Ligue 2 BKT

Tadej Pogacar praises spectators on the Alpe. I'm sure he has in mind two in particular, dressed in inflatable dachshund costumes. Shout-out to Fran and Tim from South London.

Orla, Matt and Robbie are on the ground in Le Bourg D'Oisans, as the competitors get themselves signed on, ahead of the neutral roll-out in 12 minutes time.

It was remarkable. He even gave us a bit of jeopardy at the end, when it almost seemed possible one of Carapaz or Martinez might steal it. But it was never gonna happen, was it?

This was obviously the last thing we wanted to happen, and while many will assign responsibility to the spectators - I've spent some time on Reddit since yesterday - I think the issue lies more with the cars. How many hundreds of thousands lined the race route, creating an atmosphere and spectacle unique to sport, while causing no problems whatsoever. It was an assault on the Alpe for the ages.

Okay, so the maillot jaune is all sewn up BUT at least two of the jerseys are well and truly up for grabs. If Mads Pedersen can make it over the Croix de Fer somewhere near the front, that will surely be enough for him to clinch the points competition, but the mountains and young rider jersey look like they'll go down to the wire. Will Richard Carapaz be allowed up the road?