Tour de France stage 16 live: A Vingegaard Pogacar time trial battle for yellow
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Mørkøv now past the top of the climb at 31 minutes. 3.5km to go for him.
Big names including Kristoff, Sagan, Declercq among the recent starters.
Adam Blythe on the Eurosport moto says that rain showers are forecast after 3pm local time – around an hour and a half.
Zingle now the quickest at the second checkpoint – 21:21.
Mikkel Bjerg heads off. He's a very good time triallist so should be easily the quickest of these early starters.
Just over 5km to go for the Dane as he tackles the climb.
Mørkøv now through the second checkpoint – 22:08.
Again, his back wheel slides forward as he turns it and he slides out.
Nils Eekhoff sets off... and he goes down on the first corner too!
Zingle 52 seconds up on everybody else at the first checkpoint at the moment.
Adrien Petit has been in the wars this Tour de France, battling on after going down hard in the mass crash on stage 14. He manages to avoid further disaster on the first corner.
Renard's teammate Axel Zingle now the quickest at the first check, clocking a time of 11 minutes.
It's another fall that doesn't look too serious in terms of injury, though.
Cofidis rider Alexis Renard has also crashed at the first corner! Is it the white lines or is there some oil there?
12:03 for Mørkøv at the first checkpoint.
7.1km is the first checkpoint. Further checks come at 16.1km and 18.9km before the finish at 22.4km.
Degenkolb crashes heading around the first corner! His back wheel slides out but he's quickly back up and running.
A trio of dsm-firmenich men set off one after another – Edmondson, Welsford, Degenkolb.
Riders like Yevgeniy Fedorov, Sam Welsford, Jordi Meeus, Dylan Groenewegen, Adrien Petit heading off early.
Uphill almost from the start today. Not one for those at the rear of the standings heading out early...
Actually it's Michael Mørkøv who sets off first – sorry for that mistake earlier. The Dane is starting now and then it's Cees Bol.
Here's a look at the finale today, the reason why everybody is discussing about the merits of bike changes. It's not a cut-and-dry decision – not a big mountain to end the day, but tough enough to pose the question. (Image credit: ASO)
Ineos and Bahrain riders won't be switching. No confirmation from UAE or Jumbo, of course.
Former pro Adam Blythe says on Eurosport that changing bikes would be "pointless" today because the aerodynamic advantage will outweigh the weight saved by changing to a climbing bike, plus the time lost switching.
Tour de France gallery: Vingegaard and Pogacar's two-day battle to Mont Blanc Our gallery of the most striking images from stage 14 and 15 of the 2023 Tour de France (Image credit: Chris Auld)
Just a few minutes to go!
Here's Ineos Grenadiers deputy principal Rod Ellingworth on today's stage and their podium contender Carlos Rodríguez. "We're not doing bike changes but the pacing of this is going to be really crucial and the heat as well – that's one of the biggest factors, to be honest. The final climb is around 6km isn't it with the first 2.5km at 10%. If they get that wrong then you can make a big difference in the last few kilometres. "We're focussed on Carlos more than anybody at the moment. He's so chilled out that sometimes he's a bit too laid back. He's mature enough to say that he's not focussing on the podium as such, just on doing his own job and doing the best he can. "He knows that time trialling is always a challenge for him but he's done some good ones as we saw in the heat at the Vuelta last year. He's as prepared as he can be and from what I can see last night he's quite up for it." (Image credit: Zac Williams/SWPix.com)
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Tadej Pogačar reportedly did the swap during his recon ride yesterday. Today he checked his road bike before climbing aboard his TT bike... Pogačar arrives for the TT, checks out his road bike before getting on TT bike. He might do a bike change for the final climb, he did one yesterday during his rest day ride https://t.co/TJO3LNjDkDJuly 18, 2023 See more
One of the big questions today is whether riders will be swapping to road bike for the finale of the stage, which includes the second-category climb of the Côte de Domancy (2.5km at 9.4%) and the 3.5km uphill run to the finish line.
156 riders set to start today. Matteo Jorgenson will not be among them. His Movistar team have confirmed that he's out of the race with a torn thigh muscle. Matteo Jorgenson abandons Tour de France ahead of stage 16
35 minutes to go until Cees Bol kicks the stage off.
16:58 and 17:00 start times for the big two, so some time to go until we see them roll down the start ramp. Tour de France stage 16 time trial start times
Just 10 seconds between Vingegaard and Pogačar heading into today. What will the gap be this evening? And there's plenty to fight for below them in the standings, including that third spot on the podium... (Image credit: FirstCycling)
Take a look at our preview for stage 16 here... Tour de France 2023 stage 16 preview - Race of truth Hilly time trial offers Tour de France tiebreaker for Vingegaard and Pogačar before Col de la Loze (Image credit: Getty Images)
And the stage map, twisting around from Passy to Combloux. Just 22.4km but it packs a big punch. (Image credit: GEOATLAS)
Here's a look at the official profile. It's a tough one. (Image credit: ASO)
Around 40 minutes to go until the decisive time trial begins.
Source: Cyclingnews
