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Tour de France - *Embrun - Prato Nevoso

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  1. 0km - Frank Schleck has the yellow jersey! He is 7 second ahead of Frank Schleck on the GC, with Cadel Evans a second further back. Meanwhile, Menchov has cut his deficit on the yellow jersey down to 38 seconds.

  2. 0km - Damiano Cunego now crosses the line 6'46" back.

  3. 0km - Wild celebrations among the Credit Agricole team. They have their second stage win of the tour thanks to Simon Gerrans.

  4. 0km - Evans finally crosses the line 4'51" back on the leader, and 48 seconds behind Bernhard Kohl, and a few seconds behind Frank Schleck! We're waiting for the latest GC standing. This will be very, very close! What drama here in Prato Nevoso.

  5. 0km - Menchov crosses the line 4'24" back!

  6. 0km - Kohl crosses the line with Sastre 4'04" back, Valverde just behind them!!

  7. 0km - Kohl has the yellow jersey in his sights, he's giving it everything!

  8. 0km - Benhard Kohl is out of the saddle trying to drop Carlos Sastre, Valverde is a few metres back!

  9. 0km - Menchov is being dropped by Kohl and Sastre now!

  10. 0km - Cadel Evans is desperately trying to gain back time on Menchov!! Evans is 35 seconds down on Menchov! And Kohl attacks again!

  11. 0km - The favourites are now inside the final kilometre, and Alejandro Valverde has managed to bridge the gap to the Menchov group!

  12. 0km - Gerrans wins it!!!! Gerrans takes the stage win!!! Martinez in second, Pate third!

  13. 0.1km - Pate is beaten, Martinez is struggling to keep Gerrans' wheel!!!

  14. 0.2km - In the breakaway group Simon Gerrans attacks 250 metres from the line!!

  15. 0.6 - Menchov moves to the front of the group now. Kohl and Sastre are struggling to keep his wheel!

  16. 0.7km - Now Vandevelde is back! Evans has turned his attentions to Frank Schleck! Menchov is further up the road, an ideal situation for the Russian.

  17. 0.8km - Menchov, Sastre and Kohl have dropped Evans!!!

  18. 0.9km - Our three leaders are playing cat and mouse games in the final kilometre!!!

  19. 1.0km - Andy Schleck goes again, and Menchov and Kohl try to follow. Frank Schleck moves into the wheel of his brother. It's all cat and mouse game at the moment.

  20. 1.3km - Kim Kirchen's group is 1'40" down on the Evans group.

  21. 1.4km - Bernhard Kohl attacks, and Cadel Evans is struggling to keep the tempo! Menchov has seen his chance and moves to the front! They know Evands doesn't have too many bad days, and they have to take advantage of the few that do come along.

  22. 1.8km - Menchov moves ahead to the lead duo!!! Evans is struggling! Menchov attacks again!!!

  23. 2.0km - Andy Schleck now kicks again! Kreuziger is looking superb in behind him.

  24. 2.3km - Andy Schleck ups the tempo again, Kreuziger is in his wheel. Samuel Sanchez is being dropped. Sastre is also on his limit.

  25. 2.5km - Cunego has been dropped by the group he was leading a few minutes ago! The Italian is struggling badly.

  26. 2.6km - It looked like Cadel Evans was in trouble there, and he will breathe a mighty sigh of relief that the big Russian did not just ride away there.

  27. 2.9km - Menchov attacks! A big attack from Menchov, and Andy Schleck tries to bridge the gap! This is a big attack! NOW MENCHOV FALLS ON A BEND!!! HE LOST HIS BACK WHEEL!!! HE SEEMS TO HAVE A PROBLEM WITH HIS BIKE!!!

  28. 3.1km - Pate puts in a little dig, but Martinez and Gerrans are right in his wheel. Now Martinez goes again!!! And Pate follows!

  29. 4km - Pate, Gerrans and Martinez are into the final 4 kilometres, 7'17" ahead of the yellow jersey group.

  30. 4.0km - There are now 45 seconds between the Evans group and the Cunego group.

  31. 4.2km - Bernhard Kohl is following in the wheel of Valverde at the front.

  32. 4.3km - Kim Kirchen has been dropped totally! He is struggling even to stay with the Cunego group.

  33. 4.6km - Marzio Bruseghin is trying to tow Damiano Cunego up back to the leaders.

  34. 5.1km - Meanwhile, Simon Gerrans has managed to get back on level terms with Pate and Martinez in the breakaway.

  35. 5.2km - Nobody follows him as he's no threat on the GC, but Samuel Sanchez is riding away.

  36. 5.7km - Andy Schleck has made it back to the main group too. Around 8-1- riders still in the lead group. They are: Valverde, Kreuziger, Kohl, Menchov, Sastre, Vandevelde, Sanchez, Evans, both Schlecks...AND SANCHEZ ATTACKS!

  37. 6km - Sastre ups the pace again, and Menchov responds!!!! Menchov has attacked, and Evans makes back the ground. A let up in pace then allows Kohl and Kreuziger to get back. Frank Schleck is in there too.

  38. 6.3km - Laurens Ten Dam is losing ground, and Schleck and Sastre have attacked!!! Evans responds, as does Bernhard Kohl! Menchov tries to bridge the gap! It's all kicking off now. Vandevelde is desperately trying to hang in there.

  39. 6.8km - The CSC teama re really putting the hurt on Cadel Evans, and Popo has gone out the back door! The Silence-Lotto team are in disarray. Damiano Cunego has been dropped too! Only about a group of 10-15 riders out in front. Valverde is in there.

  40. 7km - Andy Schleck now takes up the work for CSC.

  41. 7km - Martinez looks to be turning his pedals with far greater rhythm than the others, though Pate has made back the ground to the Basque rider. Gerrans is desperately trying to make up the 30 or so metres he has lost.

  42. 7.7km - Martinez attacks from the breakaway!!! Pate responds, Gerrans is onto the tail of Pate, and Arrieta is struggling to respond.

  43. 8km - Cadel Evans only really has Yaroslav Popovych by his side. A bit worrying given that we have only just started the climb.

  44. 9km - Danny Pate has done pretty much nothing in this escape group all day, and he is struggling to maintain contact with the other three. They are well into the start of the climb now.

  45. 11km - Euskaltel have had a very quiet Tour de France so far this year. Haimar Zubeldia has been a big disappointment, but they have the chance to redeem themselves today with Egoi Martinez. He is on paper the best climber of this group.

  46. 12km - Cancellara is driving them along. CSC really are setting a punishing pace! 11'32" the latest gap.

  47. 13km - There is thunder and lightning visible at the finish at the ski station! The weather may yet play a further role in today's stage.

  48. 13km - Perhaps the reason for this ferocious CSC train at the front of the pack is to put pressure on Christian Vandevelde, who took a tumble earlier today. Jens Voigt moves to the front now and pushes them on.

  49. 14km - Fabian Cancellara is now taking them down the descent of the Colle del Morte, and the gap is closing a little. 12'36" the latest gap.

  50. 16km - This short but punchy climb is really sorting them out. The peloton is strung out right along the road.

  51. 16km - Sebastien Chavanel, the FdJ sprinter, is out the back door without too much delay.

  52. 17km - Stuart O'Grady and Nicki Sorensen lead the peloton to the slopes of the 3rd-category Colle del Morte, before Kurt-Asle Arvesen takes over at the front. The CSC team are putting in a lot of work here.

  53. 20km - 13'33" is the gap as the leaders pass under the 20 kilometre to go flag.

  54. 24km - CSC and Silence-Lotto continue to keep the pace at the front of the peloton. The yellow jersey of Cadel Evans is looking very comfortable about 8 places back.

  55. 25km - The breakaway has just crossed the third-category Colle del Morte. Just 25 kilometres to the finish for them, though the majority of those are up a rather big mountain.

  56. 27km - The weather has improved significantly, and the riders are now able to dry themselves out under some reasonably sunny skies. Which is not to say that it will necessarily be sunny at the stage finish in the mountains.

  57. 34km - Well, the favourites' teams are at the front of the pack, but the gap is simply not coming down with any speed at all. 14'30" the latest split.

  58. 40km - The CSC riders have moved to the front of the pack to take over from Lampre, with Silence-Lotto and Columbia also to the fore.

  59. 44km - Vincenzo Nibali, the leader of the young riders' classification was caught in that crash too.

  60. 46km - It looks like everybody is back on their bikes now, though it will of course play into the hands of the breakaway riders. They are almost certain to fight out the stage win between eachother now.

  61. 50km - A crash! A big one, too! Both sides of the roundabout! David Millar is down, as is Julian Dean, at least three of the Lampre guys are down, including Damiano Cunego...and Christian Vandevelde too!!! A real blow for the Garmin-Chipotle man, even though he is back on his bike.

  62. 56km - The gap is still 15'45" and the peloton are a full 10 kilometres behind the leaders.

  63. 59km - The three Lampre riders, Daniele Righi, Matteo Bono and Marco Marzano are managing to bring down the lead of the four escapees slightly, but are hardly taking back big chunks of time. Nevertheless, the big step up in pace has seen the peloton strung out in a single file right along the road.

  64. 62km - Frank Schleck has dropped back to his CSC team car to take on a few energy bars and gels, while also giving his gilet back.

  65. 68km - Sean Kelly's prognosis for today's stage: "Even if Lampre manage to reduce the breakaway's lead to 5 minutes by the final climb, someone like Egoi Martinez will be very difficult to catch."

  66. 71km - Three Lampre domestiques have moved to the front to take up the work. The gap has now grown to 16'49". Do they really think they can close this down with just 70 kilometres to go and set up Damiano Cunego for a possible stage victory? It's a huge task.

  67. 79km - Pereiro is out of the race. He has a suspected broken shoulder and femur (thigh bone) and is being rushed to hospital. That is a terrible shame for the Spaniard.

  68. 81km - Things aren't looking good for Pereiro. The suspicion is that he has a broken collarbone, while Robbie Hunter was another faller.

  69. 83km - It now looks fairly certain that our leaders will get to the foot of the final climb as a quartet. They now have a massive 15'15" on the bunch.

  70. 87km - The gap to our leaders has gone back out to 14'40", and the rain is coming back down again. Gilets are being handed out from team cars with gusto.

  71. 90km - Oscar Pereiro has fallen on the descent! The Spaniard hit the deck fairly hard there, and seems to be hurt. The medical car is with him now.

  72. 95km - We are receiving breaking news that Italy's Leonardo Piepoli has admitted taking EPO. He of course was sacked by the Saunier Duval team following Riccardo Ricco's positive drug test, despite the fact the Piepoli himself didn't test positive. More on that as soon as we get it.

  73. 102km - The latest gap is 11'25". The peloton has taken some time on the descent.

  74. 105km - Voeckler seems the be continuing with his attack! Does the plucky Frenchman think he can bridge the gap?!? Surely not.

  75. 107km - Thomas Voeckler attacks from the peloton to take the 12 points at the top of the Agnel, with Kohl (10 points) and Di Gregorio (8 points) just behind.

  76. 114km - So having crossed the top of the Agnel, our leaders are now in Italy in the province of Cuneo.

  77. 117km - Bernhard Kohl is also perched at the front of the peloton. He is likel to nip out from the bunch to try and grab a few King of the Mountains points.

  78. 121km - A grupetto has formed behind the peloton now, and one surprising figure there is Alexandre Botcharov. He is a far better climber than this, so must either be under the weather or must have failed to recover from previous stages. To put that into perspective, Robbie Hunter is still at the front of the peloton for Barloworld.

  79. 121km - Langeveld and Augé are falling off the back of the peloton. Clearly the last few days of fast riding have taken their toll.

  80. 122km - Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel) takes the points at the top of the mountain, followed by Arrieta and Gerrans, with Pate just behind.

  81. 122km - Stijn Devolder has abandoned. He has reached the limits of his energy.

  82. 122km - Danny Pate has just shoved a load of newspapers up his jersey for some insulation for the descent.

  83. 124km - The gilets are all off now, and the road is beginning to dry out as our leaders approach the very top of our first climb of the day, the Col Agnel.

  84. 125km - Robbie McEwen is losing contact with the peloton as they pick up the pace. Stijn Devolder is another who isn't faring well.

  85. 127km - Christophe Brandt is sruggling badly. We knew he was suffering from stomach problems yesterday, and has now dropped off the back of the main bunch. He still looks distinctly off-colour

  86. 129km - Slipstream director Matt White: "I don't think today's stage is going to be too much to worry about. The next two stages in the Alps are where it's going to be won and lost."

  87. 131km - A reminder of the race situation: Danny Pate (Garmin), Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel), Simon Gerrans (Credit Agricole) and Jose Luis Arrieta (Ag2r) have a 13-minute lead over the peloton, and growing as they reach the upper parts of the Col Agnel.

  88. 132km - We've just heard that Credit Agricole's Mark Renshaw has abandoned! So Thor Hushovd loses one of his henchmen. He was struggling yesterday, was clearly no better today, and he has climbed off his bike.

  89. 134km - 13'00" is the latest split now as the peloton come onto the foothills of the Col Agnel.

  90. 135km - Damiano Cunego has made it clear that he fancies stage victory today, with the stage finishing in his native Italy. He has struggled so far on some of the bigger climbs, though now that he is a little bit further down the GC, he may well be allowed to attack on the ascent to Prato Nevoso. Unsurprisingly then, a few Lampre riders have assembled at the front of the peloton to make sure the breakaway doesn't gain too much time.

  91. 139km - Still not a lot to report, though the weather is thankfully beginning to improve. Our lead quartet are now a healthy 12'45" up the road.

  92. 142km - The peloton clearly have no interest in a hard day in the saddle at a high tempo. They have allowed the breakaway 10 minutes, and are displaying zero urgenc.

  93. 144km - Just in case you didn't catch the news earlier, Britain's Mark Cavendish has pulled out of the Tour. His focus will now switch to the Olympics, where he will compete in the madison event along with Bradley Wiggins.

  94. 146km - Our breakaway now has a rather handy 9'25" over the peloton, and this is browing with every kilometre we cover.

  95. 150km - Pretty much all of the jerseys, aside from Oscar Freire's green jersey, could change hands today. Maillot jaune Cadel Evans is only 1 second ahead of Frank Schleck on the GC, Sebastian Lang is unlikely to keep hold of his polkadot jersey, with team-mate Bernhard Kohl looking to take is off his hands. Vincenzo Nibali should keep hold of his white jersey, as he holds a handy 2'49" lead over talented Belgian Maxime Monfort in the young riders' classification.

  96. 155km - The gap grows to 5'40" now as Robbie Hunter gets a new rear wheel following a puncture.

  97. 160km - Our breakaway is being granted a loose leash by the peloton. They have 3'50" already.

  98. 163km - Two big climbs on the agenda today. First up after 58 kilopmetres is the hors-categorie Col Agnel. At 6.6% it's not quite as steep as some of the other climbs of the Tour, but it's a long one - 20 kilometres. After 157 kilometres comes the Colle del Morte, a sttep but short 3rd-category affair, then the stage then finishes atop Prato Nevoso, a 1st category climb (11.4 km at 6.9 %).

  99. 167km - Credit Agricole's Simon Gerrans has bridged the gap too, so we now have a quartet out front.

  100. 171km - After a flurry of early attacks, we have our breakaway! Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel), Jose Luis Arrieta (Ag2r) and Danny Pate (Garmin-Chipotle) have put significant distance between themselves and the peloton now.

  101. 183km - The real start has been given, under rainy skies. All the riders are wearing their gilets and wet weather jackets

  102. 12:00 - The yellow jersey of Cadel Evans worms his way through the stationary peloton to join his fellow jersey-wearers at the front, and the fictitious start is promptly given by Chrstian Prudhomme.

  103. 11:55 - Absolutely foul weather here in the village départ of Embrun. The rain is tipping down, and the wind is getting up too. One of those days when the riders will be wondering why they didn't take up beach volleyball instead.

  104. 11:45 - Welcome to eurosport.yahoo.com's live text commentary of stage 15 of the Tour de France.