while Florain Vachon has been shelled by the peloton. Now comes a descent then then fourth-category Côte de Grammond. Still no sign of Cannondale at the front.

Km 156: On the ascent of the Grammond Europcar played another card. While two Europcar riders were driving the pack up the hill, two other Europcar riders, Perrig Quémeneur and Cyril Gautier attacked our of the peloton and got a quick 30 seconds. Nice move. If Giant-Shimano chases the escaping pair, Marcel Kittel will surely be dropped. OK, word is that John Degenkolb is Giant-Shimano's man for the day.

Giant-Shimano has gone to the front. Kittel is dropped.

Km 158: The situation: Clarke and Langeveld off the front with Quémeneur and Gautier chasing a half minute back and the peloton 1min 20sec behind the leaders. Riders and getting tossed out the back.

Bam! Langeveld was taking a drink and Clarke attacks. Clarke is flat-out hauling up the mountain. He looks terrific.

Giant-Shimano remains at the front of the peloton.

Km 162, 24 km to go: Clarke is holding his gap, 1min 19sec in front of the peloton. The Europcar pair are 24 seconds behind Clarke, They blew by Langeveld, who has run out of gas. Now Langeveld has been caught and dropped by the peloton.

Km 164: Clarke is riding like his hair is on fire, but the Europcar pair are just 14 seconds back.

Clarke has crested and is on the long descent to the finish. Quémeneur and Gautier caught Clarke just after they passed the summit. How will Clarke play being in a Europcar sandwich? Pack is at 49 seconds.

20 km to go: Astana has moved to the front of the pack to keep Nibali safe.

Km 168, 17.5 to go: The two Europcar riders are working hard, but the Giant-Shimano-led chase has brought the gap down to 32 seconds. The descent is fast and the peloton is in a long line. Yesterday's winner Tony Gallopin is paying for his efforts and has been dropped. Pack is screaming along at 66 km/hr. Nibali is staying well-placed, near the front.

Gallopin has regained contact.

10 km to go: The peloton can see the lead trio, 20 seconds ahead. Greipel and Sagan have survived the descent and are in the peloton. Quémeneur has been caught.

8 km to go: Clarke and Gautier have just 16 seconds. The descent is finished and now there is a technical, flat lead-in to the finish. Gautier has asked Clarke for help, but Clarke shakes his head. Gautier tries to drop Clarke, but Clarke hangs on.

6 km to go: The pair are caught. All together for a sprint. Sort of...there is a big split in the peloton.

3 km to go: Here's Cannondale at the front. Will Peter Sagan finally get a stage win?

André Greipel has crashed! So has Sylvain Chavanel. Greipel is yelling at the Frenchman.

Under the red kite: Cannondale and Katusha are at the front. Sagan is 8 riders back.

The Finish: Lots of elbows and belly buttons all over the place as the sprinters fight for position. It's Alexander Kristoff, who came off Matteo Trentin's wheel, the winner with Peter Sagan second and Démare third. John Degenkolb gave it a shot, but gave up.

Stage 12 map and profile:

Stage 12 map

Stage 12 profile

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