Championnat Spécial Division 1

At least, for the British fans who head out to Alpe d'Huez, that is...

French sports daily L’Equipe dedicated its front page to the showdown on Alpe d’Huez today. Which one of their featured riders – Pogacar, Del Toro, Seixas and Evenepoel – will win today, or will we see an outsider or escapee take the spoils and add their name to the history books?

The Dane and his Lidl-Trek team-mates have taken over pacing duties alongside EF in the breakaway as they approach the end of the fast descent off the back of the Col du Noyer. The gap is down to 3’28” but it’s looking good for Pedersen in his pursuit of those green jersey points – even if the sprint isn’t for another 52km.

The 42 leaders are now 3’55” clear of the yellow jersey group, which might be rejoined by the chase group that includes Tim Wellens on the descent.

Carapaz and Paret-Peintre enjoy a little, good natured chat after their sprint – it’s a really wholesome competition between the two, with both riders knowing full well that Pogacar holds all the aces given his ability to take more points on the finish summits.

The whippet-lean French climber does it again! He goes early with Carapaz on his wheel – but he manages to hold off the man from the Andes to add another 10 points to his tally and move 14pts clear of Pogacar at the top of the KOM standings. We have 25 more points left today: 5pts over the Ornon, then 20pts at the finish.

So, the virtual KOM standings are:

1. Valentin Paret-Peintre 84pts
2. Richard Carapaz 74pts
3. Tadej Pogacar 70pts