That’s the lot from me. Jeremy Whittle’s stage report will be along later. Au revoir et bon soirée.

Factoring in the bonifications (I love that word) Wiebes leads GC by four seconds from Kim Le Court.

The race favourite Vollering is well placed, with four bonus seconds, third in GC after stage one. Oceane Mahé is in polka-dots, and Wiebes leads the points classification due to her opening stage win. She’s got over 130 pro victories now.

“I can’t believe it,” says Wiebes. “The SD Worx-Protime team worked super-hard … Demi attacked, I thought, I need to follow … it was a super-long sprint.

“I expected some attacks … but I felt good with 1km to go. I was a bit blocked, because EF started early, but I thought: ‘I need to go now.’

“I’m really happy with the support from the team … and the staff … they really believed in me, even if I had some doubts, and I am super grateful for this.”

Once Wiebes was there in the final 300m, it looked likely that there would only be one winner. And the gradient was not too difficult in the final metres.

1km to go: Under the flamme rouge. Wiebes is right there! Then Vollering attacks! Le Court covers the attacks …

1.2km to go: Another crash. There will be some sore bodies in the peloton tomorrow morning.

2km to go: A big right-hander. A flatter section, it looks like, and now a left-hander taken at top speed. Who will be in yellow? Zoe Backstedt (Canyon/SRAM) is up there …

3km to go: The pace is hot, hot, hot! It’s all strung out at the front. And it’s technical, the road winding from left to right … and now on to the final climb.

4km to go: The final climb is 2.5km long, with an average gradient of 4.6%. It’s 490m of climbing. Surely the more powerful sprinters are going to be ruled out on that basis?

6km to go: It’s hectic in that chasing bunch. As you would expect.

The break has been swallowed up! That gap collapsed very quickly …

10km to go: Will Lorena Wiebes have a shot at a sixth career Tour de France stage victory? Plenty of riders will be hoping to deny her the opportunity and the final climb may rule her out of contention.

10.5km to go: Not much progress for the chasing peloton. It’s 46sec for the four leaders.

12km to go: EF Education-Oatly are setting the pace on the front of the peloton. Jonathan Vaughters, the team manager, was apparently spotted in one of their team cars earlier.

15km to go: It’s a 42sec advantage for our four leaders. They’re alternating turns at the front, trying to maximise their chances of a stage win. But behind, the sprinters’ teams are really cranking up the effort levels …

16km to go: So it’s four at the front now. Noskova, Spratt, Rijnbeek and Eraso. They have 39sec on the bunch.

17km to go: The chasers about to catch Noskova! Rowe says Spratt has been doing most of the work, and has obviously been given permission to go for the stage win by her team Lidl-Trek.

19km to go: This is a spectacular descent down to the lake. There are vineyards on either side of the road, and a beautiful view over to Lac Léman.

20km to go: Marlen Reusser (Movistar) crashes on a right-hand downhill bend. It’s a nasty looking impact but true to form for any pro cyclist, she is back on the bike, or perhaps a teammate’s bike, as soon as humanly possible.

22km to go: Noskova has a chance here, riding like this. Although the gap is 1min 30sec. She’s about 50sec ahead of the chase group.

23km to go: Stunning helicopter shots of Lac Léman, adjacent to Lausanne, and the surrounding mountains.

26km to go: Noskova has 33sec on Spratt, Eraso and Rijnbeek, who have joined forces. She has 2min on the chasing peloton.

Noskova is certainly looking like she managed to conserve energy while riding in the break. She is tapping out a fierce tempo, and now leaps out of the saddle to get maximum power through the pedals.

28km to go: Noskova, our lone leader, comes from Jablonec nad Nisou in Czechia. Good cycling round there, plenty of hills, not to mention mountains, including the Krkonose National Park.

30km to go: Mackenzie Coupland (Liv AlUla Jayco) crashes heavily in Australian national champion’s kit. That was an unfortunate racing incident.

32km to go: Noskova has 13sec on Eraso: Spratt and Rijnbeek continue to give chase.

33km to go: Now there’s a long descent to a flat section leading into the final climb in Lausanne. It will be full gas from here.

35km to go: Amanda Spratt (Lidl-Trek) is now with Rijnbeek, chasing Eraso, who is chasing Noskova.

36km to go: The road is still heading upwards, which is a quirk of this route design. Ordinarily I think you’d start the descent right after the QOM point, but there you go.

37km to go: Noskova (Cofidis) has attacked solo after the QOM point. She has 10sec on her closest chaser, Eraso.

38km to go: “It’s going to be a very difficult sprint to get right,” says Matt Stephens on TNT Sports, on reporting duty at the finish.

“If they turn up the gas at the foot of the climb, you may be looking at a reduced sprint.”

Côte de Vulliens QOM result

3pts Nikola Noskova (Cofidis)
2pts Océane Mahé (Ma Petite Entreprise)
1pt Idoia Eraso Lasa (Laboral-Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi)

That means Mahé has secured the jersey. She now has 8pts, Eraso has five, and there are only 2pts maximum available on the final climb.

41km to go: The peloton grinds up the climb. Océane Mahé (Ma Petite Entreprise), Maud Rijnbeek (Volkerwessels), Idoia Eraso Lasa (Laboral-Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi) and Nikola Noskova (Cofidis) are the riders in the break. They will be flying down the descent towards the finish soon enough: but after the top of the Côte de Vulliens, there is more climbing to do for a bit before that …

42km to go: The rolling landscape around Lausanne is looking dry, as you’d expect, but quite beautiful. The four breakaway riders will not be soaking in the scenery, though, they will be more focused on the burning pain in their legs.

Can Mahé wrap up the QOM jersey for today by taking maximum points on the Côte de Vulliens?

44km to go: 1min 30sec the gap. The race has hit the Côte de Vulliens. A category-three, 3km long, average gradient 5.3%.

48km to go: The gap is 1min 42sec. It’s been an active day, with a couple of riders trying to get across to this four-person break, and (unfortunately) a number of crashes in the bunch.

50km to go: This time last week, I was at the Tour! Here’s a photo I took of the lake at Allemond. A week ago we saw the race go through there in the morning, then rode up the Col d’Ornon, then toiled up to Alpe d’Huez to watch the dramatic finish when Richard Carapaz chased down Sepp Kuss.

53km to go: 1min 39sec is the gap. But the breakaway riders are not hanging about. They’re going for it, all-out, and meanwhile there is a split in the bunch behind, with a large group presumably trying to shut this gap down to nothing.

54km to go: Mahé took an impressive win on that climb, and is well set for the QOM jersey, with six out of a possible six climbing points so far. That would be a boost for her team, Ma Petite Entreprise.

Côte de Villars-le-Comte: QOM result

3pts: Océane Mahé (Ma Petite Entreprise)
2pts: Idoia Eraso Lasa (Laboral-Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi)
1pt: Nikola Noskova (Cofidis)

55km to go: The gap is down to 2min. Is this all going to kick off in a big way? It looks likely. If the break is caught, the fight for the stage win will be long and fierce.

55.5km to go: The gap has plunged to 2min 42sec. Clearly some teams on the front of the bunch have picked up the pace, and the lead-out for the intermediate sprint would also have made a difference in narrowing the gap.

56km to go: There’s a 16-rider group that’s been dropped by the main bunch. The main bunch numbers 126 rider at the moment, and the brave breakaway riders are working away up front.

56km to go: The riders are now on the Côte de Villars-le-Comte, a category-three climb. At the summit, there will be 54.6km to race.

58km to go: Another crash in the bunch. Henrietta Christie (EF Education-Oatly) and Debora Silvestri (Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi) were both involved. But it seems they are back in business. However, on the motorbike, Dani Rowe says someone is hurt: Christina Schweinberger of Fenix–Premier Tech has hurt her wrist (I think in an earlieer crash) and is really struggling.

“I wouldn’t be surprised, unfortunately, if she doesn’t start tomorrow,” says Rowe.

60km to go: Charlotte Kool (Fenix–Premier Tech) sprints to victory from the bunch behind. A nice lead-out from a teammate and a dominant win.

61km to go: Good scenes along the route.

63km to go: Suddenly the pace is hot at the front of the bunch as they approach the sprint point. Those 13pts are not to be sniffed at if you want the green jersey.

64km to go: Eraso Lasa, Rijnbeek, Mahé and Noskova, in that order, through the intermediate at Villeneuve.

65km to go: There will be 13pts available to whoever wins the sprint from the peloton. For the first four riders it’s 25, 20, 17, 15.

67km to go: Gap is holding at 6min, give or take a second here or there. Another 2km to the intermediate sprint.

72km to go: Reminder: Océane Mahé (Ma Petite Entreprise), Maud Rijnbeek (Volkerwessels), Idoia Eraso Lasa (Laboral-Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi) and Nikola Noskova (Cofidis) are the riders in the break. If they can get significantly closer to the finish with this kind of gap, they’ll fancy their chances of setting up a fight for the stage win.

73km to go: The gap between break and peloton is 6min as the riders who crashed try to get back into the bunch. It’s 8.5km to go until the intermediate sprint. Alison Jackson (St. Michel–Preference Home–Auber93), who won a stage of the La Vuelta Femenina in 2024, is swept up by the peloton.

76km to go: Another big crash in the bunch. This one looks worse. Three or four riders are taking their time before trying to get back into the action.

79km to go: And it seems Jackson has given up the fight. She’s fallen 2min behind the break now. The effort that Jackson expended there should not be underestimated. It wasn’t to be, as for joining the breakaway, but it was a fine effort.

80km to go: Lylyk is about to be caught by the peloton.

86km to go: The peloton now rolls up the climb. The fight for QOM points saw Jackson’s task get harder: they accelerated away from the chaser and she’s now 1min 20sec down.

97km to go: Mahé takes three points atop the Côte de Châbles. Eraso Lasa second, Rijnbeek third.

QOM result: Côte de Châbles
3pts: Océane Mahé (Ma Petite Entreprise)
2pts: Idoia Eraso Lasa (Laboral-Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi)
1pt: Maud Rijnbeek (Volkerwessels)

89km to go: Jackson continues to chase, alone, and she’s 40sec down. Perhaps she’s now used up so much energy that finally joining the break would be a pyrrhic victory, at this stage.

89km to go: Quite a big crash back in the peloton. At first glance, it appears no one is badly hurt, thankfully, and they will all be able to resume.

90km to go: Is Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx) looking forward to today, she was asked before the stage by Matt Stephens, on TNT Sports.

“Yes. It’ll be a lot of suffering. But we are looking forward to it,” says the Dutchwoman.

“It’s quite complicated,” she adds of the final climb. “I will try to save as much as possible during the stage, then suffer as much as possible during the final kilometres, hopefully to be able to sprint.

“Main focus is stage wins and then GC.”

92km to go: The gap is 4min for the four riders up front. Jackson is putting in a quite remarkable ride here and has closed to within 20sec. This is real character.

94km to go: Jackson is 15 years older than Lylyk, by the way. Age is just a number.

Jackson was born in Vermilion, Alberta, which is in central Canada. Lylyk hails from Guelph, on the eastern side, close to Toronto and the border with New York state.

97km to go: Jackson has now dropped her Canadian compatriot, Lylyk. She is not giving up and she’s narrowed the gap to 30sec.

100km to go: By the way, there’s an intermediate sprint at Villeneuve (Surpierre) with 65km remaining, then the Côte de Villars-le-Comte (category-three, 54.6km to go), and the Cote de Vulliens (category-three, 40.9km to go) … and last but definitely not least, the category-four finish in Lausanne.

101km to go: The break is on an uncategorised climb. They will have a fast descent after this, then the road kicks up again before the Côte de Châbles.

102km to go: Dani Christmas, on commentary for TNT Sports, says that at the end of a stage race, you get sick of pesto pasta (and that’s where having a dedicated chef comes in very handy.)

The gap is 4min 11sec. The two chasers, Jackson and Lylyk, are still trying to get across. They are 50sec down but they are not giving up.

104km to go: How many of these nine stages has Danny Stam, the SD Worx directeur sportif, done reconnaissance on?

“All of them,” he says. “That’s my job.”

105km to go: So the breakaway riders now have about 15km to the top of the climb, and about 13km to the foot of it. Clear?

107km to go: The first climb of the day is the Côte de Chables. The summit comes with 88.9km to race. Three, two and one QOM points on offer.

111km to go: “It could be a GC day. But it might not be,’ says Zoe Backstedt of Canyon/SRAM, who won the British time trial and road race this season.

“The final climb looks exciting, I like the look of it. But we are here for GC and hopefully get some stage wins along the way.

“I know the form is here. Hopefully the legs are only getting better. I’d love to go for a stage. But like I said: GC first, results second.”

3min 49sec is the gap. Lots and lots of vocal fans at the roadside.

113km to go: The gap between break and peloton is 3min 30sec.

Jackson and Lylyk are together, trying to make it across to the four riders in the break, but they are still 1min 20sec down. If I was a betting man I’d say they will give up the chase at some point.

118km to go: The gap has flown out to 2min 30sec.

In the context of an utterly draining nine days of racing to come, most of the peloton will be very happy to have a relatively relaxed day today. The last thing you want on stage one is a never-ending fight to form a breakaway and a constant need to shut down dangerous escape groups for the domestiques.

121km to go: Alison Jackson and Kiara Lylyk are obviously not regarded as unacceptable escapees by the peloton. Jackson still has 40sec to try and make up on the front four … Lylyk is 55sec back. That is going to take a lot of hard yakka to try and make the break.

122km to go: Océane Mahé (Ma Petite Entreprise), Maud Rijnbeek (Volkerwessels), Idoia Eraso Lasa (Laboral-Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi) and Nikola Noskova (Cofidis) are the four hard-working riders in the break right now. They have 1min 35sec on the peloton.

123km to go: Kiara Lylyk (Mayenne Monbana My Pie) is now also trying to bridge to the break.

126km to go: The four at the front are gunning it. And the gap is out to 40sec. Perhaps this is the break of the day, after all …

The escape group are negotiating a lot of roundabouts and road furniture.

Now, Alison Jackson (St. Michel–Preference Home–Auber93) has clipped off the front and is trying to get across.

128km to go: It’s not settled down yet and the gap is reduced to 19sec. Now up to four riders in the break: Océane Mahé (Ma Petite Entreprise) has joined forces with the front three.

130km to go: Nikola Noskova (Cofidis) has bridged to the breakaway. A three-rider group is more potent … The gap has 25sec and the peloton behind looks happy with it. Three riders is manageable: but now more attacks start off the front of the bunch.

132km to go: Two riders out front: Maud Rijnbeek (Volkerwessels) and Idoia Eraso Lasa (Laboral-Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi).

Lars Boom, FDJ-Suez DS, speaks with Matt Stephens on TNT Sports: “The last climb is hard enough, it’s not going to be a full-on sprint … we will see what happens in the final.”

You may remember Boom from such races the mens’ Tour de France in 2014:

135km to go: There was a brief ceasefire among the peloton but now the attacks have started again. A rider from Volkerwessels is out front.

We’ve got 500m to the end of the neutralised sector. There will be a large amount of nervous energy in that peloton.

Lotte Kopecky, of SD Worx-ProTime, is asked on TNT Sports: What’s the vibe like in the team?

“The vibe? The vibe is good … it’s a hard finish today. Not easy. We have a ‘Plan A’. We’ll see how it goes.”

Will there be stage opportunities for her? “It’s hard to say beforehand. So much can happen. I hope during the race I find my good legs, and there are some opportunities.”

Kim Le Court of AG Insurance–Soudal has a chat: “We’re excited. Really good to be here.

“My legs still need to wake up a bit. Today is going to be a good test … we have big goals for today, but we’ll take it day by day, still nine days to go … we are here to do something great.”

Still 4km to go in the neutralised section. The commentators were speculating if the pure sprinters like Lorena Wiebes will still be in touch after the closing category-four climb … We’ll find out in due course. Whoever fancies a tilt at the QOM jersey will be trying to get in the break.

The riders are on the road, the neutralised start has begun. They’ve got 7km to ride before the flag waves and hostilities officially commence.

“I am super-excited to race Mont Ventoux,” adds Ferrand-Prévot. “I did a lot of recon. I did my homework, and I’m ready to go.”

“It was a child’s dream,” Ferrand-Prévot says of winning the Tour last year.

“When I was young, I wanted to be a boy, to do the Tour de France. It was something I was dreaming of … but I never expected to be able to do it.

“I would put the Olympics and the Tour de France win at the same level. If I would have stopped my career without trying to do the Tour, it may have been a strange feeling later, so I am happy that I took the decision to continue my career on a road bike.”

Next Friday is definitely a date for the diary. Stage seven finishes atop Mont Ventoux.

It’s a 146.8km trip from La Voulte-sur-Rhône to the summit of the Giant of Provence. A lot of riders will lose the race there, as well as the time trial on Monday.

“Absolutely brutal,” is the assessment of Dani Rowe, a pundit for TNT Sports, of this year’s parcours.

“There is 19,000m of elevation. Not one easy day. These riders will have to stay focused every day.

“Even today’s stage is a punchy finish. GC riders will be nervous about losing time.”

French pulses were set racing by Pauline-Ferrand Prévot’s win in the 2025 Tour de France Femmes, but the pragmatic choice of favourite for this year’s race, which begins in Lausanne on Saturday, is Demi Vollering.

The 29-year old Dutch rider, leader of the FDJ United-Suez team and the first €1m athlete in women’s racing, combines outstanding results – this year she completed a grand slam of all three of Europe’s Grand Tours – with an outspoken personality.