CYCLING Live

Tour de France - *Cholet - Cholet

Gaps live

Live Comments

  1. 16:52 - Thanks for following our LIVE coverage of this surprising stage four time trial. Join us at the same time tomorrow, as we're finally hoping for a pure bunch sprint and possibly Mark Cavendish to contend. At 232-km long it's the longest stage at this year's Tour and again its pancake flat, perfect for the sprinters. Join us then!

  2. 16:50 - As for the overall standings after today's race, Schumacher leads from Kirchen and Millar who are both 21 seconds back. Evans is fourth at 21 seconds off pace, while Cancellara is now fifth. Valverde has dropped out of the top ten.

  3. ----- - But two people guessed within just two seconds, and they are our joint winners to today's guess the gap contest!! Congratulations to Roman from the Czech Republic and Jacek Figura, who both put in guesses of 7'12! If you want to collect your prizes (copies of Matt Rendell's Marco Pantani book) then email me your mailing details at jstahl@eurosport.com

  4. 16:45 - Out of more than 115 responses, we had two men guess within three seconds at 7 minutes and 13 seconds so major props for Andrew Tait in Aberdeen and Mike Fitch....

  5. 16:40 - The final gap between first placed Stefan Schumacher's time of 35:44 and the last place time of France's Freddy Bichot is seven minutes and ten seconds.... That means we have a winner to our guess the gap contest......

  6. 16:36 - Romain Feillu crosses the line in 169th place about five minutes off pace.

  7. 16:32 - William FRISCHKORN crosses in 141st. Right now Freddy BICHOT is last, and he will likely remain there, but what was his gap to Schumacher's time?

  8. 16:31 - Your final top ten will look like this: 1. Stefan SCHUMACHER - GEROLSTEINER (00:35:44) 2. Kim KIRCHEN - TEAM COLUMBIA (+00:11) 3. David MILLAR - GARMIN CHIPOTLE (+00:18) 4. Cadel EVANS - SILENCE - LOTTO (+00:27) 5. Fabian CANCELLARA - TEAM CSC SAXO BANK (+00:33) 6. Denis MENCHOV - RABOBANK (+00:34) 7. Jens VOIGT - TEAM CSC SAXO BANK (+00:35) 8. Christian VANDEVELDE - GARMIN CHIPOTLE (+00:37) 9. George HINCAPIE - TEAM COLUMBIA (+00:41) 10. Vincenzo NIBALI - LIQUIGAS (+00:47)

  9. 16:27 - Valverde crosses the line 23rd fastest in 1'34 off pace! He loses about one minute and seven seconds on Cadel Evans in the end. Only the three break-away riders are now left to cross.

  10. 16:25 - BUT STEFAN SCHUMACHER WILL WEAR THE YELLOW JERSEY!! He also claims the stage victory after Kim Kirchen crosses the line in second place at 18 seconds off pace. A great run from the green jersey, but not good enough to challenge the German.

  11. 16:24 - Feillu is now well over the gap he needed, finishing 3'17 back at the second checkpoint in 149th place.

  12. 16:22 - Schumacher was six seconds behind Millar and Evans coming into today, so as things stand the German will claim the yellow jersey for Gerolsteiner.

  13. 19km - The second-to-last starter Frischkorn is a full two minutes and 49 seconds off pace at 124th at the second checkpoint, just to show you what you should expect from the last three riders who made up yesterday's break-away.

  14. 16:18 - David Millar blasting towards the line, he will not win it today, but can he beat Evans..... Millar into second at just 16 seconds off pace!! A great latter half to the run from the Scot, and you can see it on his face.

  15. 16:17 - EVANS GOES SECOND FASTEST!! The Tour favourite is just 27 seconds behind Schumacher's time at the finish line, and that was a great second half from Mr. Consistency. Valverde, meanwhile, is languishing at 17th a full minute and five seconds off pace at the second checkpoint.

  16. 16:15 - Frank Schleck is 41st at 2'14 off Schumacher's 35'44 time. Pozzato is 33rd fastest.

  17. 19km - Kim Kirchen into second at the second checkpoint just 11 seconds behind Schumacher.... That deficit could be doable for the Luxembourg national champion..... It is going to be far from easy though.

  18. 11km - Romain Feillu is a full one minute and 48 seconds down at the first checkpoint and will surely lose the yellow jersey today. It looks very much like it's going to Stefan Schumacher, unless David Millar can do something magical.

  19. 16:11 - Oscar Pereiro, the only former winner in this year's race, crosses the line in 15th.

  20. 11km - Valverde, meanwhile, is a full 48 seconds off pace in 30th place at the first checkpoint. Evans could put some real time into his main GC rival today as the Spaniard is not performing as well as he did in the Dauphine Libere earlier this year.

  21. 19km - Millar is running down Schumacher's time at the second checkpoint, and he is going to be 14.3 seconds behind the German's time of 24'42. The British champion is giving it his all, but Schumacher looks absolutely out of site.

  22. 19km - Tour favourite Cadel Evans is third fastest at 23 seconds off pace at the second intermediate check, and last year's runner-up is looking in good position, not to win the stage, but to claim a good time. He started slow, but is finishing much stronger.

  23. 16:04 - David Millar has just gone over the stiffest climb of the circuit, a minor ascent right before the second checkpoint. He's still looking good.

  24. 11km - That's not bad though, Kim Kirchen is now second at the first checkpoint, just 11 seconds behind Schumacher's pace of 13'54! The weather has certainly been more favourable for the later riders.

  25. 16:01 - Spanish mountain goat Samuel Sanchez crosses in 17th at 1'31 off pace. A fine ride from the Euskaltel man. 2006 Tour champion Oscar Pereiro, meanwhile, is 15th at 1'06 back at the second checkpoint. Mikel Astarloza crosses 22nd at 1'42 back as my Fantasy Team suffers a further blow.

  26. 15:58 - Everybody is on the road now that yellow jersey Romain FEILLU has taken off! He will have to finish within 1'52 of Stefan Schumacher in order to maintain the overall lead today.

  27. 11km - Millar is second at 13 seconds behind Schumacher at the first checkpoint, and that bodes very well for the German.

  28. 15:56 - Good stuff from George Hincapie, who crosses the line sixth fastest at 41 seconds back!

  29. 15:56 - Current white jersey Andy Schleck across the line in 15th.

  30. 15:56 - YAY!! The time checks above are finally working for the time being!! Looks like our technical staff has done its job. The rankings you see above are now correct.

  31. 15:54 - Stefan Schumacher on today's amazing time trial: "I haven't won anything yet, so don't say anything yet. The Giro I think was hard for me, today it seems to be right... I didn't think I would post a good time at the start, but I got some time checks later on and felt really good. If it's the Tour de France, you start to get nervous though."

  32. 15:52 - American William FRISCHKORN, third in the GC coming into today after finishing second in yesterday's break-away, is off now.

  33. 15:51 - Schumacher's leading time is 35:44. That is the mark David Millar has to beat.

  34. 15:50 - Another one of the Tour favourites, Alejandro Valverde, is off now. And there are only three men left after him.

  35. 15:47 - Claire from Ireland was a Cancellara. She says: "Argh, why did I not put Fabian in my Fantasy Team?! I remember seeing Danny Pate in the 2006 FBD ras in Ireland! It was absolutely lashing down on the lads as they went up some buggers of hills!" Your decision seems wholly justified now Claire!

  36. 15:46 - STEFAN SCHUMACHER DOES THE BIZ!! The German is a full 33 seconds faster than Fabian Cancellara, who is denied the win today! That is an imposing time from the Gerolsteiner man and a huge shock! The big question is can anyone beat his time now.

  37. 15:45 - American veteran Christian VANDEVELDE (Garmin-Chipotle) crosses fourth fastest just 4.9 seconds off pace.

  38. 15:42 - Sean Kelly the head winds have died down a bit, and that's why we're seeing such faster times at the checkpoints. That could bode very well for DAVID MILLAR, who has just taken off. The British national champion, has a real chance to do something special after Cancellara's subpar ride.

  39. 15:40 - Italian Marzio BRUSEGHIN not doing nearly as well as we should expect from him., crosses the line in 15th at 1'08 back. Tour co-favourite Cadel Evans is off the ramp now. It could be a very good day for the Australian.

  40. 15:37 - Belgian Maxime MONFORT (Cofidis) crosses the line at 50 seconds behind Cancellara in tenth. A good run from the climber who finished 11th overall in last year's Tour of Spain and was second in stage seven of Paris-Nice this year.

  41. 19km - Schumacher gains time on his rivals!! The German is 23 seconds faster than his compatriot Voigt at the second checkpoint!

  42. 11km - US veteran George Hincapie has gone second fastest at 14 seconds behind Schumacher at the first split. Things are getting very interesting.

  43. 15:34 - Carlos Sastre, who has been a fixture in the top-four the past two years, puts in a very good run finishing 1'10 off pace in 15th!

  44. 11km - Schumacher is quickest at the first checkpoint, 15 seconds faster than Voigt and 17 seconds faster than Cancellara.

  45. 15:31 - Stijn Devolder has crossed in 37'02 to cross the line in ninth. A good performance from the Tour of Flanders winner.

  46. 15:28 - We're going to have a very tight finish for our stage favourite, Fabian Cancellara... HE PIPS MENCHOV BY ONE SECOND!! What a great final sprint to beat out the Russian with a time of 36'17! But is it good enough for the win?

  47. 15:27 - Former Tour of Italy winner Damiano Cunego, by no means a specialist in this discipline, has done splendidly to finish eighth at 52 seconds off pace!

  48. 15:24 - For all of you wondering about our "guess the gap" contest. The hilariously named Freddy BICHOT is currently last behind at 6'36 behind Menchov........

  49. 15:19 - A great ride for the Swede Thomas LÖVKVIST (COLUMBIA), who rolls across the line in fourth position, just behind Nibali.

  50. 19km - Cancellara drops to third at the second checkpoint!! He is six seconds off of Voigt's leading pace and just behind Menchov!! The Swiss, who was everyone's favourite to win today, will now have to do something very special to get back into contention to take the win. Sean Kelly has just said he doubts the two-time world champion has it in him today.

  51. 15:15 - Sebastian LANG has crossed the line in seventh at 55 seconds off the leading pace.

  52. 15:12 - Vincenzo "The Shark" Nibali has just crossed in third!! A brilliant time trial from him after finishing 13 seconds off of Menchov's lead pace. The Italian is also a Fantasy steal at just 2,300 euros. Get involved with our Fantasy game by pasting the below link into your browser: http://fantasy.tour-de-france.eurosport.com/default.aspx

  53. 11km - Cancellara is second-fastest at the first intermediate checkpoint, two seconds behind Voigt's time.

  54. 15:08 - The Spaniard GUTIERREZ is across the line in third at 16 seconds behind Menchov. A very good run from the Caisse D'Epargne rider.

  55. 19km - José Ivan GUTIERREZ has crossed the second check-point in third at 23 seconds behind Voigt's time. The Spaniard is very well placed to make a run at the lead now.

  56. 15:00 - The current provisional top five: 1. Denis MENCHOV - RABOBANK (36:18) 2. Jens VOIGT - TEAM CSC SAXO BANK (+00:01) 3. Sylvain CHAVANEL - COFIDIS (+00:34) 4. Danny PATE - GARMIN CHIPOTLE (+00:36) 5. Stef CLEMENT - BOUYGUES TELECOM (+01:00)

  57. 14:55 - Mark McElroy has written in with this comment and question: "My mate, Kevin Lynch, rode the FBD 2006 Ras 5 Day stage race in Ireland and was up against Danny Pate who was holding the fastest time today. Can you tell me how long he has been a Pro? He was also USA U23 champion at one point?" He was an U23 road national champion in 1998 and an U23 time trial national champion in 2001. Pate debuted profesionally with Saeco - Valli & Valli, before moving onto delicious, delicious Jelly Belly racing, and then even more delicious Garmin-Chipotle. And he's in a very good position today.

  58. 14:49 - Menchov is really battling now, he really wants to take some time back after losing 30 seconds yesterday, and the Russian is into first!! By just 1.37 seconds!! And at the same time, double world champion Fabian Cancellara leaves the start ramp.

  59. 14:48 - Tour of Switzerland winner Roman KREUZIGER, who a lot of people are tipping as a sleeper contender in this year's race, crosses this ITT in tenth at 1'16 behind Voigt's leading time of 36'19.

  60. 14:47 - VOIGT TAKES THE LEAD!! The German giving CSC a possible double today? He crosses in a time 33 seconds faster than Chavanel.

  61. 14:45 - Aussie sprint star Robbie McEwen crosses in 109th, 3'42 behind the leading time.

  62. 19km - Voigt also set the mark at the 19.5km checkpoint, with Menchov a further six seconds off pace. The weather improving for the time being.

  63. 11km - Rabobank leader Denis MENCHOV has crossed the first checkpoint in second at four seconds behind Voigt.

  64. 14:34 - Kyle McFarren has written in from Chicago to say, "Today it doesn't seem like the "gaps live" section is updating." Good spot Kyle, sadly our updates are not coming in properly. We've forwarded the issue onto our technical staff, but please keep reading our comments for somewhat accurate information on the main placements.

  65. 14:29 - And a fabulous finish from Barloworld sprinter Robbie Hunter! The South African, a surprise stage winner last year, crosses in tenth (+00:47)!

  66. 11km - Our Assistant Managing Editor asks, "what ever happened to Jens Voigt, isn't he supposed to be good?" You know what? He is still pretty good and has claimed the top time at the first checkpoint! Great run from the CSC man.

  67. 14:25 - 2007 Paris-Roubaix winner O'Grady crossing the line in 82nd place. A shorter prologue-esque TT would have been a better course for the Australian, but as it was Tour organisers axed the prologue this year.

  68. 14:19 - CHAVANEL INTO THE LEAD!! The French national time trial champion pips Pate by two seconds, finishing in 36'52.

  69. 14:15 - Tour of Switzerland winner Kreuziger (Liquigas) is off, as is Tour of Spain winner Denis Menchov, who lost a good 30 seconds on his GC rivals yesterday after being caught in that second chase group following Angel Gomez's late crash.

  70. 14:14 - But as we said at the start of the day, the weather could play a factor, as it has started to rain... This could be a real detriment to some of those later riders, but we'll see.

  71. 14:10 - Some start times to note: MENCHOV, Denis 14:14:00; GUTIERREZ, José Ivan 14:30:00; POPOVYCH, Yaroslav 14:34:00; LANG, Sebastian 14:36:00; CANCELLARA, Fabian 14:50:00; SASTRE, Carlos 14:56:00; BRUSEGHIN, Marzio 15:02:00; EVANS, Cadel 15:40:00; MILLAR, David 15:42:00; KIRCHEN, Kim 15:48:00; VALVERDE, Alejandro 15:50:00. Cancellara is the overwhelming favourite today.

  72. 19km - Chavanel is fastest at the second checkpoint! That is a good sign for fans of new leaders.

  73. 14:05 - Alessandro BALLAN (+00:35) into fifth provisionally!

  74. 11km - A great run by Sylvain CHAVANEL, who has to be considered the home favourite. The Frenchman is second at the first intermediate checkpoint in 14:36.

  75. 14:01 - Sean Kelly on David Millar's hopes: "I think he should be going out with a shot at the victory. He'll feel immediately in the first five kilometres whether he's having a good day."

  76. 13:59 - After finishing the stage, Cavendish was philosophical on his approach to time trials like this one: "I didn't have to go flat out today so it's okay for me, but I think it will have a deciding factor on the GC anyway. It's a little bit of an art. You can't go too easy because the top guys go so fast and you have to make the time. You do have to try to save a little bit of energy because you have to go full gas in the sprint days for the win and you have to go full gas in the mountains just to survive. If you try to take this as a rest day then it helps a little bit."

  77. 13:54 - Sean Kelly's prediction today: "I can't imagine anybody beating Cancellara." We couldn't have said it better ourselves.

  78. 13:51 - Mark CAVENDISH crosses in 73rd at 2'55 off pace. The sprinter was never expected to do well today, though he did win the prologue to the Tour of Britain last year (only a 2.5km TT at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre).

  79. 13:51 - South African sprinter Robbie Hunter (Barloworld) has just fired himself off of the starter's ramp.

  80. 13:49 - The provisional top five: 1. Pate (0:36'54), 2. Clement (+0'24), 3. Tepstra (+0'28), 4. Riblon (+0'32), 5. Bertogliati (+0'36).

  81. 13:46 - Stuart O'GRADY has just left the ramp. The Australian is one we will be keeping an eye on today.

  82. 13:42 - A good time at the finish for Sebastien ROSSELER (00:37:48), who crosses in tenth.

  83. 19km - Cav drops to 65th at the second checkpoint (00:27:40), while Ballan is steady at seventh (00:26:10).

  84. 11km - Mark CAVENDISH was one minute and 11 seconds back in 57th place at the first checkpoint. Alessandro BALLAN, who we dropped from our Fantasy team for this time trial, was 13th.

  85. 13:28 - Bad news for yours truly and his fantasy team, as my first rider, Leif HOSTE, is across in provisional 23rd (+01:36), a position he's sure to lose. And to top it all off, I just got a call from my cable provider to tell me that they would not be giving me a refund for two years worth of overcharges. Boo-hoo is all I can say.

  86. 13:19 - Yet another solid performance for the Dutch, as Joost POSTHUMA (RABOBANK) crosses the line in tenth at 56 seconds off pace. Three men from the Netherlands in the top-ten now.

  87. 13:13 - Niki TERPSTRA (TEAM MILRAM) puts in a big effort in the final third of this time trial to move into provisional third at 28 seconds behind the leader Pate.

  88. 13:10 - British sprint star Mark Cavendish is the next man to leave! We'll keep you updated on the Manxman's progress throughout these 29.5km now.

  89. 13:05 - German mountain goat Fabian WEGMANN (GEROLSTEINER) has just come across in 1'45 behind Pate's leading time. 71 down, 107 to go.

  90. 13:00 - Christophe MOREAU, the Agritubel rider who finished seventh overall in the 2006 Tour, has crossed the line in seventh at 45 seconds behind Pate's leading time. The French national champion will become a bigger threat when this Tour hits the mountains in the coming days.

  91. 12:50 - Spain's Rabobank rider Juan Antonio FLECHA has gone through in 00:38:10, one minute and 16 seconds slower than Pate. That is good for 12th. For those wondering, Piepoli still last and the gap is up to 05:34.

  92. 12:40 - AND PATE TAKES THE LEAD!! A great finish by the American rider from Garmin-Chipotle (previously Slipstream, now sweet, sweet Chipotle). Pate was part of Slipstream's Giro D'Italia team time trial winning squad, and after yesterday's second-place finish from another American, William Frischkorn, sporting director Jonathan Vaughters must be incredibly happy. Pate finishes in 00:36:54, 24 seconds faster than Clement.

  93. 12:30 - A new best time at the second checkpoint (km 19,5) ! American Danny Pate (Silence-Lotto) has jetted through in 0:25'50.

  94. 12:25 - Belarusian danger man Konstantsin SIUTSOU (COLUMBIA) has just crossed the finish line in 17th (00:38:47). Some other recent finishers include, Sandy CASAR (FRANCAISE DES JEUX), who is 12th at 00:38:31 and Brett LANCASTER (MILRAM), who is 22nd at 00:39:00. For those of you keeping track, Leonardo Piepoli is still last at five minutes and ten seconds behind current leader Stef Clement (00:37:18).

  95. 12:10 - AND TIME!! Thanks for your emails. Please stop sending them in. We will announce a Wiener at the end of today's stage.

  96. ----- - To join our fun-filled fantasy game, just paste the below link into your web browser. It's not too late to pick your team for tomorrow, and beat up on all of your friends: http://fantasy.tour-de-france.eurosport.com/default.aspx

  97. 12:05 - Another interesting placing to report, Felix CARDENAS is currently ninth of 41. Lots of folks in our Eurosport Fantasy league included him in their teams for the GC, but I opted to stay away. My team today is shear genius, if I do say so myself. It includes, Cancellara, Kim Kirchen, Valverde, Leif Hoste, George Hincapie, and Mikel Astarloza. I've slipped to second in the Eurosport league behind our Managing Editor, who is now ranked 55th in the world due to his astonishing pick of Feillu yesterday. It doesn't matter, though, you know why? Because, YOU'RE GOING DOWN WALKER!! that's why.

  98. 12:00 - Due to its frenzied popularity, we are going to extend our "guess the gap" contest by ten minutes, giving you all until 12:10 British Standard time in to email jstahl@eurosport.com your guesses on the final time difference between today's winner and last-place finisher. Play and win something good.....

  99. 11:55 - New race leader, by the way. Dutchman Stef CLEMENT (BOUYGUES TELECOM) has come flying into the lead with a time of 00:37:18, eight seconds faster than RIBLON. 35 down, 155 to go.

  100. ----- - If you get a chance you should read our man Felix Lowe's fine TdF Blog, Blazin' Saddles. Today, FL pontificates on the highs and lows of ingesting cat faeces, boldly predicts a Fabian Cancellara victory, and picks a fight with French president Nicolas Sarkozy. Read it giggle, by pasting the below link into your web browser: http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/08072008/58/tour-de-france-blazin-saddles-apology.html

  101. 11:45 - You've still got 15 minutes to send us in your answers for today's "guess the gap" contest! Today's question, what will be the gap between today's winner and the last place finisher? The winner could get a rare copy of Matt Rendell's biography of Marco Pantani. Rare, in that we gave one away yesterday and may do so again tomorrow, but who knows after that.... Email your response to jstahl@eurosport.com

  102. 11:38 - Your current top five: 1. RIBLON Christophe - AG2R-LA MONDIALE (00:37:27) 2. BERTOGLIATI Rubens - SAUNIER DUVAL - SCOTT (+00:00:04) 3. FROOME Christopher - BARLOWORLD (+00:00:07) 4. BACKSTEDT Magnus - GARMIN CHIPOTLE (+00:00:12) 5. FEDRIGO Pierrick - BOUYGUES TELECOM (+00:00:26).

  103. 11:31 - A couple of big time climbers have already finished today. Caisse D'Epargne's David ARROYO (00:39:38) is currently 18th out of 23. Another Spaniard Juan Mauricio "MC" SOLER (00:40:24) is currently 20th out of 23. And Italy's Leonardo PIEPOLI (00:42:28) is currently 23rd out of 23, rendering our Wim VANSEVENANT (22nd) guess for last place completely moot. Our second favourite Swede Magnus BACKSTEDT of the Garmin-Chipotle (Mmmm, Chipotle) team is currently in fourth with a time of 00:37:39.

  104. 11:24 - Our first guess is in now that I've remembered my own email address. For those of you interested, the current gap between the new leader Christophe RIBLON and our current last place Wim VANSEVENANT is three minutes and 35 seconds. We're looking for the final gap between first and last though, and you have until 12:00 Noon British Standard Time to write in. That email address again for our "guess the gap" contest is jstahl@eurosport.com

  105. 11:15 - The latest leaders at the finish line: 1. Christopher FROOME (00:37:33)Aleksandr KUSCHYNSKI (00:38:27)2. Johan VAN SUMMEREN (00:38:51) 3. Nicki SORENSEN (00:38:57) 4. Marco MARZANO (00:39:15)

  106. ----- - LET THE GAMES BEGIN!! The question: what will be final gap between first and last on stage four? You have until 12:00 BST to send your guesses into jstahl@eurosport.com

  107. 11:00 - Now seems like the perfect time to liven things up with today's "guess the gap" contest. Yesterday, Paul Norris won a copy of Matt Rendell's biography of Marco Pantani by guessing within three seconds the highest gap between the break-away and the peloton (11'48) and today you can win..... A copy of Matt Rendell's biography of Marco Pantani!! (We've got seven crates of them in the prize cupboard that we need to unload before the Olympics). Today, we will ask you to guess the gap between today's winner (Fabian Cancellara) and today's last place finisher (Wim Vansevenant?).

  108. 10:53 - The early leaders is Bertogliati! Here are the times at the finish line : 1. Bertogliati (0:37'30), 2. Sorensen (à 01'27), 3. Sprick (à 01'29).

  109. 10:45 - The times at the second checkpoint : 1. Bertogliati (0:25'52), 2. Sprick (0:26'55), 3. Sorensen (0:27'06).

  110. 10:45 - A look at the start times for some of today's favourites: 14h42 : Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis), 15h16 : Denis Menchov (Rabobank), 15h52 : Fabio Cancellara (CSC), 16h00 : Maxime Monfort (Cofidis), 16h42 : David Millar (Garmin), 16h50 : Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne).

  111. 10:44 - After yesterday's chaotic, wet and windy third stage led to a surprise break-away victory for Frenchman Samuel Dumoulin and the yellow jersey for his compatriot Romain Feillu, the weather could again play an important factor today. Hopefully no rain, but clouds will move in and out all day and temperatures are certainly cool for this time of year (19°).

  112. 10:32 - Switzerland's Rubens Bertogliati (Saunier-Duval) has taken the best time at the 11km checkpoint : 0:14'30.

  113. 10:30 - The early splits a kilometre 11 : 1. Sprick (0:15'08), 2. Soler (0:15'49), 3. Vansevenant (0:16'11). You'll know that Mauricio Soler (not legendary French rap Artiste MC Soler) won last year's polka dot jersey, but is the third lowest in the GC because of a bad stage one crash that may have injured his arm.

  114. 10:26 - The first intermediate split is in : 0:16'11 for Vansevenant at kilometre 11 at Saint-André-de-la-Marche. The first split comes a little under halfway through the stage.

  115. 10:25 - Other riders to leave early today because of their low GC positions include the Frenchmen, Sprick (Bouygues Telecom) andAugé (Cofidis). Riblon (AG2R) and Roy (Française des Jeux) will also be leaving shortly.

  116. 10:23 - The first rider, Wim Vansevenant (Silence-Lotto), went off at 11h02 CET (10:02 BST). The Belgian, who is the worst rider in the GC at 16'40 behind yellow jersey Romain Feillu (Agritubel), is currently on the road. The last rider to depart today will be Feillu, at 15h56 British time.

  117. ----- - Welcome to eurosport.yahoo.com's LIVE text comments and timing of today's fourth stage, a 29.5 kilometre time trial around Cholet!