to VeloNews.com's Live Coverage of the 16th stage of the 95th edition of the Tour de France, a 157-kilometer race from Cuneo, Italy, to Jausiers in France.

Following a flat 50km warm-up from their rest-day city of Cuneo (population 55,000), the riders face one of the most intense stretches of climbing in Tour history. After crossing the Demonte river and turning left in the little Italian village of Pratolungo, they face 11,000 feet of uphill work in the following 82km over two of the toughest hors-categorie mountain passes in Europe. The first is the Col de la Lombarde, a narrow and twisting mountain road that averages 7 percent for 21km, with the steepest pitches at up to 13 percent in the first half of the climb.

The grade eases to 4 percent in the final 3km across the Italy-France border before descending through the ski resort of Isola 2000 (where Tony Rominger won a stage of the 1993 Tour) to the Tinee valley, where the uphill work recommences within 5km. The climb to the Cime de la Bonette averages 6.2 percent for a daunting 26.7km - and the most difficult part is at the top.

The final 9km average 9 percent, with the maximum grade of 10.2 percent continuing for a whole kilometer. From the 9,193-foot summit (the highest in France), the survivors can look forward to a rapid 22km downhill on a recently resurfaced road to Jausiers (population 1,100) and 1.5km of valley roads before the finish line.

The Tour has never crossed the Col de la Lombarde, nor has a stage finished at Jausiers, and the Cime de la Bonette (a.k.a. the Restefond, a nearby mountain peak) has been scaled only once in this south-to-north direction. That was in 1962, when Spain’s Federico Bahamontes, the Eagle of Toledo, was first over the top - but the Restefond was the first of a three-mountain, 240km stage that took the leaders more than nine hours to complete!

Three weeks ago, we doubt anyone would have predicted the Tour to be this tight:
Overall
1. Frank Schleck (LUX), CSC at 63:57min21sec
2. Bernhard Kohl (AUT), Gerolsteiner at 0:07
3. Cadel Evans (AUS), Silence-Lotto at 0:08
4. Denis Menchov (RUS), Rabobank at 0:38
5. Christian Vande Velde (USA), Garmin-Chipotle at 0:39
6. Carlos Sastre (ESP), CSC at 0:49
7. Kim Kirchen (LUX), Team Columbia at 2:48
8. Vladimir Efimkin (RUS), Ag2r at 3:36
9. Alejandro Valverde (ESP), Caisse d'Epargne at 4:11
10. Samuel Sanchez (ESP), Euskaltel-Euskadi at 4:34

Tough as it is, this stage doesn’t have a mountaintop finish, but the Bonette-Restefond is such a long and destructive climb that any early break is sure to be caught and few riders will be able to catch back to the leaders in the rapid plunge to the finish. With L’Alpe d’Huez on the next day’s menu, some riders may want to conserve energy, but expect the Tour’s best to contest the stage win. Who will be among those to hit the line first today? It's anybody's call, but no matter what the outcome, we can expect changes in the overall standings at this Tour, that's for certain.

Citing a major schedule conflict, French president Nicolas Sarkozy has canceled plans to visit the Tour today.

The president's office issued a statement, noting that a current government reform proposal, has required his presence in the Elysee palace this morning. Well, Mr. Sarkozy is going to miss a heck of a show today.

Is expect at 12:30. Riders are assembling at the "pre-start" near the village departe and well set off for the day's trip through the neutral zone at 12:20.

If you have a comment, question or complaint, feel free to hit the "Contact our editors" link below the Live Update Window.

We'll read them all, answer as many as we can and even post a few during today's coverage.

It's sunny and mild out there today, with temperatures at the start right at 26c (79f) and a wind of about 10kph from the northeast. It's a slight wind, so it won't have much effect on the stage.

The peloton is rolling through the day's neutral zone - about five kilometers - so it will be another five minutes or so before they hit the formal start.

Silence-Lotto's Leif Hoste has had a wheel change in the neutral zone. He's back in the field, and the peloton is about to reach the start.

Tour director Christian Prudhomme is standing out of the sunroof of his car and ready to drop the flag - an honor that would have been handled by Nicolas Sarkozy, had he made it to the race today.

The flag has dropped and Sylvain Chavanel has attacked out of the 153-rider field at km 0. He is being chased by a Lampre rider.

is at 1km and the Lampre rider has rejoined the peloton....

Wait, Chavanel has been pulled back. The peloton is now at 2km.

at three km, we have a group of four trying to establish a gap.

At 4km, nothing is getting clear yet as the peloton reels in some early moves.

Looks like Efimkin and Martinez among a group of five or so trying to get clear.

Amets Txurruka (Euskatel-Euskadi) gets up there.

Quick Step's Carlos Barredo puts in a dig.

At 10km in, Garmin-Chipotle's David Miller, Columbia's George Hincapie, Cofidis' Sylvain Chavanel and CSC's Stuart O'Grady go clear together.

And he's quickly back on his way.

At 11km

Garmin-Chipotle's young Aussie rider takes off with Cofidis rider Florent Brard.

Lowe and Brard caught at 14km.

CSC's popular German rider is safely back in the fold after his flat.

Sylvain is tenacious in his attacks today, this time with a few other riders.

The front of the race isn't a passive affair today. Counterattack after counterattack goes as the peloton rolls through Italy back towards France.

Both of the intermediate sprints are in Italy today, en route to the HC Col de la Lombarde climb that marks the entry back into France.

Pereiro, the declared winner of teh 2006 Tour, is expected to undergo surgery for a broken arm in Spain today. Pereiro says the crash in Sunday's stage was one of the most frightening of his career. Pereiro described the crash in an interview published in a Spanish newspaper on Tuesday. "I was going much faster than those on the left. I think that (Damiano) Cunego (Lampre) got a slight fright. He made an abrupt move and I couldn't avoid him," Pereiro said. "I went over the barrier and I saw ... I had a vision from high above. I saw myself in the air and hit my head. I though I was going to die and hoped

to feel nothing. To be unconscious when I hit the ground."

Freire leads the green jersey competition.

Just before the first sprint of the day. Is that Voeckler going across?

Nothing doing at 21km.

Sylvain goes yet again, this time with an Agritubel rider in pursuit.

1. Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis)

2. George Hincapie (Columbia)

3. Bram Tankink (Rabobank)

Lelay is the Agritbuel rider up there with Chavanel. His father was a pro back in the day for two days. But the younger Lelay literally just turned pro. Agritubel signed him just a few weeks before the Tour. Before that he was winning a lot of smaller races in Brittany.

And Chavanel isn't waiting for him.

At 25km into the race, David Moncoutie of Cofidis springs off of his teammate Chavanel.

He can't ride in the pack, though! Moncoutie is very nervous about riding in the bunch, and prefers to ride in the very back when in a group. Now, he has no wheels but his own to worry about as he's got a great gap.

While Sylvain was busy going off the front, Sebastien Chavanel was headed the other way. He's been spit out the back.

The Silence-Lotto rider is back at the medical car. He was having a hard time on stage 15, too, before the rest day.

At 30km into the race, we have a single rider trying to jump across to Moncoutie.

That HC climb is the SMALL one of the day, at 2351 meters. The Cime de la Bonette-Restefond lies beyond, at 2802 meters. The Cole de la Bonette, as it is also called, claims to be the highest paved road in Europe.

Quick Step's Carlos Barredo is now trying his legs, putting in a bid to get across to Moncoutie.

But the pack isn't too far back.

And breathing down the neck of the two leaders.

And more counters go. These guys certainly aren't taking it easy in the run-up to the two big climbs of the day.

Quick Step, Cofidis and Credit Agricole have a go.

At 39km into the race, we have a quintet of riders off the front.

Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis)

Sebastien Rosseler (Quick Step)

Christophe Le Mevel (Credit Agricole)

Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner)

Thomas Voeckler (Bouygues Telecom)

There looks to be 20 riders going over from the pack to the lead five riders. Green jersey Oscar Freire, Columbia's George Hincapie and Garmin's Danny Pate are among them.

Frank Schleck pulls over for a nature break, and the five up front continue to drill it.

We have five men clear of the peloton by 1:30. In between are 24 men, including Freire, at 25 seconds behind the quintent.

Freire leads the green jersey competition with 219 points. Thor Hushovd is second at 172 and Erik Zabel third at 167. Kim Kirchen, who held the yellow for a few days early on, is in good shape too with 145 points.

In the lead of the climber's competition we have Bernard Kohl at 85 points, followed by his Gerolsteiner teammate Sebastian Lang at 60. Euskatel-Euskadi's Egoi Martinez sits in third at 50 points.

Popovych (Silence-Lotto)

Kurt-Asle Arvesen (CSC)

Jens Voigt (CSC)

Haimar Zubeldia (Euskatel-Euskadi)

Amets Txurruka (Euskatel-Euskadi)

David Arroyo (Caisse d'Epargne)

Ivan Gutierrez (Caisse d'Epargne)

Nicolas Portal (Caisse d'Epargne)

Marcus Burghardt (Columbia)

Hincapie (Columbia)

Kanstantin Sivtsov (Columbia)

John Lee Augustyn (Barloworld)

Gianpaolo Cheulo (Barloworld)

Murilo Fischer (Liquigas)

Paolo Tiralongo (Lampre)

Cyrl Dessel (AG2R)

Juan Antonio Flecha (Rabobank)

Oscar Freire (Rabobank)

Phillipe Gilbert (FDJ)

Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis)

Danny Pate (Garmin-Chipotle)

At 50km, the five leaders have a 4:25 lead on the peloton, with a big chase group at nearly a minute behind the five.

The leaders have started the long push up the Col de la Lombarde.

The bottom of the climb is switchback after switchback, as riders face more than 20km of ascent.

Reader Lew W. writes in to ask:

LUG,
At the finish line I see a lot of spectators waving those big green hands that look the same as the one that slashed Thor Hushovd's arm a few years ago. Weren't those hands banned? What gives?

Great coverage,
thanks.
Lew

Hello Lew. You’re right. The Big Green Hands are distributed by PMU – a chain of Parimutuel betting parlors that sponsors the green points jersey. The PMU vehicle in the commercial caravan hands them out all along the route about an hour or two ahead of the peloton. They have been officially banned from the last kilometer of stage finishes, so while you see them now and then, you sure don’t see as many at the finish as we did in years past. There were days when the peloton would fly into a see those things. Enforcement is especially strict when they Tour expects a field sprint, but you do still see them now and then.

Bjarne Riis has three fantastic climbs in this race: brothers Andy and Frank Schleck along with Carlos Sastre. Unfortunately, none of these men can time trial with GC contenders Cadel Evans, Denis Menchov or even Christian Vande Velde. So, it seems highly likely that CSC will throw everything it has at the favorites in the mountains today and tomorrow, trying to get some time for one of its climbers.

Now we have four at the front:

Sebastien Rosseler (Quick Step)

Christophe Le Mevel (Credit Agricole)

Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner)

Thomas Voeckler (Bouygues Telecom)

We now have IDs on two other men in the big chase group. They are:

Milram's Christian Knees and Garmin-Chipotle's Ryder Hesjedal, the lone Canadian in this year's Tour.

We have four leaders with a five-minute gap on the peloton. Then a second group of 24 riders is sitting in between, about 1:30 behind the leaders. Dumoulin, who was with the leaders when they went clear at about 40km into the race, is dangling in between the leaders and the second group, having been dropped by the pace on the climb.

Damiano Cunego (Lampre) has jumped clear of the peloton with a teammate and a man from Francaise des Jeux.

The big group is about two minutes behind the lead group.

Rosseler has now also been dropped from the lead, following Dumoulin in going backwards on the climb.

The narrow road has a great, smooth surface as we climb up towards France.

And only two men remain at the very front. Stefan Schumacher and Thomas Voeckler lead the race at 57km.

Voeckler has been dropped by Schumacher, the Gerolsteiner rider who wore the yellow jersey early on in the Tour.

Gravity and the hot pace are sorting things out on the Col de la Lombarde this afternoon.

After a seemingly unending series of switchbacks has ended, riders are now on a beeline route up the valley towards the HC peak. Schumacher is going it alone at the front of the race, more than two minutes ahead of the big chase group and more than five minutes ahead of the peloton.

Unless some guys have slipped out without us seeing them, the big chase group on the road contains the following:

Popovych (Silence-Lotto)

Kurt-Asle Arvesen (CSC)

Jens Voigt (CSC)

Haimar Zubeldia (Euskatel-Euskadi)

Amets Txurruka (Euskatel-Euskadi)

David Arroyo (Caisse d'Epargne)

Ivan Gutierrez (Caisse d'Epargne)

Nicolas Portal (Caisse d'Epargne)

Marcus Burghardt (Columbia)

Hincapie (Columbia)

Kanstantin Sivtsov (Columbia)

John Lee Augustyn (Barloworld)

Gianpaolo Cheulo (Barloworld)

Murilo Fischer (Liquigas)

Paolo Tiralongo (Lampre)

Cyrl Dessel (AG2R)

Juan Antonio Flecha (Rabobank)

Oscar Freire (Rabobank)

Phillipe Gilbert (FDJ)

Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis)

Danny Pate (Garmin-Chipotle)

Ryder Hesjedgal (Garmin-Chipotle)

Christian Knees (Milram)

Reader David R. writes in with a question we get quite often here:

Hello Live Update Guy,
I watch in amazement as those climbers seem to spin their way up the Alps. Can you give us an idea of what size chainrings and cassettes riders will be using in the mountains so that I can try to duplicate an alp climb where I live (on a 1/10th scale!)?

Hello David, yours is one of the most frequent questions we get during the grand tours. Fortunately, we have a tech geek of Lennard Zinn’s caliber, whose favorite pastime happens to be counting the teeth on cogs when he visits a big race, and he answers that very question in his column today.

In between the field and that 24-man group, two small groups have come together. In the mix are Cunego and a Lampre teammate. CSC is patrolling the front of the pack.

That's the sound of Oscar Freire and Marcus Burghardt getting spit out of the big chase group.

At 62km into the race, the leaders are about to see 10km to the summit of the Col de la Lombarde.

That nine-man group off the front of the peloton includes:

Sylvester Szmynd (Lampre)

Sandy Casar (FDJ)

Remi Pauriol (Credit Agricole)

Peter Weening (Rabobank)

Tadej Valjavec (AG2R)

Matteo Carrara (Quick Step)

David Moncoutie (Cofidis)

Maxime Monfort (Cofidis)

And the 22-man group is ahead of them, still about three minutes behind Schumacher, who is driving th e race alone.

Laterne Rouge Chavanel has abandoned. Now Wim Vansevenant has picked up the torch as the last man on the GC list.

Other men near the tail end of the race:

Matthieu Sprick (Bouygues Telecom)

Francesco Chicchi (Liquigas)

Christophe Riblon (AG2R)

Bernard Eisel (Columbia)

Along with laterne rouge Wim Vansevenant, these men are all about two and a half hours down on the general classification.

The three-time world champion is fading back. As a sprinter, starting the climb early in a front group and fading back to the peloton is a great strategy for getting over the big mountains.

Jersey flapping open, sunglasses on the back of his head, Gerolsteiner's Schumacher is plowing on solo. The German rider has made an impression this year, busting out a huge time trial ride to put himself into the yellow jersey earlier, and now climbing an HC mountain alone.

Riding 2009 Shimano Dura-Ace on his Specialized S-Works SL2, Schumacher will be the first man back into France.

Schumacher and the rest will face a screaming descent down to Isola. At 93km into the race, Isola will also be the site of the feedzone, where riders will take on food and drink before beginning the merciless climb up the Col de la Bonette.

Schumacher is being trailed by his earlier breakaway partner, Thomas Voeckler, at about 2:30. The big chase group is another 1:30 more behind the Frenchman.

Also in between Schumacher and the big chase is Le Mevel.

Is what awaits the field on the Col de la Bonette. The climb averages more than 6 percent, with the last third averaging 9 percent. In all, riders will have climbed 11,000 vertical feet at day's end.

CSC. They drive what's left of the peloton.

After a long grind, he's seeing more sky than mountains up ahead.

And Schumacher will have the stage to himself under sunny Italian skies.

And out of Italy. He's now bombing down into France.

Schumacher can't relax just yet, as the initial part of the descent is very technical. Soon, though, it opens up into straighter roads where he can loosen up and recover from his big effort.

For Stefan Schumacher. The shattered chase group and field are still many minutes from summiting the first HC climb of the day at 73km.

Coming up to the summit.

The big chase group goes over the top.

On a two-lane road, Schumacher has his chest on his handlebars, his head down over his front wheel.

Of course they are. It looks like only 40 men or so are left in the pack. It's going to be a BIG grupetto today...

Schumacher has been bombing down the mountain solo for minutes now; meanwhile the peloton is still a ways from the summit.

Moving free from a five-man breakaway, Schumacher went over the Col de la Lombarde alone. His breakaway partners Le Mevel and Voeckler pursued him, each alone, followed by a big chase group of about 22 men. Behind them, an 8-man group containing Cunego drove on. Then, finally, came what was left of the pack.

At more than 9 minutes behind Schumacher, Stuart O'Grady (CSC) leads the pack down.

1. Stefan Schumacher (Geroslsterin) 20 points

2. Christophe Le Mevel (Credit Agricole) 18

3. Thomas Voeckler (Bouygues Telecom) 16

4. Yaroslav Popovych (Silence-Lotto) 14

5. Kanstantin Sivtsov (Columbia) 12

6. Jens Voigt (CSC) 10

7. Cyril Dessel (AG2R) 8

8. John Lee Augustyn (Barloworld) 7

9. Sebastien Rosseler (Quick Step) 6

10. Ivan Gutierrez (Caisse d'Epargne) 5

As the pack descends through the winding curves.

Schumacher is still on the descent, but getting close to the bottom in Isola.

Under dry skies on not-brand-new roads, riders have plenty of grip on the descent.

Reader Pamela B. writes in to ask:

Hello LUG,
I can’t help but shudder when I watch these guys flying down the cols and Pereiro’s comment that he thought he was going to die in his crash on Sunday makes me wonder. I remember that horrible crash of Fabio Casartelli, but how many others have died in the Tour?

Hello Pamela,
Given the speeds that we see at the Tour, the race has a remarkable safety record. There have been only four rider fatalities in the Tour since its first edition in 1903 and only two of those were the result of high-speed crashes on descents. As you mentioned, Fabio Casartelli died in 1995 on a fast descent of the Col de Portet d’Apset. Before that, the only other rider to die in a crash on a descent was Francisco Cepeda, who died after falling down a ravine on the Col du Galibier in 1935.

Of course, we all remember the death of Tom Simpson as he was climbing the Ventoux in the 1967 Tour. The only other Tour-related rider fatality came in 1910, when Aldophe Heliere drowned on a rest day break in the French Riviera.

A lot of the credit has to go to the skill of riders, but some belongs to the organizers of the Tour and the French gendarmes as well.

Of course, we’ve seen some absolutely horrible crashes that we thought were going to result in serious injuries at bare minimum. In addition to Pereiro’s accident on Sunday, the other one that sticks in our mind was that horrible crash in the 1996 Tour, when Johan Bruyneel (Rabobank) went off the road on that epic stage to Les Arcs. He fell about 35 feet… and scrambled back up to the tarmac, looking for his bike.

As CSC continues to drive the peloton.

In between Schumacher and the pack, the two main chase groups have come together. CSC is sitting up a bit on the front of the peloton, waiting for their man Cancellara to get back on after his wheel change.

And back up again. Must have touched wheels, but he's good to go now.

CSC's Frank Schleck is in the yellow jersey in the main peloton, which is being driven by his teammates. Schumacher has a 10-minute lead, and a group of about 30 riders has nearly five minutes, but we have a lo-ong way to go the finish. First, it's up and over the monster Col de la Bonette, then it's a bomber 23km descent into the finish in Jausiers.

The Col de la Bonette is the highest climb the Tour has ever gone over at 2802 meters (9,192 feet).

Arnaud Coyot (Caisse d'Eparnge) lost the tire off his front rim and went down in a cloud of dust.

It's not clear whether his tire rolled before the crash and caused it, or was simply a result of the accident. He went off the side of the road on a straight stretch before a corner, sliding in gravel.

Australia's Stuart O'Grady leads the group, and goes digging for lunch in his musette.

He's riding comfortably in the drops, with a 5-minute lead over a big chase of about 30 riders.

Here are the riders sitting halfway between the pack and Schumacher:

Popovych (Silence-Lotto)

Kurt-Asle Arvesen (CSC)

Jens Voigt (CSC)

Haimar Zubeldia (Euskatel-Euskadi)

Amets Txurruka (Euskatel-Euskadi)

David Arroyo (Caisse d'Epargne)

Ivan Gutierrez (Caisse d'Epargne)

Nicolas Portal (Caisse d'Epargne)

George Hincapie (Columbia)

Kanstantin Sivtsov (Columbia)

John Lee Augustyn (Barloworld)

Gianpaolo Cheulo (Barloworld)

Murilo Fischer (Liquigas)

Paolo Tiralongo (Lampre)

Cyrl Dessel (AG2R)

Juan Antonio Flecha (Rabobank)

Phillipe Gilbert (FDJ)

Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis)

Danny Pate (Garmin-Chipotle)

Ryder Hesjedgal (Garmin-Chipotle)

Christian Knees (Milram)

Sylvester Szmynd (Lampre)

Sandy Casar (FDJ)

Remi Pauriol (Credit Agricole)

Peter Weening (Rabobank)

Tadej Valjavec (AG2R)

Matteo Carrara (Quick Step)

David Moncoutie (Cofidis)

Maxime Monfort (Cofidis)

After that nasty spill, the Caisse d'Epargne rider is going again.

is Tadej Valjavec (AG2R), who sits in 13th at 6:27.

No rest for the weary, as the chase group hits the lower slopes of the long, long climb.

After his all-day effort on on stage 15, Garmin-Chipotle's Danny Pate looks tired. He's going out the back of the big chase group.

Going through the little town of St-Etienne-de-Tinee, Schumacher's gap is 4:30 to the chase group and a whopping 12 minutes to the pack.

Christophe Le Mevel (Crédit Agricole), who was part of the original five-man breakaway that sprung Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner), is still chasing Schumacher alone, with the big chase group behind.

Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis), who was also part of that five-man move, faded back to the big chase group, but now he's going out the back of that bunch as well.

Cunego hasn't exactly dazzled in this year's Tour, but he is by no means giving up. He's on the front of the chase group, climbing out of the saddle.

Reuters reported this morning that Saunier Duval's Riccardo Ricco tried to avoid doping testers. According to French Anti-Doping Agency, Ricco tested positive for EPO after the stage 4 - despite trying to make a run for it. "When he saw that he was to be tested, he escaped," AFLD President Pierre Bordry told reporters before the 16th stage. "But he was caught by the stewards between two cars. We then told him that as he had tried to avoid the test, he would be tested every day." Ricco was thrown out of the race by ASO, and then fired from his team.

After today's climb-fest, the race will tackle the stage that may well define the entire race. Stage 17, from Embrun to the summit of a little bump called L'Alpe d'Huez, features three HC climbs. In all, riders will climb nearly 15,000 vertical feet on tomorrow's stage. L'Alpe d'Huez has seen 24 stage finishes over the years, but only two Tour winners have won there: Fausto Coppi in 1952 and Lance Armstrong in 2001 and 2004. This will be the pure climber's last chance to put time into the GC contenders who can time trial well, such as Cadel Evans, Denis Menchov and American Christian Vande Velde.

After a long day out there, Le Mevel has been reeled in by the chase group.

Our man Neal Rogers just got into the press room from driving the course. He had some words about the final climb of the day. We won't print most of them. "It's just incredible," Rogers said. "Really good crowds. But man, is that last part steep. Nasty, that' the only word for it. It's nasty. It reminded me of Filllmore in San Francisco - it's just a wall."

"You really have to see the climb to believe it," he said. "It's a monster. You look up and you see these vehicles that are just little shiny dots, and that's where you're going. Then you get there, and you look up again."

Rogers spoke to Garmin sprinter Julian Dean at the start, who said he's be keeping a close eye on the time cut times today. Even though it will be a big grupetto, it's a relatively short stage, so the time limit could be tight.

Riders are coming off the chase group and the peloton on the long grind.

CSC is drilling it like Postal of old.

With his yellow number 13s pinned on upside down (like many riders, the Swiss man is superstitious), big Fabian Cancellara is fading from the pack, his work done for the day.

And they've got a ways to go. A truly beautiful day for it, though.

Schumacher is still out there alone, although his gap is now down to 2:30. The yellow jersey group of about 40 riders is about 9:30 behind Schumacher.

Reader Sean in Denver writes in to ask:

Hey LUG,
You've talked a lot about nature breaks and the courtesy of waiting for the yellow jersey. But I'm assuming all of this has to do with a number 1. What happens if a rider has to do a #2. Do they find the nearest bush or do the support cars carry TP?

Well Sean,
Now there’s an unusual question. Generally riders don’t find themselves in that position. A light breakfast and a morning constitutional generally allow riders to avoid that problem. Nonetheless, it does happen. Most often, when we hear about it, it involves a rider suffering from stomach problems. Most recently, Ivan Basso lost 48 minutes in a stage that went up the Stelvio. He had to stop three times on the way up that climb after suffering from what was some form of food poisoning. He was afforded a degree of privacy by a team car that would stop and block the view of the tifosi along the course.

One of our favorite stories from the old days on that topic involved Tom Simpson, as told by one of his domestiques on the old Peugeot team. Riding in his first Tour, the young rider was resplendent in his team kit, with his while cap perched perfectly atop his head. Suddenly his team leader dropped back and demanded his hat.

”You got your own hat!” the rider exclaimed.

”I know, I know,” said Simpson. “but, I need to take a @$%^ and need something to wipe my &$$.”

Ahhh, the life of a domestique.

Het Volk winner Phillipe Gilbbert and Haimar Zubeldia are spit out of the peloton.

With teammates Maxime Monfort in the hunt for the white jersey and David Moncoutie looking for a result on the stage, Cofidis' Chavanel is burying himself on the front of the chase group.

After leading the race early on, Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner) now sits in 29th overall, 22:30 behind CSC's Frank Schleck.

Are in the CSC-led group, 8:30 behind Schumacher. Vande Velde is there. Evans is there. Menchov is there. Kohl is there. And of course the CSC trio of Andy and Frank Schleck and Carlos Sastre are tucked safely in.

For Schumacher. Can he hold it to the line?

The four have come of the pace of the chase group:

Matteo Carrara (Quick Step)

Mikel Astarloza (Euskatel-Euskadi)

Amets Txurruka (Euskatel-Euskadi)

Juan Antonio Flecha (Rabobank)

The German has a two-minute lead on his chasers.

Andy Schleck is again selling out for his brother Frank, setting a mean tempo on the front of the peloton. but what helps his brother is hurting many others. Out the back go a few men.

The chase group is coming undone into two or three groups as the climb steepens up.

Liquigas' Vincenzo Nibali is feeling the wrath of Andy Schleck.

Who STILL has 10km to climb.

It's a very short list in the yellow jersey group now. Maybe 12 men are able to remain under the conditions Andy Schleck is setting.

Both Schlecks, Sastre, Kohl, Menchov, Evans, Kreuziger, Sanchez, Valverde, Kirchen, Efimkin, Arvessen.

Having dropped back from the chase group, Kurt-Asle Arvessen goes immediately to work on the front of the very select yellow jersey group.

Christian Vande Velde is dangling just behind the yellow jersey group. He will have to make a big effort to chase back on down the descent to prevent losing time to the GC contenders.

Stefan Schumacher at 33km to go, with a 45-second lead on a 10-man chase group. Behind that are a few shards from the chase group, then a very select group of GC contenders. That yellow jersey group sits about five minutes behind Schumacher.

Columbia's George Hincapie and Kanstantin Sivtsov, Silence's Yaroslav Popovych, Caisse d'Epargne's Nicolas Portal, Barloworld's John-Lee Augustyn and AG2R's Tadej Valjavec.

As the best climbers in the world settle into their tempo in the yellow jersey group, some of the riders from the early chase group - once 24-strong - are fading back.

After giving his all for his teammates, Arvessen blows. He's going backwards now as the yellow jersey group motors on.

He has 24 seconds on a small chase group. The yellow jersey group is about 3:45 behind Schumacher.

He could well hold his lead all the way to the line. After the summit, it's a long, fast downhill to the finish.

Schumacher's chasers are closing quickly. They can see him just up the road now.

Schumacher is reeled in by 8 riders.

Tomorrow's stage finishes atop L'Alpe d'Huez. Here are the men who have won there:

Tour de France stage atop the legendary Alpe d'Huez climb, the climax of

this year's mountain stages:

1952: Fausto Coppi (ITA)

1976: Joop Zoetemelk (NED)

1977: Hennie Kuiper (NED)

1978: Hennie Kuiper (NED)

1979: Joachim Agostinho (POR)

Joop Zoetemelk (NED) (yes, there were TWO stage finishes on L'Alpe d'Huez that year)

1981: Peter Winnen (NED)

1982: Beat Breu (SUI)

1983: Peter Winnen (NED)

1984: Luis Herrera (COL)

1986: Bernard Hinault (FRA)

1987: Federico Echave (ESP)

1988: Steven Rooks (NED)

1989: Gert-Jan Theunisse (NED)

1990: Gianni Bugno (ITA)

1991: Gianni Bugno (ITA)

1992: Andy Hampsten (USA)

1994: Roberto Conti (ITA)

1995: Marco Pantani (ITA)

1997: Marco Pantani (ITA)

1999: Giuseppe Guerini (ITA)

2001: Lance Armstrong (USA)

2003: Iban Mayo (ESP)

2004: Lance Armstrong (USA)

2006: Frank Schleck (LUX)

Christian Vande Velde was one of the many victims of Andy Schleck's pace in the yellow jersey group. He is suffering to stay close, but cannot regain the elite 8-man group.

Those in the yellow jersey group:

Both Shecks and Sastre (CSC)

Evans (Silence)

Menchov (Rabobank)

Sanchez (Euskatel-Euskadi)

Kirchen (Columbia)

Kohl (Gerolsteiner)

Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne)

Nothing do, though.

Fading back from that front chase group, Jens Voigt comes back through the yellow jersey group bearing supplies for his mates. He goes down the line, pulling bottles out of his jersey pockets and jersey neck.

Having caught Schumacher, the front of the race is now:

Hincapie, Sivtsov, Arroyo, Portal, Popovych, Augustyn, Valjavec, Casar and Schumacher.

Kirchen faltered a bit there in the yellow jersey group, but soldiered his way back into the mix.

Schumacher is dispatched from the group that caught him after a long solo effort.

The Cofidis pair blow on the yellow jersey pace.

There are 9 men in the yellow jersey group. Four of CSC riders: Andy Schleck and Jens Voigt are drilling it. Frank Schleck and Carlos Sastre are sitting in.

The riders face a stiff headwind up the summit. Voigt drives is, his face snarling.

With under a K to go to the summit, the mountainside drops off like a cliff to the side.

The youngest rider in the Tour launches himself off the front of the race. He's got a good gap.

The young South African is killing it. He's off the front of the with two groups behind.

Or at least the paved top of Europe. And Augustyn goes over alone. Now it's down, down, down from the highest paved road in Europe into Jausiers, 1600 meters below.

The Spanish champion is dangling off the back of the yellow jersey group, Kirchen is the last man in the line.

Hincapie, Sivtsov and the others are over the Col de la Bonette.

Valverde is now chasing back on down the descent.

The yellow jersey group down the descent.

Who just made himself a tidy 5,000 Euros for taking the HC summit.

Augustyn hurdles down a steep, steep mountainside. He can't get back up.

A spectator come down to help him up. But he has no bike!

Augustyn has no spare bike anywhere near, as the team cars are way back down the mountain.

The pair pass Augustyn, who is standing helplessly by the side of the road, waiting who knows how long for a bike.

As the front group was regaining him, Augustyn simply missed a righthand turn and went straight over the mountainside, sliding down the loose dirt and rock. He was able to slow and then stop his slide, but his bike was another story.

Lead group has split into two 4-man groups (now without Augustyn). The yellow jersey group is about 1:42 behind the front of the race. Valverde and Kirchen are still chasing desperately to regain that group.

1. Augustyn 40 points

2. Dessel 36

3. Arroyo 32

4. Popovych 28

5. Casar 24

6. Hincapie 20

7. Valjavec 16

8. Sivtosov 14

9. Portal 12

10. Schumacher 10

The Russian is struggling on the descent. He has fallen of the yellow jersey group.

The front group has 1:45 on the yellow jersey group.

Popovych, Dessel, Arroyo and Casar are working together off the front of the race. Hincapie, Sivtsov and two others are chasing behind. Then comes the yellow jersey group.

With his rival Menchov in trouble, Evans is giving it full stick on the descent, trying to widen the gap.

And he's working for more.

Dessel is on the front of the four-man move.

The riders are sprinting out of each corner, killing themselves to either open or close gaps.

Popovych (Silence), Casar (FDJ), Dessel (AG2R) and Arroyo (Caisse d'Eparnge) have 6km to go with 30 seconds lead on the next group.

Samuel Sanchez (Euskatel-Euskadi) has opened up a 10-second gap to the rest of his companions in teh yellow jersey group.

Hincapie and Sivtsov (both Columbia) are 30 seconds behind. The yellow jersey group is another minute-plus behind them.

Casar, Popovych, Arroyo and Casar are the men in with a chance for the win.

With 1.5km to go for the leaders.

Then Arroyo takes a dig.

Then comes across the narrow finish for the win!

Schumacher comes in alone behind the second group.

CSC leads into the finish

Evans and Frank Schleck are right in there, as is Kohl. But not Menchov!

The CSC boys put some time into Menchov, but could not shake Evans.

The American came off the yellow jersey group a few K from the HC summit. He has yet to finish.

That's a big hit to his GC position.

Here was the GC at today's start:

1. Frank Schleck (LUX), CSC at 63:57min21sec

2. Bernhard Kohl (AUT), Gerolsteiner at at0:07

3. Cadel Evans (AUS), Silence-Lotto at 0:08

4. Denis Menchov (RUS), Rabobank at 0:38

5. Christian Vande Velde (USA), Garmin-Chipotle at 0:39

6. Carlos Sastre (ESP), CSC at 0:49

7. Kim Kirchen (LUX), Team Columbia at 2:48

8. Vladimir Efimkin (RUS), Ag2r at 3:36

9. Alejandro Valverde (ESP), Caisse d'Epargne at 4:11

10. Samuel Sanchez (ESP), Euskaltel-Euskadi at 4:34

The top three will remain the same, but Menchov has lost more than 30 seconds, which will cause him to slot in behind Sastre. And Vande Velde has dropped down by 2:30. Sastre and Sanchez stayed in the front group, as may have Efimkin. Valverde and Kirchen finished just behind the yellow jersey group.

1. Cyril Dessel (FRA) ALM - 157km in 4h31’27" (34.702km/h)

2. Sandy Casar (FRA) FDJ

3. David Arroyo (ESP) GCE both same time

4. Yaroslav Popovych (UKR) SIL at 3"

5. George Hincapie (USA) THR at 24"

6. Nicolas Portal (FRA) GCE at 24"

7. Tadej Valjavec (SLO) ALM at 24"

8. Stefan Schumacher (GER) GST at 1’03"

9. Andy Schleck (LUX) at 1’28"

10. Bernhard Kohl (AUT) GST at 1’28"

Thank you for tuning in to VeloNews.com for another great stage live from the Tour de France. Check out our main site and Tour de France site for complete results, stories and photography from today's stage. Tune in tomorrow at 6:30am EST for stage 17, the queen stage from Embrun to L'Alpe d'Huez.