1640: Before I go, thanks for all your suggestions for Mark Cavendish victory celebrations. Today's was a bit more low-key, however, as the Manxman crossed the line with hands aloft and a big smile - no nods to team sponsors this time. Tyler Farrar banged his handlebars in frustration before congratulating his rival. Maybe Cav will have something different in store for us all tomorrow? Thanks for all your banter and see you soon.
1634: So, Mark Cavendish can resume his Kermit impersonation again tomorrow - but will he dig out his green sunglasses, shorts, socks and pants for stage 12? Peter Scrivener will be back with you for the 211.5km trek from Tonnerre to Vittel...There is a tough old climb towards the end, but don't rule out a third-straight stage win for the Manx Missile, which would be his fifth of this year's Tour.
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1. Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita/AG2R) 43hrs 28mins 59secs
2. Alberto Contador (Spa/Astana) + 6secs
3. Lance Armstrong (USA/Astana) + 8
4. Levi Leipheimer (USA/Astana) +39
5. Bradley Wiggins (GB/Garmin) + 46
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Yellow jersey: Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita/AG2R)
Green jersey: Mark Cavendish (GB/Team Columbia)
Polka dot jersey: Egoi Martinez (Spa/Euskaltel)
White jersey: Tony Martin (Ger/Team Columbia)
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1621: That was a superb win for Cav and Team Columbia. Milram tried to crowd him out inside the last 200 metres, and Thor Hushovd attacked very early indeed. Then Garmin rider Tyler Farrar came through - but it made no difference. Another stage win for the Isle of Man to celebrate...
1619: Mark Cavendish after his fourth stage win of this year's Tour and his eighth in total (equalling Barry Hoban's British record):
"It was great. It was a hard finish uphill. We knew what we had to do - had to leave it late and it showed how great the lads are that they could adapt to different situations. There's only one more stage win that matters for me now, I think you know which one that is."
Um, it wouldn't be the Champs Elysees would it Cav?
"It was great. It was a hard finish uphill. We knew what we had to do - had to leave it late and it showed how great the lads are that they could adapt to different situations. There's only one more stage win that matters for me now, I think you know which one that is."
Um, it wouldn't be the Champs Elysees would it Cav?
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1616: MARK CAVENDISH WINS STAGE 11 OF THE TOUR DE FRANCE!
1615: Team Columbia are toughing this one out but Tyler Farrar is lurking. Cav is ready to go...
1613: Mick Rogers and Tony Martin are the Team Columbia men leading the peloton but Milram are trying to crowd them out. Into the last 1km.
1612: Still Team Columbia bossing this one but Thor Hushovd is also up in the top 10 riders. This one is going to be very close...2km to go.
1609: Johan van Summeren and Marcin Sapa are finally swallowed up. The Team Columbia boys are at the front of the bunch. Some of you are suggesting via text that Cav rides over the line backwards today - maybe that would be a step too far! Under 4km to go...
1607: We've just been shown that horrible TV shot of the front two pedalling away, seemingly unaware of the peloton closing in on them a few yards back. Under 7km to go now and the lead is just nine seconds.
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1604: Johan van Summeren and Marcin Sapa are still giving it their all but the lead is down to 20 seconds at the 10km to go mark and, as discussed previously, they are doomed. Whatever you are doing, stop and pay full attention. It's nearly time for the sprinters to fight this one out...
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1600: Garmin and Team Columbia still running the show at the front of the peloton. I've just seen Kim Kirchen, who might be Cav's lead-out man today, near the front. Gap still 25 seconds - 12.5km left.
1558: If you haven't already, give this page a manual refresh to get the 5 Live radio stream. You won't want to miss this finish...
1556: The front two have been on their own since around the 20km mark but they are now just 25 seconds clear of the bunch with 15km to go. Quick show of hands - who thinks Cav will get this?
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1540: Right then. We're approaching the business end of today's action - inside the last 30km. For now, we still have two men out in front (Johan van Summeren and Marcin Sapa) but that won't last much longer (their lead is now down to 1:15). All the big-hitters in the General Classification are safely in the peloton but what we are really waiting for now is the bunch sprint at the finish...
1537: From Justin in Holborn, via text on 81111: "(Re 1455) All this chat about Cav's victory salute is making me sooooo nervous - so please stop it!"
1535: Let's not get too carried away by Cav's hopes today. The finish in St Fargeau is a tricky one and uphill too - it won't be easy. With 32km to go, the leaders are one minute and 40 seconds clear of the bunch.
1532: From Damian in Manchester, via text on 81111: "(Re 1455) If Cav wins today he should celebrate by recreating cycling feats of the 1970s, namely riding his bike with a bag of his Mum's shopping over one handlebar and a collection of bread bag ties on his brake lines."
1529: The bunch have just contested the second and final climb of the day at Cote de Perreuse. Sapa took the three points ahead of Van Summeren and Franco Pellizotti of Italy won the battle in the peloton to mop up the single remaining point. Pellizotti is third in the King of the Mountains category overall with 56 points, three points behind Christophe Kern and 23 points behind Egoi Martinez.
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1524: From Lee in Cornwall, via text on 81111: "This stage has Cav written all over it. As for the victory salutes, some old tricks like an endo, handle-bar spin or a clothes peg with a piece of cardboard in his back wheel as he crosses the line..."
1521: This stage is coming to the boil nicely now - the front two (Johan van Summeren and Marcin Sapa) are still being reeled in slowly but surely - with 43km to go, they have a lead of one minute and 50 seconds on the peloton.
1518: Another little tangle inside the peloton and it is Garmin's Canadian rider Ryder Hesjedal who eats tarmac this time. He clipped the back wheel of the bike in front and went down in spectacular style, right in front of the cameras too.
1516: We're inside the last 50km now and the riders still have a tail-wind blowing them home, which is nice. I cycled from Esbjerg to Hamburg last month and had wind and rain in my face for the most part. It almost took the fun out of the trip. Oh, for those of you looking for the 5 Live stream, you can find the icon to click on at the top right of this page.
1512: From Danny in Surrey, via text on 81111: "(Re 1455) Cav's next celebration should be the Superman! Stomach on the seat legs stretched out behind with hands reaching out in front!"
1507: I'm still waiting for someone to bring me a sandwich, hopefully before the end of this stage. We've got 52km left and that gap keeps coming down - the lead is two minutes and eight seconds now.
BBC Sport's Phil Sheehan, at the finish of today's stage in St Fargeau, on Twitter: "I rode 100km here today, but not on the route. However, if the roads are typical of this area then they're heavy - not a great tarmac surface, and it felt like I was pushing the pedals rather than turning them. I was very glad when I got here! Plus it's quite up and down, so difficult to get into a decent rhythm."
1500: Team Columbia and AG2R are still working hard at the front of the peloton, and that gap to the front two is down to under three minutes again. We've got 58km of today's 192km to go.
BBC Sport's Phil Sheehan on Twitter: "It's a sunny day here at the finish in St Fargeau, a few clouds in the sky and not too hot. The peloton is riding a bit faster than yesterday, thankfully!"
1455: From Will in London, via text on 81111: "What next for Cav's victory salutes? Maybe pulling a dove from his helmet or standing on the seat in some circus style trick!?
Let's hope we find out today Will!
1450: The front two of Johan van Summeren and Marcin Sapa are still battling on and their lead is up to three minutes and 30 seconds again (in between updates it was down to two minutes and 50 seconds). We've got 63km to go, so the peloton are taking their time in bringing these two back.
Bradley Wiggins' wife Cath on Twitter, trying to spot her husband in the peloton: "Black socks located, near yellow jersey towards front of bunch."
1444: Ouch. I've just seen some shots of Vladimir Efimkin, who was one of the riders to come off in the early part of today's stage. The Russian's face seems to have taken the brunt of whatever happened and he looks in some pain. He's still going though. A few of you are asking how Bradley Wiggins is getting on today - he's safely in the peloton with the rest of the top five overall.
1440: From David Spibey in Nantwich, via text on 81111: "(Re 1321) Cav is a star - why do we always feel the need to knock our sportsmen and women when they are genuinely class. That edge and arrogance is an essential part of any top athletes make-up."
1437: From John in York, via text on 81111: "If Cav is this good what will we make of Bradley Wiggins if he maintains his current position...or improves it."
1435: Nope, Cav doesn't go for that intermediate sprint at Suilly-la-Tour. Cyril Dessel again took the two points that were up for grabs after Johan van Summeren and Marcin Sapa went through.
1430: From Graeme, via text on 81111:"(Re 1321) We are only halfway through Le Tour. Dont count Wiggo's chickens before they get to Paris!"
1427: The yellow jersey of Rinaldo Nocentini is safely in the peloton, as is Alberto Contador and (post-toilet break) Lance Armstrong. Lance had two team-mates to help him rejoin the main bunch for those of you that asked. This won't be a day for any big changes in the General Classification - we still look on course for the bunch sprint at the finish...but, first things first, we are about to contest the final intermediate sprint of the day. Will Cav go for those two points?...
1422: We've now got 84km left of today's stage and Johan van Summeren and Marcin Sapa are now just over three minutes clear. In answer to a few texts, everyone who was involved in those crashes early on is safely back in the race, including Christian Vande Velde. It was a hectic start to the day though...
1416: My cousin is from the Isle of Man and does a lot of competitive cycling. He's known Cav for a long time (it's a small island!) and has told me that, even when Cav was a kid, he had that habit of coming through to win sprints right on the line. He called it an 'annoying' habit but I don't think he sees it like that anymore! And yes, Cav has known how good he is for some time - I think the whole world knows it now.
1412: bigcog on 606: "Having seen some of the Cav biography he seems to have had a desire to win from very early. His Mum seemed to encourage it at the start by giving him cheek. It seems it was what was required. He did not need to be mollycoddled, he needed to prove himself. That's what has got him this far."
1406: Will in Newcastle, via text, has just asked me to explain the feed zone - it's a part of the stage, usually about halfway through, where riders can take on board supplies - musettes (bags containing sandwiches, fruit and energy bars). Here's how Team Garmin (of Bradley Wiggins and David Millar) organise things.
1402: Lance Armstrong has just been paced back to the peloton by a couple of team-mates after a toilet break. Less than 100km to go now for the leaders...they are still three-and-a-half minutes clear.
1358: djlovesyou on 606: "(Re 1347) It's not that easy to be outwardly cocky and brash as a marathon runner, because even if you win you generally finish a drooling, wobbling and slightly emaciated mess!"
1355: Lots of chat about Cav's perceived arrogance on 606 and via text. Most of you seem to think that his confidence/cockiness is a good thing. I'd tend to agree. Surely part of being a top sportsman (in whatever sport) is about having the right character? Some of them (footballers and tennis players for example) are racked by self-doubt but I bet it helps to have tons of self-belief when you are at the top, which Cav certainly is.
1350: The gap to the front two continues to come down as the riders make their way top Saint-Bouize and today's feed zone. With 85km of the 193km done, the peloton are now three-and-a-half minutes behind.
1347: tlimvvo2max on 606: "(Re 1321) It strikes me that it's much the same situation in athletics - most of the big out-front personalities - flamboyant if you like them and arrogant if you don't - belong to 100m runners - marathon runners may have just as much self-belief but tend to hide it a lot better."
1345: Team Columbia riders have been at the front of the peloton for most of the day and they are still there now. Sapa won the second intermediate sprint, ahead of Van Summeren of course. Cyril Dessel of AG2R picked up the remaining two points when the bunch reached Saint-Ceols.
1342: The gap is still steadily coming down - Johan van Summeren (Silence-Lotto) and Marcin Sapa (Lampre) are now just over three minutes clear with 111km to go. We are still on course for the predicted bunch sprint finish.
1337: From Ian in Woodford, via text on 81111:"With all the talk of Cav and the green jersey we seen to be missing the point that Bradley Wiggins has got back his 15 seconds from yesterday. Is he the greatest all-round cyclist that Britain has ever produced? Beryl Burton and Nicole Cook excepted.
Yep, it was great news about Wiggo. See 1204 downwards for how all that came about.
1334: AG2R team-leader Vladimir Efimkin has dropped back behind the main bunch to see the Tour doctor, he's got team-mate Nicolas Roche with him to help him catch up. Not sure what the problem is yet.
1329: Jmape_ventura on 606: "(Re 1321) There's only one way to get an ego... and that is to be bloody good at what you do. Cav has earned it in only one and a half TdFs!"
1327: The front two are now three minutes and 50 seconds clear, with 69km of today's 192km done. They are closing in on the second intermediate sprint of the day, at Saint-Ceols.
1324: JohninJapan on 606: "Just wondering if the 'obstruction on the route' at 1220 was the combined egos of Messrs Cavendish and Armstrong? Mind you, such an obstacle would probably have forced the race to detour into Belgium."
1321: Hmmm. I've just read some reports in L'Equipe newspaper that Mark Cavendish is being accused of being 'arrogant' and 'anti-French' by some of his fellow riders. They also reckon he doesn't pull his weight in the grupetto during the mountain stages. Now, I don't know about the last two accusations but I don't think anyone would doubt that Cav has got plenty of self-belief. I've not got a problem with it either - he is the best sprinter in the world, so why not act like it? A bit worrying if the rest of the peloton really are turning against him though.
1316: Just one more climb to come today - at Cote de Perreuse after 150km. Will be interesting to see what Egoi does then. But his overall lead in that category is 20 points over France's Christophe Kern so he will wear the polka dot jersey tomorrow whatever happens.
1314: The front two picked up most of the points in the first climb of the day (at Cote d'Allogny after 45.5km) too but, when the peloton reaches the summit, current King of the Mountains leader Egoi Martinez shows how seriously he is taking his bid to keep hold of the polka dot jersey by busting a gut to pick up the single point that was still up for grabs.
1311: So, what's going on on the road? Well, the front two of Belgium's Johan van Summeren (Silence-Lotto) and Poland's Marcin Sapa (Lampre) have covered about 57km of today's 192km route and are four minutes and 20 seconds clear. In case you missed all the chat about Cav earlier, he has a great chance of clinching a fourth stage win of this year's Tour should the day end in a bunch sprint - which is what is expected to happen later.
1307: We're unlikely to see any developments in the Contador-Armstrong rivalry in today's stage - but it is undoubtedly the hot topic of this year's Tour. Like the rest of us, BBC 5 Live's Simon Brotherton is looking forward to that battle resuming when the race returns to the mountains this weekend.
1304: And, while I'm shamelessly plugging our stuff, did you see our Q&A with Rabobank rider Denis Menchov? courtesy of BBC's Russian service, who put questions to him from you lot on 606. Should be quite good then...
1303: Just a reminder that you will be able to listen to the climax of today's stage via our live stream from 5 Live which starts at 1445 BST. Oh, and if you are outside the UK then worry not, you can listen too.
1257: From Dan in London, via text on 81111:"Lance and Cav seem to have a bit of a rapport going, as evidenced on stage three - same team next year....?
Ha, a LOT of chat about this from you lot. A LOT of chat about who will be part of Team Sky too. Let's face it, though, Cav has already made it clear he will ride for the team that can help him the most. I think we could all put together fantasy teams for the Tour - a bit like Astana have done this year!
1254: dummy_half on 606: "Let's hope that a rider or two fancy bridging the gap - wonder if Columbia might even think of sending someone across just to hoover up the remaining points and otherwise just sit in?"
1252: The peloton is being led along by Mark Cavendish's Team Columbia team-mates, who will want a bunch sprint at the finish in St Fargeau more than anyone else. The gap is still increasing slightly - up to four-and-a-half minutes now.
1245: That gap keeps growing. Van Summeren and Sapa are now four minutes and 15 seconds ahead of the peloton, with 152km of today's stage left.. Neither of them are a threat in the General Classification, however, as Van Summeren is best placed overall and he is 106th overall, 54 minutes and 27 seconds behind maillot jaune Rinaldo Nocentini.
1240: This breakaway is probably good news for Mark Cavendish's green jersey bid. There are a couple more intermediate sprints at 68km (Saint Ceols) and 114.5km (Sully-La-Tour) today but Van Summeren and Sap would hoover up the six and four points if they stay clear. That would only leave two points up for grabs when the main bunch get there - is that worth fighting for, especially with a likely sprint finish to come? By the way, Cav is six points behind Thor Hushovd in the points category at the moment.
1236: Johan van Summeren (Silence-Lotto) and Marcin Sapa (Lampre) are now almost two minutes clear after 30km of today's 192km stage. The peloton is still split in two, but the gap between the two bunches is under 30 seconds.
1232: A couple more crashes in the peloton - affecting Jerome Pineau of Quick Step and Joaquin Rojas of Caisse d'Epargne, who have both been consulting the race doctor. Meanwhile, there's been a bit of movement off the front of the pack - Van Summeren and Sapa have opened up a 40 second lead on the peloton, which has split in two with a gap of 15 seconds between each big bunch.
1228: No points for Cav in the first intermediate sprint of the day...but the good news is that Thor Hushovd didn't feature either. Johan van Summeren of Silence-Lotto got the six points, followed by Marcin Sapa (Lampre) and Lloyd Mondory (AG2R).
1226: We're approaching that first intermediate sprint at Quincy. Time to find out whether Cavendish is going to contest these...
1225: TallBlondJohn on 606: "Neutralization request was due to 'an obstruction on the route'. Snails or another French protest?"
1220: We've had a slight delay to the race too - Tour sporting director Jean-Francois Pescheux asked for racing to stop at the 15km mark because of an obstruction on the road - not sure what. Anyway, they are on the move again now and Vande Velde and Rosseler are back in the bunch.
1213: Sorry about the delay there folks, I was just trying to sort out an updated (and correct) list of the top of the GC...see below. While I was doing that, the peloton have caught a couple of early breakaways and we've had a crash involving Christian Vande Velde (Garmin) and Sebastien Rosseler (Quick Step).
1211: (REVIEWED) GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE 10:
1. Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita/AG2R) 39hrs 11mins 04secs
2. Alberto Contador (Spa/Astana) + 6secs
3. Lance Armstrong (USA/Astana) + 8
4. Levi Leipheimer (USA/Astana) +39
5. Bradley Wiggins (GB/Garmin) + 46
1204: Great news for Bradley Wiggins! Those 15 seconds he lost at the end of yesterday's stage (see 1140) have been wiped off - so he is back in the top five overall. Not sure why the race judges have finally changed their mind about how that crash affected the outcome of the stage but it seems fair to me.
1201: Some bad news for you though. Saxo Bank rider Kurt Asle Arvesen, who was injured during yesterday's stage, did not start this morning. The big Norwegian broke his collarbone when he fell trying to avoid a spectator who had fallen into the road - not, as some reports suggested, when he was blown off his bike by the downdraft of the TV helicopter covering the race.
1158: No sign of any snails yet, but I'm sure it won't be long before they make their move. With a little more luck one of them could have won yesterday's stage, given the pace (or lack of it) from the peloton. I'm told the sun is out in Vatan, though. The bunch are still together as we pass the 5km mark.
1156: From anon via text on 81111: "Any snails spotted yet?"
1152: A few of you on 606 have pointed out there is an intermediate sprint after just 26.5km of today's stage at Quincy (the French town, not the American coroner/detective). Six points on offer for the winner, which is exactly how far Mark Cavendish is behind current leader Thor Hushovd in the battle for the green jersey.
1148: TOUR DE FRANCE 2009 AFTER STAGE 10:
Yellow jersey: Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita/AG2R)
Green jersey: Thor Hushovd (Nor/Cervelo Test Team)
Polka dot jersey: Egoi Martinez (Spa/Euskaltel)
White jersey: Tony Martin (Ger/Team Columbia)
1146: GENERAL CLASSIFICATIONAFTER STAGE 10:
1. Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita/AG2R) 39hrs 11mins 04secs
2. Alberto Contador (Spa/Astana) + 6secs
3. Lance Armstrong (USA/Astana) + 8
4. Andreas Kloden (Ger/Astana) +54
5. Levi Leipheimer (US/Astana) "
1144: After the 'excitement' of yesterday's apparent go-slow protest over the ruling that stopped radio contact between riders and team managers, you'll be relieved to know that the radios are back on today - let's hope for a bit more drama than we got yesterday (highlights were the riders stopping at a level crossing and some snails trying to cross the road)...watch out for helicopters trying to blow riders off the road again though...
1142: From anon via text on 81111: Morning. I'm confused about Bradley Wiggins losing time yesterday - don't riders get the same time if affected by a crash in the last 2km?"
It is the last 3km, but that rule only kicks in for a major pile-up involving multiple riders. Yesterday's crash near the end only involved one rider (sorry, don't know who) so, although it undoubtedly caused the split in the peloton, the second bunch of riders got a separate time. I agree that it was harsh on Wiggo and Levi Leipheimer though - to name but two of the 100+ men affected.
1140: Lance and Alberto only have to look at what happened to Bradley Wiggins and Levi Leipheimer (who got caught on the wrong end of a split in the main bunch after a crash near the end of yesterday's stage) as a warning of how easily you can lose a few seconds. Wiggo and Levi only lost 15 seconds but they still dropped down the general classification.
1138: The riders will roll out of the neutral zone in Vatan in around 10 minutes and get stage 11 under way. Rinaldo Nocentini, in his fourth day in yellow, will be looking to keep the overall lead - while Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador will hope to stay out of trouble in the peloton.
1137: ghost_of_cygan on 606: "I predict a breakaway to be caught within 10k, of the finish and Cav to win, providing Columbia have the legs or a bit of help from one or two other teams pulling on the front towards the end of the day to reel the breakaway in."
Lance Armstrong, about two hours ago, on Twitter: "Driving to start. Looking for a group sprint today. Slight ramp at the finish though. Hushovd and Freire? I'd still have to go with Cav."
1135: So, does Cav fancy his chances? Erm, what do you think? "There are four more opportunities for bunch sprints, three more this week, and I'll keep on going for the wins," the Isle of Man star said after his stage win on Tuesday. "My big objective is to win on the Champs Elysees in Paris on the last day."
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