Tour de France - Favourites to battle in the Massif Central on stage 10
Date: 160km to go
Title: Post
Content: Julian Alaphilippe zips away from the front. He would be a very popular winner of this stage.
Update:
Date: 163km to go
Title: Post
Content: Victor Campenaerts (Visma-Lease a Bike) immediately accelerates from the flag drop as does Matej Mohoric and Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious).
Nobody can quite get away yet mind.
Update:
Date: 165.3km to go
Title: Post
Content: Racing is under way.
Update:
Date: 12:26 BST
Title: Stage 10 profile
Content: Normally, this would almost certainly be a rest day but it is Bastille Day so a big day of climbing is incoming instead.
The 4,400m of elevation gain across seven category-two climbs and a category-three ascent is likely to put the sprinters in trouble almost from the start on a stage that looks made for the breakaway specialists.
There will likely be a strong posse of home riders trying to get in any group heading up the road with the objective of becoming the first French stage winner on the national holiday since Warren Barguil in 2017.
The first trip into the mountains should provide a decent shake up of the GC standings although it unlikely to cause any of the main favourites issues.
Update:
Date: 12:24 BST
Title: Post
Content: The roll out is under way and a huge chunk of riders look primed behind the race director's car waiting for the flag drop and a chance to zip off up the road.
Update:
Date: 12:20 BST
Title: Bonjour
Content: Welcome to our coverage of stage 10 of the Tour de France as the race heads 165.3 km from Ennezat to Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy.
It's Bastille Day, we're in the mountains, it should be the first big showdown in the battle for the yellow jersey and a breakaway will try to get up the road.
What's not to like? This should be a cracker.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
Cole Palmer's Chelsea finally believe they are Premier League contenders
When Chelsea won the Conference League in May, a victory secured by the standard ice‑cold Cole Palmer performance in a final, the reaction was restrained and there was no internal talk of an impending title challenge. Now the vibe is different. It is hard not to dream when Chelsea perform as they did against Paris Saint‑Germain in the final of the Club World Cup. Nobody is getting carried away. Chelsea know what the rest of us know, which is that they are not the best team in the world. They are not the finished article. They are young and still have much to learn. Yet there is a gold badge on the shirt for the next four years and if Chelsea woke up feeling $100m on Monday morning it will not only have been because of the prize money made during their month in the US. Where does this end? Chelsea have built priceless momentum and will head into the new season with serious aspirations of winning the Premier League and going far in the Champions League. They are youthful, aggressive, motivated and extremely talented. They are champions of the world, an achievement that should not be played down. They were the second-youngest side at the Club World Cup and have benefited from treating it seriously. They have grown as a team, honing their tactical vision and hardening their mentality, and it has done wonders for Enzo Maresca's standing as head coach after a challenging first year. Maresca has seemed on dodgy ground at times. He wobbled during a difficult spell after Christmas and has not found it easy to convince match-going fans to embrace his patient, positional football. The players, though, are different. Maresca clearly has total buy-in from the squad. 'He is building something special,' Palmer said after leading the destruction of PSG with two goals and an assist for João Pedro before half-time. 'He's a top coach,' Malo Gusto said before the final. 'He's always watching his next opponent and doing analysis. That helps us.' Maresca's plan was perfect against PSG. Chelsea were coherent and disciplined. 'The first 10 minutes, the team was there to showed that we were there to win,' Maresca said. Chelsea were physical from the start. They went direct, beating Luis Enrique's ferocious pressing system, and targeted PSG's left flank. 'That's where we tried to win the game,' Maresca said. 'But you can give the players a plan – in the end it's them who have to execute it.' Chelsea delivered, the collective combining to create conditions for Palmer's quality to shine. It should do wonders for their confidence. They are back in the Champions League after a two-year absence and will believe they can compete with the best after doing to PSG what the French club have been doing to everyone else in Europe during the past eight months. This is a project moving in the right direction. Palmer is the jewel in the crown – incredibly he was unwell last week but still left PSG feeling under the weather – but it is a team effort. The work conducted by the recruitment team of Paul Winstanley, Joe Shields, Laurence Stewart and Sam Jewell cannot be overlooked. They have faced external criticism but will earn more respect after this triumph. The question is whether Chelsea can push on. They were reluctant to say that they were challengers last season, even when two points off the top just before Christmas. But something shifted when they got over the line during the run-in and finished fourth. Champions League qualification gave them belief; thumping PSG enhances it. 'I said at the start of this tournament that our plan is to win it and people looked at me as if I was crazy,' Levi Colwill said. 'I'm going to say the exact same thing now going into the Premier League and Champions League. I think we're ready.' Chelsea look stronger. João Pedro has transformed the attack in the space of two weeks, impressing with his pressing, mobility and link play. Maresca has options. He was able to bring on Liam Delap against PSG and use the striker's pace on the break. Chelsea have different modes of attack. They can counter with Pedro Neto's pace on the flanks. Jamie Gittens and Estêvão Willian are joining and will provide more depth on the flanks. Another positive from the tournament? Estêvão proving he can take on English defences by scoring against Chelsea in his final game for Palmeiras. The unknown is whether Chelsea are going to be more adept at breaking down low blocks. There was space against PSG but other sides will not be as accommodating. Chelsea are going to come up against a lot of deep defences. It is partly why João Pedro has been signed; Maresca regards the Brazilian's versatility as a way to unlock tight games. Enzo Fernández's development as a box-crashing midfielder is another plus. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion There will be challenges, not least when it comes to dealing with the physical impact of the Club World Cup. Chelsea have three weeks off before returning for pre-season and host Crystal Palace in their opening Premier League game. It is hard to know how this plays out. They could use the positive vibes to hit the ground running but there may come a point when they crash. Or they may start slowly and find themselves in another battle for the top four. The additional demands of an expanded Champions League further complicates matters. Chelsea were able to rest their A‑listers in the Conference League but that is not an option this time. It is acknowledged that Maresca needs cover for Marc Cucurella at left-back. But the squad does not need a lot of work. It is said that Robert Sánchez is not a title-winning goalkeeper but he was outstanding against PSG. There has been a lot of talk about a new centre-back but Chelsea gave away little against Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. There is depth in a lot of other positions. Not that it will be quiet before the window shuts. Chelsea's bank balance has been boosted and they are nothing if not afraid to trade. Noni Madueke is going to Arsenal and another attacker could be targeted if Nicolas Jackson or Christopher Nkunku leaves. Tyrique George has a lot of wingers in front of him. Chelsea have been fined by Uefa for breaching financial fair play rules and must generate positive income if they are to register new players in their Champions League squad. The goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic is joining Bournemouth for £25m. Chelsea have outcasts to sell; plenty of ways to bring in money. Buyers must be found for Raheem Sterling, João Félix, Axel Disasi and many more. That element of the approach led by Clearlake Capital, the club's majority owner, leaves some observers cold. It is important that Chelsea embrace stability and keep the core group together. 'We've got the best players in our team, young players, and that's our plan: to win the biggest trophies for Chelsea,' Colwill said. 'No matter what, we've got to stick together.' He was on top of the world. Chelsea have no intention of crashing back to earth. They think this is just the beginning.
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Ella Toone will make England their best playing in the No 10. role on the pitch just as her infectious personality helps them off it, writes TARA ANSON-WALSH
She might be small in stature, but England 's No 10 Ella Toone packs a serious punch. Standing at just 5ft 4in, Toone is a fan-favourite, not just for her creativity on the pitch but for her infectious personality off it. There's been a running joke in the Lionesses camp ever since the last World Cup where the Mancunian midfielder can't resist flexing her biceps whenever the cameras land on her in training at the gym – much to the amusement of her teammates. That sums her up. The 25-year-old who burst onto the scene alongside best friend Alessia Russo at Euro 2022 as Sarina Wiegman 's super sub duo is never afraid to have a laugh. When she is around Russo in particular, the two barely go a minute without cracking a joke. Their families are close, too. Back when Toone and Russo were still coming through England's youth academies, their parents would travel together, exploring new cities, trying local restaurants, and cheering from the sidelines as their daughters climbed toward the biggest stage of all. Toone and Russo's telepathic relationship off the pitch transfers seamlessly on to it. Once the whistle blows, their focus is absolute. Manchester United manager Marc Skinner has often remarked that there is no one more passionate in his squad than his brightest star, Toone. She's consistently the last to leave training, and Skinner has admitted he sometimes has to rein her in when she's too hard on herself after a defeat. Ever since Toone was introduced late in England's opening defeat to France, the reigning European champions have looked transformed – sharper, more cohesive, and far more threatening. England's dismantling of Wales on Sunday night was the perfect representation of the Russo-Toone axis in full swing. Toone's goal, England's second, came after Russo chased down a loose ball which had been fumbled by Wales goalkeeper Olivia Clark. The England striker didn't even look up, just poked the ball to the place where she knew Toone would be arriving. Toone's initial shot was initially blocked, but she made no mistake with the second, doubling England's lead after 20 minutes. Then Toone returned the favour 20 minutes later, cutting the ball back from the byline towards Russo on the edge of the six-yard box. Russo was able to take a touch before picking out her spot, sweeping it past Clark to bring England's total up to four on the night. Sandwiched between those moments was another Toone contribution – a pinpoint cross from near the corner flag, finding Lauren Hemp's head at the back post. Toone was everywhere against Wales. Her heatmap told the story of a relentless first half. Buzzing between the boxes, driving England's attack and putting in a tireless shift off the ball. It was also a historic 45 minutes, with Toone becoming the first player on record to score a goal, assist a goal, and complete 100 per cent of her passes in a women's Euros match. 'I just wish I could have played a little bit more,' was the summary given by the elated midfielder after the match. 'They're the games I find really difficult,' Toone added. 'As a number 10 you want the space. When a team sits in a really deep block, there's not a lot of space in the middle of the pitch, so I had to find space elsewhere and made sure that I made those runs in behind – even though there wasn't any space there either. But I really enjoyed it.' Beth Mead, a close teammate who lost her own mother to cancer a year before Toone's father Nick passed away last year, praised her resilience during a difficult time – particularly after the first game upon 'looking to the stands for your person and they're not there anymore'. 'I think Tooney is really coming to her own and sometimes in situations where you feel a little bit low, it brings you to the top of your game. I have completely felt that and done that before – been in a tough place and come back from it. 'I think you can see that she's got that kind of aura, that type of energy and she deserves everything she's getting right now because she has worked really hard for it.' The Lionesses have looked like a new team ever since Toone was brought in to replace James in the No 10. James, who hadn't played since April, is an extraordinary talent, but doesn't have the same defensive mindset as Toone, and so fitting them both in the team by pushing James out to the right has worked wonders for England's attack. James and Toone linked up well on Sunday and England have scored 10 goals in two games ever since Sarina Wiegman made those tweaks – after recording just two shots on target in the France game. It helps, too, that Toone knows this midfield well. She's spent long stretches playing alongside Keira Walsh and Georgia Stanway, and those relationships, built over time, are now second nature. Stanway summed it up best: 'Me, Keira and Tooney have just got a really good relationship with each other. We communicate and we look at each other. We speak constantly. I like to be in the pocket. (Toone) likes to be in the pocket. Keira likes to be on the ball.' And then, she added with a smile: 'I think Tooney gets joy from creating – so assists, goals, making sure that she's in that final third. And then for me on the other side, I get joy from smashing people.' Toone may have been frustrated by being withdrawn after 45 minutes on Sunday, but if anything, it was Wiegman's biggest compliment. The Dutch coach is going to desperately need her No 10 fit and strong for the tasks that lie ahead.
The Sun
5 hours ago
- The Sun
Transfer news LIVE: Newcastle make £69.5m Ekitike bid, Gibbs-White to Spurs UPDATE, Jackson's Chelsea future ‘uncertain'
THE thrills and spills of the summer transfer window are well underway with some huge deals in the pipeline over the next few weeks! Morgan Gibbs-White has reported to Nottingham Forest for pre-season training despite heavy links to Tottenham in recent days. Elsewhere, Newcastle have submitted a club-record £69.5million bid for Frankfurt forward Hugo Ekitike. In other news, Nicolas Jackson 's future at Chelsea is uncertain amid interest from multiple clubs.
