Tour de France stage 12 result LIVE: Tom Pidcock wins Alpe d’Huez as Jonas Vingegaard holds off Tadej Pogacar

There are certain to be more fireworks as Tour de France continues on Bastille Day and the race reaches the iconic climb of Alpe d’Huez following a thrilling battle in the mountains on Wednesday.

On an extraordinary day of tactics and tension, Jonas Vingegaard stormed into the race lead and claimed the yellow jersey as defending champion Tadej Pogacar cracked on the final climb to Col du Granon. It came after Vingegaard and Team Jumbo-Visma isolated Pogacar and broke him down following a series of attacks, with last year’s runner-up Vingegaard seizing a huge lead of over two minutes in the general classification standings.

The riders are faced with another huge test on Stage 12, however, and another gruelling day of climbs. Before reaching Alpe d’Huez, they will have to tackle the Col du Galibier for a second time in two days, and then also climb the stupendously long Col de la Croix de Fer. The home crowds will be cheering for a French winner on Bastille Day, but this race does not require any more intrigue as Pogacar looks to respond to VIngegaard’s stunning attack. Follow all the action from Stage 12 of the Tour de France:

Tour de France - Stage 12

• Today’s 165km route travels from Briancon to Alpe d’Huez over three huge mountains

• Guilo Ciccone leads a five-man breakaway over Col de la Croix de Fer as the peloton looks to close the gap

• France’s Anthony Perez leads at top of Col du Galibier claiming 20 KOM points

• Tadej Pogacar loses yellow jersey as Jonas Vingegaard takes huge lead after Stage 11

• Romain Bardet second in GC standings as Pogacar drops to third with Geraint Thomas fourth

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

17:13 , Michael Jones

500m to go: They’re not going to be able to catch him. Tom Pidcock is about to become the youngest ever winner of the Alpe d’Huez stage of the Tour de France.

It’ll be a first stage win for Ineos Grenadiers this year too.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

17:12 , Michael Jones

1km to go: Tadej Pogacar has been unable to regain any of the time he lost yesterday but it’s a good sign for the Slovenian that he tried to launch an attack.

Jumbo-Visma have put in another exceptional team ride.

Pogacar has another go to sprint ahead but Vingegaard sticks firmly to his wheel.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

17:09 , Michael Jones

2km to go: Tom Pidcock has been given the most attacking rider award for his skills over the descents which has set him up for a stage win at Alpe d’Huez.

The gap between him and the yellow jersey is now 3’43” but he’s almost to the top. Can he hold on?

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

17:07 , Michael Jones

3km to go: The hardest gradient on this climb is about a kilometre away for Tom Pidcock.

Tadej Pogacar steps off the seat and attacks with four kilometres to go. He’s trying to pile the pressure on Jonas Vingegaard but the yellow jersey holder sticks with him.

Geraint Thomas slips back a touch.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

17:04 , Michael Jones

3.5km to go: Adam Yates is the latest of the GC guys to lose the wheel and begins to drop away. He’s just trying to hold on to this group and get to the peak.

Tom Pidcock’s ride continues to improve. His lead over Meintjes is now above 30 seconds. The man from Leeds is closing in on a remarkable victory.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

17:02 , Michael Jones

4.5km to go: The crowds part like the Red Sea as Tom Pidcock drives on towards the summit. It’s a great run from the Yorkshireman and what a moment this will be if he can get to the top first.

Romain Bardet is just ahead of Tadej Pogacar with Geraint Thomas and Adam Yates still hanging with these GC contenders.

The gap is now four minutes between them and the leader.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

16:59 , Michael Jones

5.5km to go: It’s not going well for the GC contenders. Nairo Quintana is David Gaudu are slipping away at the back of the peloton thanks to the rapid pace of Jumbo-Visma.

Primoz Roglic has upped the tempo once again.

Out front Tom Pidcock has dropped Louis Meintjes and Chris Froome. Meintjes is now 25 seconds behind.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

16:56 , Michael Jones

6.5km to go: If Tom Pidcock can hold on to his lead he’ll owe this stage win to his incredible descents on Col du Galibier, Col du Telegraphe and Col de la Croix de Fer.

The gap between him and the peloton is under five minutes now. Is there enough time left in the stage for them to catch him?

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

16:53 , Michael Jones

7km to go: Aleksandr Vlasov has been dropped by the peloton which will hurt his chances in the GC standings unless he can rejoin them.

Tom Pidcock has doubled his lead over Louis Meintjes. It’s now up to 10 seconds.

The supporters are cheering on the man from Great Britain. Can he get home?

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

16:51 , Michael Jones

8km to go: Louis Meintjes is an expert climber and is around four seconds behind Tom Pidcock who will no doubt be starting to feel the pressure of leading this race.

Wout van Aert’s turn at the head of Jumbo-Visma’s challenge is over as he drops away from the front.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

16:49 , Michael Jones

8.5km to go: Pidcock continues to look over his shoulder as he climbs up the mountain. He can see Meintjes and Froome continuing to follow him.

The peloton have cut the gap to five minutes. They could catch the leaders with a bit of extra effort.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

16:46 , Michael Jones

9.5 km to go: The Alpe d’Huez is a long, steep climb and there’s still nine kilometres to go which is around 30 minutes of riding. Has Pidcock gone too early?

Meanwhile, the peloton continue to chase, Wout van Aert is driving Jumbo-Visma at the front but Tadej Pogacar is right up with them.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

16:44 , Michael Jones

10km to go: As the gradient slackens Powless has rejoined the front four with Froome moving up after a resurgence in energy. Tom Pidcock responds with a glance over his shoulder and pushes ahead.

He looks very determined, he wants to win this one.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

16:40 , Michael Jones

11km to go: Nielsen Powless has lost the wheel of Chris Froome and is dropping away from the leaders with Froome himself beginning to struggle.

5’43” behind them Tadej Pogacar moves up to sit alongside Jonas Vingegaard in the yellow jersey. The time gap continues to fall.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

16:38 , Michael Jones

12km to go: Jumbo-Visma lead the peloton up the start of the Alpe d’Huez. They’re in formation and are pushing on to chip away at the breakaway’s lead.

Tom Pidcock is out in front of the five leaders, the gradient is up at 10% with the race pace just under 20km/h.

The crowds are loud and cheering on their favourites.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

16:30 , Michael Jones

17km to go: Tadej Pogacar looks fairly relaxed as he races a few wheels behind Jonas Vingegaard. Will he have the energy to challenge for the stage win today after yesterday’s output?

Here’s a look at the descent from Col de la Croix de Fer:

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

16:27 , Michael Jones

19km to go: With 5km to go until the base of Alpe d’Huez the five leaders have opened up a six minute gap on the peloton. That could be enough to see one of them take the stage win.

It would be miraculous if Chris Froome could win on Alpe d’Huez wouldn’t it?

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

16:23 , Michael Jones

22km to go: Chris Froome returns to the front of the Tour de France as he helps the breakaway five towards the bottom of Alpe d-Huez.

The final 14km of this race tackle Alpe d’Huez’s climb.

Each of the final five are taking their turn on the front before they reach this incline where they’ll be met by loads of screaming spectators on each of the 21 bends.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

16:13 , Michael Jones

30km to go: Jumbo-Visma are riding fantastically well as a unit to stay within catching distance of the breakaway riders. The team are still setting the pace for the peloton which is now 5’24” behind.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

16:10 , Michael Jones

34km to go: There are a few minor inclines to break up the descent to the Oisans valley and some having gradients of over 10%.

It’s not easy work but after you reach the top you get the reward of a steep downhill run.

Tom Pidcock is still out front at the head of the race and he’s starting to create some gaps within the breakaway.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

16:04 , Michael Jones

38km to go: Tom Pidcock is doing a good job of extending the breakaway’s lead on the descent towards Allemond. He’s braking late on the corners and clattering down towards the Oisans valley.

How long will this group stay together?

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

15:57 , Michael Jones

44km to go: Giulio Ciccone is the 5th Italian to crest the Col de la Croix de Fer during the Tour de France after Fermo Camellini (1947), Gino Bartali (1948), Fausto Coppi (1952) and Rodolfo Massi (1998).

Camellini became a Frenchman the year after, in 1948.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

15:54 , Michael Jones

47km to go: Alpe d’Huez begins at the end of the next valley and the Eurosport commentators believes that the breakaway group need to have at least a four minute time gap over the peloton to have any chance of winning the stage.

It currently stands at 4’24” which will be cut even further over the next 30km. The leaders need to step up the pace.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

15:51 , Michael Jones

49km to go: Full results from the KOM climb up Col de la Croix de Fer:

1. Giulio Ciccone, 20 pts

2. Neilson Powless, 15 pts

3. Louis Meintjes, 12 pts

4. Chris Froome, 10 pts

5. Tom Pidcock, 8 pts

6. Anthony Perez, 6 pts

7. Kobe Goossens, 4 pts

8. Sebastian Schönberger, 2 pts

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

15:50 , Michael Jones

50km to go: Wout van Aert leads team Jumbo-Visma over the top of Col de le Croix de Fer who trail the breakawy but just four minutes and 20 seconds now.

More riders are being left behind by the peloton. Can the breakaway group extend their lead on the downhill?

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

15:47 , Michael Jones

54km to go: The final run to the top of Col de la Croix is an 8% gradient and the five riders in the breakaway reach the peak at the same time.

Giulio Ciccone crosses the KOM line before Powless and Meintjes to take the maximum 20 points on offer. Tom Pidcock zips up his jersey and prepares for the next descent.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

15:42 , Michael Jones

56km to go: With 1.8km left in the Col de la Croix de Fer climb Jumba-Visma have put their feet to the medals to cut the gap on the breakaway to just five and a half minutes.

It’s an incredible job from Christophe Laporte who has been the lead rider for Jumbo-Visma for the last 40k or so. As the pace from the team increase he drops off the front.

1km to go to the summit.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

15:33 , Michael Jones

58km to go: Jumbo-Visma are working hard from the front of the peloton and have cut the gap to just over six minutes now which has sparked a response from the breakaway.

Led by Tom Pidcock, five riders push away with 4km left to the summit of Col de la Croix de Fer. Louis Meintjes, Neilson Powless, Giulio Ciccone and Chris Froome are with him but they haven’t been able to increase their lead over the peloton.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

15:22 , Michael Jones

61 km to go: The breakaway are 7.5km to go until the summit at Col de la Croix de Fer. After that there’s about 40km of descent before the final climb up Alpe d’Huez.

Before that though is the steepest part of this current mountain.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

15:16 , Michael Jones

64km to go: Chris Froome is shown pouring a bottle of water over his head to cool down. The forecast says that the heat could reach up to 36 degrees on the road today which isn’t what the riders need during these long, hard climbs.

Pidcock and Ciccone at the front of the breakaway putting the pressure on to increase the pace.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

15:10 , Michael Jones

66km to go: Jumbo-Visma are pushing the peloton ever closer as the climb up Col de la Croix de Fer eases off slightly. They’ve closed the gap by 30 seconds.

12km still to go until the peak.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

15:02 , Michael Jones

71m to go: Geraint Thomas spoke to TV reporters this morning about yesterday’s stage, Jonas Vingegaard taking the yellow jersey and whether Tadej Pogacar can respond today. He said:

“We expected a bit of a crazy day [on Stage 11], and it definitely turned out to be that way. But happy to still be up there and in the mix.

“Yeah I think he [Pogacar fighting back] will, for sure. I think he’ll try and react. I can’t see it happening before Alpe d’Huez, but who knows with this race. I think Jumbo might take a really controlled sort of take on the stage, then on the Alpe d’Huez it’ll be crazy again. That’s what I would predict, but you never know, you’ve got to expect the worst and hope for the best.“Obviously, there’s a lot of strong guys still in the race, it’s not just them two. They’ve been the strongest so far, but as we saw with Pogacar yesterday, you never know what could happen with Vingegaard later on. But at the moment him and the team seem super strong.”

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

14:56 , Michael Jones

73km to go: Up in the breakaway Tom Pidcock has gotten himself into the virtual top-10 of the GC standings and can continue to push up with a gap of over seven minutes still in tact.

There’s still 19km of Col de la Croix de Fer to climb.

Perhaps more importantly to Pidcock he’s challenging Tadej Pogacar for the white jersey which is given to the fastest young rider on the Tour.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

14:44 , Michael Jones

76km to go: A gap of over seven minutes is hard to reign in but the peloton has the advantage of making up the time on the climbs.

Most of the GC contenders will be thinking about making their moves, Jonas Vingegaard will want to time it just right so as to not concede much time to his rivals.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

14:40 , Michael Jones

78m to go: Jumbo-Visma with the help of yellow jersey holder Jonas Vingegaard are leading the way at the front of the peloton but the gap between them and the breakaway is up to seven minutes.

Peter Sagan has dropped to the back after an earlier attack didn’t pay off.

24km of Col de la Croix de Fer remaining. The pace has dropped significantly as the riders start to feel the difficulty of the 5.2% average gradient.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

14:31 , Michael Jones

81km to go: There’s a distance of 2.5km between those at the head of the race and the chasing peloton which includes the main GC contenders including the yellow jersey holder Jonas Vingegaard.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

14:28 , Michael Jones

83km to go: With a large portion of downhill riding 46.2km have been covered in the second hour of racing. The average speed of the day so far is 38km/h.

The peloton has reached the base of Col de la Croix de Fer. 29km of ascending riding to go until the summit.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

14:23 , Michael Jones

87km to go: Politt and Barguil are reeled back in by the peloton which is now over five minutes behind the nine riders in the breakaway.

At the minute they are about 600 metres above sea level with a little more downhill riding to come before the next HC climb.

The peak of Col de la Croix de Fer is 2,067m so there’s a huge incline to come.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

14:17 , Michael Jones

91km to go: The nine leading riders are Nelson Oliveira, Anthony Perez, Kobe Goossens, Louis Meintjes, Neilson Powless, Sebastian Schönberger, Giulio Ciccone, Chris Froome and Tom Pidcock.

They are 4’45’’ ahead of the peloton making their way through Saint Michel de Maurienne.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

14:11 , Michael Jones

96km to go: Tom Pidcock and Nielsen Powless have led the way down into the Maurienne valley with Pidcock taking the downhill corners at electrifying pace and Powless finding it tricky to stay with him.

Pidcock’s been giving a masterclass in downhill cycling. It’s brilliant to watch.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

14:04 , Michael Jones

101km to go: Froome and Pidcock catch the leading group which now consists of nine riders.

Warren Barguil and Nils Politt have decided to make a move on the Telegraphe descent as they’ve stormed out in front of the peloton.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

14:00 , Michael Jones

105km to go: The descent down Col du Telegraphe is just over 10km until the Maurienne valley where the terrain flattens out slightly before the base of Col de la Croix de Fer.

Froome and Pidcock are flying again over 70kmp/h.

3’45” behind these riders is the peloton which just crested the peak of du Telegraphe.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

13:55 , Michael Jones

110km to go: After that rapid drop from the top of Col du Galibier the race leaders have another short ascent to summit Col du Telegraphe before a massive drop down to Saint Jean de Maurienne which is the lowest part of today’s mountain stage.

From there it’s an uphill climb over the long Col de la Croix de Fer.

There are seven riders at the front of the race with Froome and Pidcock just 10 seconds back. These two will catch them on the next descent at the latest.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

13:47 , Michael Jones

113km to go: The leaders reach Valloire before another small(ish) climb up the uncategorised Col de Telegraphe.

Froome and Pidcock continue to up the pace, they’re less than a minute behind now.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

13:43 , Michael Jones

118km to go: The kilometre’s are flying by now as the riders continue their descents. Tom Pidcock has slowed slightly to stick with Chris Froome but the pair are closing the gap on the leading four riders.

Meintjes, Powless, Perez and Ciccone lead the race.

The peloton is 2’10” behind.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

13:38 , Michael Jones

122km to go: King of the Mountain point allocations from Col du Galibier:

1. Anthony Perez, 20 pts

2. Giulio Ciccone, 15 pts

3. Louis Meintjes, 12 pts

4. Neilson Powless, 10 pts

5. Nelson Oliveira, 8 pts

6. Sebastian Schönberger, 6 pts

7. Kobe Goossens, 4 pts

8. Matîs Louvel, 2 pts

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

13:35 , Michael Jones

127km to go: Time can be gained or recovered on the mountain descents and with a drop of over 1,000 metres from the top of Col du Galibier to Valloire there’s plenty of scope to catch those in front of you.

Tom Pidcock is really pushing things on the downhill, he’s bombing along at 78kmp/h. Scary stuff.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

13:31 , Michael Jones

130km to go: 1’52” behind Perez, the peloton led by Pierre Latour reaches the top of Col du Galibier and he’s closely followed by Jonas Vingegaard in the yellow jersey.

That’s the first HC climb of stage 12 done with the riders 2,642 metres above sea level.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

13:28 , Michael Jones

131km to go: French cyclist Anthony Perez is inside the last 100m of the summit to Col du Galibier.

He’s got almost 30 seconds on the nearest pursuers and crosses the line to take maximum KOM points! A great reward for the man from Toulouse, especially on Bastille Day. Can he push on down the descent now?

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

13:25 , Michael Jones

133km to go: Anthony Perez has a lead of 23 seconds after his drive away from the other leading riders. HE’s got one kilometre left to go to the top of Col du Galibier.

Perez has covered 29.8km in the first hour of racing, not a bad effort with these steep climbs on the mountain.

A bit further behind Chris Froome has gone clear off the peloton.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

13:16 , Michael Jones

136km to go: Giulio Ciccone and Louis Meintjes join the group of leaders just as Anthony Perez makes a move with 5km of the climb left to go.

Back in the peloton Wout van Aert is driving the pack with his Jumbo-Visma team. They’re still one minute 38 behind.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

13:07 , Michael Jones

139km to go: It’s been a great ride from Giulio Ciccone, who has cut the gap on the breakaway group to just 39 seconds.

There’s still 7km to climb until the top of Col du Galibier with Louis Meintjes and Georg Zimmermann from Intermarche chasing down the leaders too.

It’s another hot, hot day. Hard work for the riders.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

12:55 , Michael Jones

144km to go: Trek–Segafredo’s Giulio Ciccone has decided to have a go at catching the breakawat. He’s currently in between them and the peloton just one minute 15 seconds behind the 6 leaders with the bunch one minute 25 seconds away.

Over 20km of today’s route covered, 12km to go until the top of Col du Galibier.

It’s a tough old climb this one to say the least.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

12:49 , Michael Jones

146km to go: Here are the full results from the intermediate sprint. Wout van Aert’s drive forward saw him collect nine points as the first man to cross the line behind the six riders in the breakaway.

1. Kobe Goossens, 20 pts

2. Nelson Oliveira, 17 pts

3. Matîs Louvel, 15 pts

4. Gerhard Schönberger, 13 pts

5. Neilson Powless, 11 pts

6. Anthony Perez, 10 pts

7. Wout van Aert, 9 pts

8. Matteo Jorgenson, 8 pts

9. Jasper Philipsen, 7 pts

10. Chris Froome, 6 pts

11. Alexis Gougeard, 5 pts

12. Pierre Latour, 4 pts

13. Michael Woods, 3 pts

14. Thibaut Pinot, 2 pts

15. Louis Meintjes, 1 pt

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

12:46 , Michael Jones

147km to go: There are a few splits happening in the peloton.

A few of the Ineos Grenadiers riders push ahead including Tom Pidcock. It’s an early attacking move that doesn’t spark a response from Jonas Vingegaard in the yellow jersey.

The breakaway is only one minute 15 seconds ahead now as these attacks keep getting launched from the peloton which is increasing their pace.

There’s a little over 15km left to go until the summit of Col du Galibier.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

12:41 , Michael Jones

150km to go: Wout van Aert scooped up the remaining points for the sprint then eased off and fell back in with the peloton.

Jakob Fuglsang is driving the pack up Col du Galibier, he and his team have recovered a few seconds on the breakaway.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

12:35 , Michael Jones

153km to go: The leading six have passed through Col de Lautaret and are into the climb up Col de Galibier. It’s a long one at 23km with a gradient of 5.1%

Kobe Goossens crosses the line first to claim the maximum 20 points in the intermediate sprint.

The gap is now two minutes between them and the peloton but Wout van Aert fancies it. He’s starting a chase from the front of the peloton, probably just to claim some points from the sprint.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

12:31 , Michael Jones

154km to go: Nelson Oliveira, Anthony Perez, Kobe Goossens, Matis Louvel and Sebastian Schönberger have all caught Nielsen Powless and the six riders have formed a breakaway.

The peloton is dropping back and is already one minute and 41 seconds behind this group.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

12:27 , Michael Jones

158km to go: Nielsen Powless still leads the way but there’s a couple of chasing groups developing behind him.

Towards the back of the peloton there’s a slight crashwith Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl’s Yves Lampaert involved. It’s nothing too serious and the riders are quickly back on their bikes.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

12:23 , Michael Jones

161km to go: The first notable marker on today’s route is the intermediate sprint at the base of Col du Galibier around 12km away from the start.

Le Monêtier-les-Bains hosted an improvised start of a stage to Sestrières in 1996 due to stormy weather atop the Galibier and this is the location of today’s sprint.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

12:20 , Michael Jones

165km to go: Simon Geschke, in the polka dot jersey, is up near the front of the peloton and sets off with quick pace. Nielsen Powless takes the initiative though and sets out ahead of the peloton on his own.

He’s already opened up a lead of seven seconds.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

12:18 , Michael Jones

Just under 500m to go until the flag drops, will these two reignite their rivalry on the Alps today?

Probably.

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

12:12 , Michael Jones

The riders are on the move. There is a 4.6km neutral zone through Briançon before the Départ réel.

Jonas Vingegaard is wearing the yellow jersey for the first time thie year, will he hold onto it by the end of the day?

3km to go until the race start.

Tour de France 2022: Pogacar looking for revenge

12:10 , Michael Jones

Speaking after the end of Stage 11 yesterday, Tadej Pogacar addressed his performance on the final climb saying:

“Maybe I was under-fuelled today or I just had a bad day. Everyone always has a bad day [sometimes]. I felt good until the final climb but it’s far from finished, the Tour.

“I got attacked by Jumbo-Visma. They played it well today [and] tactically they did a really good job. In the last climb it was difficult, but we will see tomorrow.

“I want revenge. The Tour is not over.”

Tour de France 2022: Can Pogacar respond on Stage 12?

12:05 , Michael Jones

Since he turned pro in 2019, Tadej Pogacar has won every stage race in which he took the leader’s jersey.

He has won 11 stage races up to date: Volta ao Algarve and Tour of California in 2019, Tour of Comunitat Valenciana and Tour de France in 2020, UAE Tour, Tirreno-Adriatico, Tour of Slovenia and Tour de France in 2021, UAE Tour, Tirreno-Adriatico and Tour of Slovenia in 2022.

He lost the lead only once, to Jack Haig at Tour of Comunitat Valenciana, as the two riders were in the same time but he took it back 24 hours later.

Jonas Vingegaard took the yellow jersey from the Slovenian yesterday, will Pogacar recover it today?

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12 jersey wearers

12:00 , Michael Jones

The distinctive jersey wearers for Stage 12 are Jonas Vingegaard (yellow), Wout van Aert (green), Simon Geschke (polka dot) and Tadej Pogacar (white).

Keep an eye out for them as the race develops. Wout van Aert could be involved in the early action as he may try to challenge to win the intermediate sprint before the GC contenders and Simon Geschke go after the mountain climbs.

Tour de France 2022: Tadej Pogacar wants ‘revenge’ after losing yellow jersey to Jonas Vingegaard

11:55 , Michael Jones

Tadej Pocagar has promised revenge after ceding the Tour de France yellow jersey to Jonas Vingegaard on Wednesday as the two-time defending champion endured a brutal day on the slopes of Col du Granon in the Alps on the 11th stage.

Slovenian Pogacar, whose UAE Emirates team has been weakened after two riders pulled out of the race with Covid-19, looked unbreakable in the first block of racing but cracked after being attacked relentlessly by the Jumbo-Visma team of 25-year-old Dane Vingegaard, last year’s runner-up.

Vingegaard attacked 4.9km from the finish to drop Pogacar, who crossed the line two minutes and 51 seconds behind the new yellow jersey holder.

Pogacar dropped to third overall in the standings, six seconds behind second-placed Frenchman Romain Bardet of the DSM team, who trails Vingegaard by two minutes and 16 seconds.

Tadej Pogacar wants ‘revenge’ after losing yellow jersey to Jonas Vingegaard

Tour de France 2022: Immortality awaits atop the ultimate Tour de France climb

11:50 , Michael Jones

A few months after winning on a raucous Alpe d’Huez wearing the yellow jersey, Geraint Thomas snuck back to the place of his greatest triumph to check if it had really happened. Signposts on each of the Alpe’s famous 21 hairpins bear the names of riders to have conquered the Tour de France climb, and immortalised among the greats like Fausto Coppi and Bernard Hinault, Thomas found his own name written on the 13th bend.

Presumably whoever was in charge of the Alpe’s signage was not a cycling fan, because the Welshman climbed halfway up only to discover his name had been written the wrong way around – “Thomas Geraint”. Today, if you look closely, you can still see where the correction covers the initial mistake.

Thomas was not impressed when reminded of that fact by The Independent this week but you can be sure he will afford himself a moment to look up on Thursday’s stage 12 to check he’s really there. Winning a stage atop Alpe d’Huez was the defining moment of his 2018 Tour de France victory, and it remains one of cycling’s greatest feats (Thomas is unique in doing so while wearing the maillot jaune).

Immortality awaits atop Alpe d’Huez, the ultimate Tour de France climb

Tour de France: Stage 12

11:45 , Michael Jones

Take a look at what’s on offer during today’s Tour de France route:

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

11:40 , Michael Jones

The French riders are excited to tackle the Queen stage of the Tour today with Pierre Rolland and Tony Gallopin giving their thoughts before the start of satge 12.

Rolland said: “Everything is coming together to potentially produce fireworks today and I hope that I’ll have the legs to have my say,” before Gallopin added: “I’m the only Frenchman in the team [Trek–Segafredo] so I’m getting a bit of stick. Today is the queen stage of the Tour, the 14th July, so there’ll be a spectacle”

Great Britain’s Chris Froome also acknowledged what an important day this is for the home riders but remains focused on trying to compete on the climb up Alpe d’Huez.

“It’s an important day for the French.” he said, “Generally the French riders are super motivated for the 14th July. My relationship with Alpe d’Huez has not been great in the last few years. I’m going to try to change that.”

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12

11:35 , Michael Jones

It’s as if the race organisers saved the best action for Bastille Day.

Today’s stage presents the most climbing challenges in a day for the Tour so far this year with three HC climbs, 60 King of the Mountain points and almost 4,500m of elevation on offer.

Who will come out on top during this route through the high mountains?

Tour de France: Stage 12

11:30 , Michael Jones

Jumbo-Visma’s Jonas Vingegaard takes the yellow jersey off UAE’s Tadej Pogacar after three gruelling climbs on Stage 11 of the Tour de France.

Can the Dane hold onto the lead as the riders tackle the Alpe d’Huez this afternoon?

Tour de France 2022: Jonas Vingegaard takes yellow jersey as Tadej Pogacar feels Tour de France pressure

11:25 , Michael Jones

The 109th Tour de France came alive on an epic day in the Alps as Tadej Pogacar cracked and Jonas Vingegaard rode his way into the yellow jersey.

Vingegaard’s Jumbo-Visma squad worked to isolate and weaken Pogacar on a punishing 11th stage from Albertville that took in the climbs of the Telegraphe and Galibier before a summit finish on the Col du Granon, and they got their rewards as Pogacar lost almost three minutes.

The Slovenian had looked supreme up to this point in the race, threatening to make a third straight title a procession, and could be seen smiling and gesturing for the cameras as they approached the foot of the Granon, having seemingly dealt with the worst rivals could throw at him on the Galibier.

But less than 10 kilometres later it had all changed – with Pogacar left fighting his way up the double-digit gradients in agony as others rode away.

Jonas Vingegaard takes yellow jersey as Tadej Pogacar feels Tour de France pressure

Tour de France 2022: Stage 12 preview

11:20 , Michael Jones

Alpe d’Huez is the most famous climb in more than 100 years of history at the Tour de France. The sweeping switchback turns have provided some of the greatest moments in the race, made even greater by the incredible mountain scenery.

In the 2022 edition of the race, it is stage 12 where the riders tackle the famous 13.8 kilometre ascent. But that’s after not only tackling the Col du Galibier for a second time in two days, but also climbing the stupendously long Col de la Croix de Fer.

To add even more drama to what is set to be an utterly brutal day of racing, it comes after Jonas Vingegaard claimed the yellow jersey and Tadej Pogacar cracked on the Col du Granon in stage 11.

Tour de France queen stage as riders prepare for iconic Alpe d’Huez

Tour de France: Stage 12 profile

11:15 , Michael Jones

Today’s stage is scheduled to start at around 12.05pm BST with the expected finish sometime near 5.10pm.

The riders start off with an intermediate sprint before tackling three HC (Hors catégorie) climbs including Col du Galibier for the second time in two days.

Tour de France 2022: How to watch Stage 12 on TV and online today

11:10 , Michael Jones

Tour de France coverage can be found this year on ITV4, Eurosport, Discovery+ and GCN+ (Global Cycling Network).

Live racing each day will be shown on ITV4 before highlights typically at 7pm each day. ITV’s website lists timings here.

Eurosport and GCN+ will show every minute of every stage. More on Eurosport’s coverage here and the GCN+ coverage here.

It is also being shown on Eurosport’s Discovery+ streaming service, with broadcast info here.

Tour de France: Stage 12

11:05 , Michael Jones

Today’s end point is the Alpe d’Huez and it is the 31st time the climb has featured in a Tour stage.

The climb to Alpe d’Huez today comes 70 years after the introduction of summit finishes, which began with Fausto Coppi’s demonstration on the road with 21 hairpins.

The string of successes taken by the likes of Zoetemelk, Kuiper and Winnen later earned it the nickname “the Dutch mountain”, before the Italians took over with Bugno and Pantani.

As regards French riders, Bernard Hinault was the first to win here in 1986, although the photo at the finish that day underlines that he was passing the torch to the American Greg LeMond.

Subsequently, Pierre Rolland in 2011, Christophe Riblon in 2013 and Thibaut Pinot in 2015 have also delivered victory for the home nation at Alpe d’Huez.

Tour de France: Stage 12

11:00 , Michael Jones

The starting place for stage 12 is the city of Briançon in Southeastern France.

The joint history of the Tour de France and Briançon began in 1922 with a stage victory for Philippe Thys, who was already the first triple winner of the race.

Subsequently, the town that was fortified by Vauban has witnessed victories by the most illustrious climbers, including Tour winners Gino Bartali, Louison Bobet, Fausto Coppi, Charly Gaul, Gastone Nencini, Federico Bahamontes and Eddy Merckx.

The last start from Briançon was in 2017 and produced one of Warren Barguil’s fondest memories, as he won atop the Col d’Izoard in the polka dot jersey.

Tour de France: Stage 12

10:55 , Michael Jones

General Classification leaderboard after 11 stages:

1. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) 41hrs 29’59”

2. Romain Bardet (Team DSM) +2’16”

3. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) +2’22”

4. Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) +2’26”

5. Nairo Quintana (Team Arkea-Samsic) +2’37”

6. Adam Yates (Ineos Grenadiers) +3’06”

7. David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) +3’13”

8. Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe) +7’23”

9. Alexey Lutsenko (Astana-Qazaqstan team) +8’07”

10. Enric Mas (Movistar Team) +9’29”

Tour de France: Stage 12

10:30 , Michael Jones

Follow all the latest updates from Stage 12 of the Tour de France, as the action continues with another mountainous route to Alpe d’Huez today.

Stage 11 saw Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar lose the yellow jersey after repeated attacks from Team Jumbo Visma saw the race leader lose stamina on the final climb allowing Jonas Vingegaard to storm out in front and overhaul Pogacar’s lead. It was a perfect day for Vingegaard who finished over two minutes quicker than his rival to claim the top spot in the GC standings.

But how will that hard, heavy run have affected him?

Today’s stage promises to be as steep and as gruelling as Wednesday’s and if Vingegaard cannot back up his brilliant performance from yesterday he will be in danger of giving away his lead with Romain Bardet, Geraint Thomas and others still waiting in the wings.