An email: “This raises the astonishing prospect that Pogacar is not the new Eddy Merckx but the new Felice Grimondi, who was tipped to be the greatest until the Belgian emerged and utterly eclipsed him,” writes Paul Griffin.

Jonas Vingegaard: He takes another 10 seconds out of Pogacar, who isn’t having a bad day and is about to overtake Carlos Rodríguez, stretching the gap to 1min 32sec.

Jonas Vingegaard: The gap to Pogacar on the road goes out to 1min 22sec. If this time trial course was a just a bit longer, Vingegaard would catch and overtake Tadej Pogacar. It’s an astonishing effort from the Dane.

Jonas Vingegaard: At the third time check, the reigning champion has a lead of 1min 05sec over Pogacar. That is massive!!! He has three kilometres left to travel.

Tadej Pogacar: The live time on the road puts Jonas Vingegaard 51 seconds ahead of the Slovenian. He hasn’t changed his bike, in case you’re wondering. Pello Bilbao puts in a fine ride to keep his seventh place on GC ahead of Simon Yates. Gaudu is in ninth on GC, ahead of Guillaume Martin.

Jonas Vingegaard: The race leader hits the second time check with an official lead of 31 seconds over Pogacar. They’re both on the brutal climb to the finish.

Jonas Vingegaard: The maillot jaune has a lead of 30 seconds over Pogacar. David Gaudu comes home in fifth place on the day, two minutes ahead of his GC rival Guillaume Martin.

Tadej Pogacar: He hits the second time-check with 6.3km to go at 19min 36sec. Will he change his bike? Yes! He dismounts, throws his leg over the bar of his road bike and gets a push-off from his mechanic.

Vingegaard v Pogacar: Vingegaard has set off like a rocket and opened an unofficial gap of 36 seconds on his rival for top spot on GC.

Tadej Pogacar: He passes under the 10 kilometre banner, approaching the climb, 30 seconds down on Vingegaard. Further up the course, Simon Yates is three seconds quicker than Wout van Aert at the final time check.

The Yates twins: Adam was 47 seconds slower than Vingegaard at the first time check, but just three slower than his sibling.

Jonas Vingegaard: He hits the first time check at 7.1km, a full 16 seconds quicker than Pogacar. He’s flying!

Tadej Pogacar: The Slovenian hits the first time check 25 seconds quicker than Stefan Kung, who was previously quickest at that point.

Vingegaard: “Today you show the world who is strongest,” says a voice from the team car in the Dane’s earpiece.

Eurosport: Those on comms for the network suspect the graphic that put Vingegaard 20 seconds ahead of Van Aert after just five minutes of racing must be incorrect. I’m not so sure.

Jonas Vingegaard: After five minutes of racing, Jonas Vingegaard has taken 20 seconds out of Wout van Aert’s time at the same point. Crikey!

The Yates twins: “You haven’t mentioned the Yates twins yet,” writes June. “How did they do?”

They’re out on the road as I type, June. Simon has nine kilometres to go and is two seconds off the pace set by Van Aert.

Jai Hindley sets off: In fifth place on GC, the Australian pedals his way out of the hut. David Gaudu, on whom I foolishly stuck £5 to win this year’s Tour, is further up the road. I could have bought a pint with that money. Or just thrown it in the bin.

An email: “Wout did NOT change bikes, and he knows a thing or three about bikes and time trials,” writes Jeremy Boyce.

Wout van Aert: Heavy is the head that wears the crown and Remi Cavagny is looking a little weighed down on the leader’s throne. It looks like Wout van Aert is about to take the lead, one the Frenchman probably expected to lose some time ago. Sepp Kuss sets off from the starter’s hut.

Guillaume Martin: Tenth on General Classification, the Cofidis rider sets off. We’re at the business end of this time trial now.

Wout van Aert The Beglian was fourth fastest at the bottom of the climb to the finish and is seven seconds slower than Cavagna, whose minutes in the leader’s throne look like they could be numbered.

Julian Alaphilippe: Smiling under the visor of his aerodynamic helmet and waving to the crowd, the French legend crosses the finish line 1min 43sec down.

Ciccone does it! He is 40 seconds quicker than Neilson Powless on the climb and guarantees himself the polka-dot jersey for another day at least. There’s plenty more climbing to be done, however, tomorrow’s stage has two category one climbs, a category two and a HC. Saturday’s stage into Le Markstein Fellering has several brutish ascents too.

Giulio Ciccone: In the polka-dot jersey, the Italian is well on his way up the final climb, having swapped his TT bike for his climbing conveyance. He needs to hit the climb at 30min 29sec to beat Neilson Powless to take maximum points, although some of the GC lads could hoover them up later.

Bike changes: “Re: seconds wasted changing bikes for what gain (an email passim),” writes James Cavell. “If you lose 15 seconds changing bike - then ride up the climb 20 seconds faster than you would have on the TT bike - it’s a gain of five seconds.

“TT bikes are optimised for aerodynamics, they use thicker shaped frames. When you include this along with their deep-section and disc or deep rim wheels TT bikes can be around 1-2kg heavier than road bikes.

“A road bike set up to do just one climb, would probably be stripped of any excess weight and right at the UCI legal limit. This could mean up to 2kg less weight the rider has to propel up the hill, which could certainly make more of a difference than the time taken to switch bikes. Big budget teams will have worked all this out in advance.”

Ion Izaguirre: The Spanish rider, already a stage-winner on this Tour, finishes just over a minute slower than our clubhouse leader Remi Cavagna.

Just 23 riders left to start: And they’re the cream of the peloton. Soudal-Quick Step rider Remi Cavagna has posted the fastest time of the day at 35min 42sec.

Bike changes: Who knew the subject of men dismounting one bicycle to throw their leg over another could spark such a fascinating debate. “One of the factors UAE must have factored into their calculations is a smooth bike change,” writes Dan Fraser. “Hopefully there’s no fumble costing the few seconds which could determine the Tour. The mechanics must have been out on the rest day practicing like an F1 pit crew.”

By all accounts they were, although I suspect that, having seen what happened to Stefan Kung, their day may have been wasted. I reckon Pogacar might abandon his plans to switch bikes.

Stefan Kung: His face a mask of pain,. Stefan Kung finishes the course 52 seconds slower than our leader, Remi Cavagna, who remains in the leader’s gaming chair. It isn’t a patch on the throne Bradley Wiggins got to sit on as leader during the London Olympics time-trial.

Neilson Powless: The American was quickest up today’s category two climb in a time of 7min 24sec, a full 20 seconds faster than anyone else. As things stand, that’s the time Giulio Ciccone needs to beat in the duo’s duel for the King of the Mountains jersey.

Changing bikes: “Changing bike is not always a given,” writes Jeremy Boyce. “Ask Geraint. Maybe Michael Forbes would be ok if they had to change to a Penny-Farthing? Bike change sounds like precious seconds wasted to me, for what gain ? It’s high risk and asks a lot of the rider to get back up to speed. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Pogacar ignore the change if he’s going really well.”

On Eurosport, Robbie McEwen says he thinks this climb isn’t long enough to justify a bike change and it certainly doesn’t seem to have helped Stefan Kung.

The Eurosport commentary team are also pondering the potential benefits of hiring Usain Bolt, or a member of a bobsleigh team as a “mechanic” to help give the riders a push-off once they swap one bike for another. If you’re changing bikes, you should have to get back up to speed yourself without assistance, in my opinion.

Stefan Kung: Scrap that – Kung has lost a lot of time on the climb and will not be taking Cavagna’s lead. It’s less than an hour until Tadej Pogacar goes out at 3.58pm (BST), with Jonas Vingegaard due to head off at 4pm. Resplendent in a polka-dot skinsuit and helmet, Giulio Ciccone is sitting in the starter’s hut and will be off soon.

Stefan Kung: A compatriot of Mr Gianetti’s, Stefan Kung changed from his TT bike to his road bike as he started going uphill. He’s putting in a fine effort and looks likely to take Remi Cavagna’s lead.

Mauro Gianetti: Simon Gates has been in touch to let me know that the UAE Emirates directeur sportif is Swiss and not Italian, as I claimed. The thing is that I actually know he says, but absentmindedly repatriated him, possibly because he sounds Italian and looks a little like the former referee Pierluigi Collina, who is definitely Italian. Apologies, Mauro.

Neilson Powless: In the battle for the King of the Mountains, Neilson Powless is on his way up the pertinent climb going at full gas.

Stefan Kung: The Swiss is fastest through the first time check at 10min 36sec, six seconds quicker than Remi Cavagna, who had previously been quickest.

Remi Cavagna: The French champion’s time of 35min 42sec remains the one to beat with 47 riders left to start and 83 already back in the clubhouse having finished the course.

Bike changes: “Call me a purist, but I don’t think bike changes should be allowed,” writes David Ballagh. “And for the hilly courses perhaps there should be a dropbar-only rule implemented. I would love to see more TT’s done using nothing but a rider and their standard road bike; makes the sport more relatable to the majority of cyclists, in my humble opinion.” I wouldn’t disagree with any of that.

Stefan Kung: The Groupama-FDJ rider in one of the best time-trialists in the business and sets off but doesn’t fancy his chances in today’s stage.

“I would characterise it as a mountain time trial,” the 29-year-old Swiss told Cycling Weekly last week. “You have some flat sections but they are short compared to all the uphill we have to conquer. It’s 700 metres of elevation almost in 22km, so it’s not going to be one for the specialists, it’s going to be more one for the GC contenders.”

While he may not win today, whatever time he posts is likely to be one Messrs Pogacar and Vingegaard take note of.

Neilson Powless: The American is out on the road, tied on King of the Mountain points with Giulio Ciccone. There are five up for grabs on today’s category two climb, the Cote de Domancy, which is near the end of the stage, 2.5km in length, 820m high and has an average gradient of 9.4 per cent.

Riders are timed from the bottom of the climb to the top and whoever’s quickest gets the points. The ascent doesn’t end there, however, as there’s a ramp followed by another uphill dig to the finish line.

Changing bikes: “It shouldn’t be allowed,” writes Michael Forbes. “Riders should be finishing the stage with the same type of bike as they started with. Or even better, they should simply use TT bikes for the whole stage. Thoughts?”

I’m with Sean Kelly on this one in so far as I don’t think it makes much difference. Tadej Pogacar’s boss seems to think much the same.

Tadej Pogacar: Dressed in his civvies, the Slovenian rider has arrived at his team bus ahead of his 3.58pm (BST) tee-off time. His team director Mauro Gianetti is interviewed on Eurosport and says that Pogacar will be changing bikes ahead of the final climb.

“We do our tests,” says the Italian. “We realise changing the bike takes some time but in terms of time also gives some benefit. Maybe not so much, only two or three seconds … five, maybe … but in our calculations it gives some advantage.”

Tony Gallopin: “After asking about Gallopin’ Tony on an earlier stage (he’s in my fantasy TdF team but I’ve never heard him mentioned for having any impact on the race) he finally gets a mention,” writes James Davison. “Chapeau to him and thanks to you.”

Kasper Asgreen: The Soudal-Quick Step rider stops the clock at 36min 17sec, a full 35 seconds slower than his teammate Remi Cavagna, who remains in the leader’s chair for now but has stated in an interview that he knows his time will be beaten. He’s probably right but his 35min 42sec is the benchmark.

A potential Sunday showdown: “Regarding the convention of Sunday’s stage being a ‘ceremonial procession’,” writes James Cavell. “In 2005, Alexandre Vinokourov and Levi Leipheimer were only two seconds apart, in fifth and sixth place. Vinokourov attacked during the final kilometer of the ‘ceremonial procession’ and because of his stage win and bonus seconds, overtook Leipheimer for fifth position overall.

“So Pogacar (or Vingegaard) could feasibly do something similar if the difference is a handful of seconds. But 2005 was still a different era, where it was less ‘not normal’ for a rider to be able to hold off the sprinters teams in the final moments.”

Bryan Coquard and Benoit Cosnefroy: The French duo ride over the finish line together, laughing and joking having playfully shaped to contest a sprint finish to keep the crowd entertained.

An email: “It would be nice if you would mention the names of the riders now on the road,” writes June. “They all deserve some recognition for a tough tour so far and they have ridden well for their team mates. So come on, mention them please. The top dogs didn’t get there without their supporting riders so come on mention them.”

There’s 157 of them, June! It’s difficult to get around to them all and besides, most of them are treating today as a second consecutive rest day.

Tony Gallopin, who seems to have been around forever but is somehow still only 35 years old has just set off. The Lidl-Trek rider, who has also announced his plan to retire at the end of the season, gets a big cheer from the crowd and sets off with a big smile on his face.

80 riders to go: A reminder that Wout van Aert rolls down the ramp shortly after 3.19pm (BST), Tadaj Pogacar is scheduled to set off at 3.58pm and our race leader Jonas Vingegaard is last man out of the starter’s hut at 4pm on the dot.

There are King of the Mountains points up for grabs today as well, so Giulio Ciccone (3.03pm) and Neilson Powless (2.22pm) will be waging their own private war.

Remi Cavagna: The French champion and Soudal-Quick Step rider is our new clubhouse leader with a time of 35min 42sec. That’s more like it …

An interesting question: “With the convention that the final stage is nothing more than a ceremonial procession, due to the almost impossibility for a team to make a break, what would happen if Pogacar takes 9 or 10 seconds off Jonas today and they finish together for the remaining stages?” asks Ian Haslam. “Would it be all bets off, winner takes all, final showdown?”

Considering all the sprinters will have their eye on a stage win in Paris, there is almost zero chance of either Jumbo-Visma or UAE Emirates, who will of course be marking each other closely, managing to orchestrate a breakaway in the final stage.

If there’s only a handful of seconds between Pogacar and Vingegaard at the start of the final stage, I suppose race etiquette and tradition, not to mention the difficulty of whoever is second on GC managing to pull a fast one, dictates whoever is in yellow going into the final day will win.

Time trial cut-offs: “Each stage is given a coefficient number with a percentage of finishing time to be added to the actual finishing time,” writes Rich Ainger. “These are 1-5. However, only time trials can be given a coefficient of six for difficulty – with a flat rate of 25% of the winner’s time being marked as the time cut.

“So the teams know that they have 25% of the finishing time (which they can roughly work out through data I’m assuming) to work with. I hope that makes sense.”

Nikias Arndt: The German Bahrain Victorious rider is the new stage leader with a time of 37min 19sec. He takes over from Dries Devenyns, who has announced his retirement from bike racing at the end of this season.

“Today I want to announce that I will be retiring from professional cycling at the end of this season,” he said on Instagram. “I rolled into the sport of cycling at the age of 15. In the beginning, I didn’t take it too seriously and I rode for fun, though going to local kermesse races, together with my parents and brothers, sparked something inside of me.

“After graduating from my studies at Ghent University, I took the opportunity to join the pro peloton, and since then I have enjoyed a 17 year long career at the highest level. I got to ride for some beautiful teams, but my time at the IAM Cycling team and especially the many years at the famous Soudal Quick-Step team, have been unforgettable.”

“I crossed the finish line in first, with my hands in the air, only a few times, but mainly got down to work for others, and helping some of the world’s best cyclists. Seeing them win the biggest races in the sport, and being part of the team’s achievements, has been a dream come true.

“I have so many people to thank, that I am afraid I may forget someone. But I have to start with my parents and brothers and my friends for their unconditional support. To my wife, Nathalie and my children, I am forever grateful. Being a professional cyclist and spending so much time away from home is not only hard for us, but also for our families, and I cannot thank you enough for your love and understanding.

“And then on to Patrick of course, team mates, all the mechanics, soigneurs, communications team, doctors and team staff that I have worked with over the years, and to everybody else that has supported me: Thanks for everything. It has been a wonderful adventure.”

Remy Cavagna: Wearing the French national champion’s jersey, the Soudal-Quick-Step rider scorches past his teammate Yves Lampaert.

A question I really hoped nobody would ask: “How does the time cut work in a TT?” asks Robin Hazlehurst. “In a road stage it is relative to the time of the fastest finisher, so the last home have a target to aim for. But the fastest TT rider will go out after the slower ones have finished, so how can they know what the target is?

“Or is it set arbitrarily in advance? It might be simpler to say that any rider being passed by, say, three others is eliminated, like in an elimination race on the track. The potential for multi-rider sprints on TT bikes would certainly liven the days racing up.”

Anyone? Anyone? I’d just assumed it’s applied retrospectively once the stage is over and the team’s all have a very good idea of what the winning time will be. I am, however, a big fan of Robin’s idea.

A query: “Not sure if you/Steve McQuade are allowed to say publicly, but could you tell me what platform/app is he using to virtually ride the TT stage today?” asks Tom. Steve?

Simon Clarke: The Australian Israel-Premier Tech rider rolls down the ramp on his 37th birthday. Joyeux anniversaire, Monsieur Clarke.

Jasper Philipsen: Miles ahead in the points classification for the green jersey and with four stage wins to his name already, the Belgian sets off. His only goal today will be to get around the course and make the time limit, which should be no problem.

Jonas Vingegaard: The race leader is reported to have rode the course this morning and his team are remaining tightlipped over whether or not he plans to change from a time trial bike to a road bike for the final climb. Tadsej Pogacar’s team have also refused to divulge any such information, while Eurosport pundit Sean Kelly reckons it’s all mind games and “it won’t make any difference” whether they switch bikes or not.

Dries Devenyns: The 39-year-old Belgian Soudal-Quick-Step veteran posts the quickest time of the day so far on today’s hilly course. He stops the clock at 37min 37sec.

The Cees Bol conundrum: “That Bol was moved in the order might have to do with avoiding two riders of the same team (Astana) starting after one another and the first starter potentially giving the second a goal to ride after,” writes Mark. “I’d have expected Fedorov to be delayed though, not Bol...but maybe this is up to the team.”

Gianni Moscon: The Italian, riding for Astana, finishes on a road bike and posts a time of 37min 39sec.

An email: “Regarding the lack of spectacle and the suggestion from David Alderton that we just send out the top 10 on GC,” writes Matt Beaumont. “Can I point to the first four riders: possibly deliberately coming out slowly to keep the lantern rouge, falling at the first corner, dropping a chain and going out in the wrong order.

“It’s the early stages of a TT where these professionals actually give me hope that despite being 33, overweight and having recently had my bike kicked in by yoofs in Barnsley, I could still get a contract a from a team.”

Axel Zingle: The Cofidis rider is the current clubhouse leader with a time of 39min 05sec.

Tour interactive: “Just a plug for the joys of technology,” writes Steve McQuade. “I shall be having a crack at the course today while riding the virtual route on the turbo and watching the race. It will really ram home just how good these lads are. Targeting 60% of the winning time. The podium team won’t be seeing me.”

That’s superb. Let us know when you’re “setting off” Steve and send in your time when you’re finished. And mind yourself on that first corner!!!

That difficult first corner: Having seen three of their colleagues hit the deck on the very first corner, the remaining riders are approaching it extremely gingerly.

“Regarding the riders slipping on the road markings,” writes the Fewer Owls. “Is this someone testing the theory that watching paint dry is more interesting than Individual TTs Bring back the random beauty of the team time trial and all will be well.”

A question: “Other than the Tour, I really don’t follow cycling, so I’m not sure about the strategy on a stage like today,” writes Joe Pearson. “Since it is fairly short, will the racers basically just treat it as a sprint and go all out? Help me out, here. Thanks!”

Well Joe, as mentioned previously, almost all the riders willl just be hoping to stay upright, make the time cut and then get back to the team hotel as quickly possible so they can relax.

Those few who are pushing for the podium in Paris, the stage win, the King of the Mountains jersey or a top 10 GC finish will be taking it far more seriously. They won’t go all out from the gun as they’ll almost certainly need to conserve some energy for a big dig up the final climb to the finish.

Michael Morkov: The Dane is negotiating a steep climb five kilometres from the stage fiinish, which is no easy feat on a time trial bike with its funky handlebars and rear disc wheel.

Time trials: “I think you are right about the lack of spectacle during the these events,” writers David Alderton. “Although ‘the race of truth’ is a spin on it, almost all riders are ‘get through before the cut-off, but save energy and don’t crash’. Might as well just send the top ten GC out.

“I’ve gotten more excited about the lovely spreadsheet I just made which ranks the rider as they cross the line than I have done about today’s stage. Although it does has an average and cumulative team time, too. Even had to do some research on how to get a negative time for the splits.”

Today’s course: The very first corner on today’s course is causing problems and three riders have fallen at it already. There are road markings painted on the surface which may be slippery, although there’s no sign of rain.

An email: “I’m surprised that Pogacar is not a solid favorite today because he crushed Roglic and the field in the third week TT in 2020 to win the tour,” writes Scott. “The last two tours had already big time gaps so the last TT wasn’t for yellow. Also, riders typically get better at TT as they get older. My guess is Tadej gains 30 seconds.”

Cees Bol: The Dutch sprinter, who came into the Tour as Mark Cavendish’s lead-out man, has not abandoned and is out on the road. He was due to go out second but didn’t. At least one of our early starters seems to have set off out of sequence. You had one job, lads!

Alexis Renard: The Cofidis rider drops his chain shortly after starting and requires assistance from a team mechanic. Some early drama!!!

John Degenkolb: The DSM-Firmenich rider comes a cropper early door, his back wheel sliding out from under him as he negotiated a turn shortly after leaving the starter’s hut. He remounts and continues on his way but is feeling his wrist and elbow.

Michael Morkov: In last place on General Classification, Michael Morkov looks like he’s pedalling through treacle as he negotiates the first climb of the day. The Dane may secretly hope to hang on to his status as lanterne rouge as it comes with a certain amount of kudos and can be quite lucrative when it comes to negotiating fees for post-Tour criterium races.

Today’s time checks: There are three on today’s stage, at the 7.1km mark, at 16.1km and 18.9km. All the riders will set off on time trial bikes but there is speculation that several will switch to road bikes before hitting the final climb to the finish.

Today’s favourite: There are 157 riders left in this year’s Tour but the odds compilers only give three riders a sporting chance of winning today’s time trial. Jonas Vingegaard is the narrow favourite ahead of Tadej Pogacar, while Wout van Aert is third in the betting and the only other rider with single figure odds.

Our lead duo are separated by just 10 seconds, a state of affairs that will almost certainly change today but it’s anyone’s guess by how much and which way the pendulum is likely to swing. Strange things can happen to riders on the day after a rest day – even if the riders did go out for lengthy rides yesterday, legs can get stiff or even seize up after just one day away from the white hot heat of Alpine combat.

Let’s face it, individual time trials can be pretty boring and if you have important business to attend to, you’re excused for the next few hours, but make sure to be back for the business end of today’s should be fascinating.

Wout van Aert rolls down the ramp shortly after 3.19pm (BST), Tadaj Pogacar is scheduled to set off at 3.58pm and our race leader Jonas Vingegaard is last man out of the starter’s hut at 4pm on the dot. There are King of the Mountains points up for grabs today as well, so Giulio Ciccone (3.03pm) and Neilson Powless (2.22pm) will also be waging their own private war.