THE RACE LIVE

Lance Armstrong finished the stage in 54th place. He was awarded the same time as the stage winner and will wear the yellow jersey in stage eight. There was no change to the top of the general classification after stage seven.

The top 10 in the 228.5km seventh stage of the 2005 Tour de France is:
1. Robbie McEwen (Australia) DVL
2. Magnus Backstedt (Sweden) LIQ
3. Bernhard Eisel (Austria) FDJ
4. Gerrit Glomser (Austria) LAM
5. Baden Cooke (Australia) FDJ
6. Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland) FAS
7. Tom Boonen (Belgium) QST
8. Gianluca Bortolami (Italy) LAM
9. Thor Hushovd (Norway) C.A)
10. Juan Antonio Flecha (Spain) FAS

Robbie McEwen has won his seventh stage of the Tour de France - his second this year. His main rival in the points classification Tom Boonen finished in sixth or seventh place.

There has a crash involving a Illes Balears rider with 200m to go. Considering that it happened in the middle of the bunch there was relatively little carnage.

Robbie McEwen has thrown his arms in the air to celebrate the win. We’ll wait for the photo but it seems certain that the Australian has beaten Magnus Backstedt to win the seventh stage of the 2005 Tour.

The jostling for position is really on. It’s a perfect lead-out for a massive sprint. Liquigas is the latest team to come forward but every sprinter is present near the head of the peloton with 1km to go. We’ll know the winner is less than a minute...

The FDJ team now has four riders at the front of the peloton. The protected man today is Cooke... He has Da Cruz, McGee and Eisel working for him.

The latest squad to reach the front of the bunch is Fassa Bortolo. Hulsmans of Quickstep is tucking into second position with 3km to go.

AG2R riders have also come forward to try and set things up for Jean-Patrick Nazon.

Davitamon-Lotto is leading the bunch with less than 5km to go in the stage. The pace has been too high for anyone to attempt a cheeky attack. The jostling for position has begun... right now Matt White has come to the front and is looking for his compatriot Stuart O’Grady.

The roads at the finish are dry and wide. The run-in is not complicated like yesterday and the final straight is 1,400m long. It’s ideal circumstances for a bunch sprint. All the work is now being done by the lead-out trains and only seven kilometers remain.
Right now Quickstep is in charge (for Boonen), but Matt White of the Cofidis team is also coming forward to help his team-mate O’Grady. Credit Agricole is there for Hushovd. Liberty Seguros are pulling Davis forward. Liquigas has a presence for Pagliarini or Backstedt. And FDJ is represented for either Eisel or Cooke.
Take you pick... who’s going to be the quickest?

The peloton is now being controlled by the Quickstep and Davitamon-Lotto teams. Cofidis riders can been seen lurking just behind.
There are just 10km to go in the stage and a bunch sprint is the likely conclusion. The pace is high and there have been no escape attempts since Wegmann was caught.

One of the riders who really suffered over the last climb yesterday, Sebastian Joly (C.A) is now doing the pace setting duties at the front of the peloton.

The peloton is now riding on wet roads. Rain is falling with 14km to go but at the site of the finish it’s dry.

The peloton is less than 15km from the finish. There have been no attacks since Wegmann’s capture (with 23km to go).

There are two prongs at the head of the peloton. One the left is one line of riders led by sprint teams like Quickstep and Davitamon. On the right side is the Discovery Channel team.
The left side wants to set up a sprint. The right side wants to ensure a safe delivery of the yellow jersey to the line.

The leader of the Illes Balears team Francisco Mancebo was caught up in the recent crash. After he caught the peloton, he punctured. He has just been helped back to the bunch by four team-mates.

The peloton is all together with 20km to go in the stage. Davitamon, Quickstep and Discovery Channel are at the head of the bunch.

Wegmann is now back in the peloton. He will wear the polka-dot jersey in stage eight. It’s worth noting that he was on the attack for 160km today; 11km of which he rode along with Robbie McEwen.
Although the Australian opted not to continue, Wegmann insisted with his escape. He therefore spent 149km on his own at the front of the stage.

After 160km at the front of the stage, Wegmann has been caught by the peloton.

The peloton is now just 20" behind the rider who has been at the front of the stage since the 45km mark. Wegmann’s move began on the first climb of the stage. He was joined by Robbie McEwen for the early kilometers of his attack but the Australian sprinter opted not to participate in an escape and dropped out of the lead.
The peloton is now less than 25km from the finish.

The peloton just had a tight squeeze from a five-lane road to one... it slowed the pack down a little but the advantage of Wegmann continues to drop. He is now just 35" ahead of the peloton.

After the crash on the railway crossing all the riders involved have been able to rejoin the peloton which is now 50" behind Wegmann.

The points for the third intermediate sprint of stage seven were won by:
1. Fabian Wegman (GST) 6pts/6"
2. Tom Boonen (QST) 4pts/4" - at 1’05"
3. Thor Hushovd (C.A) 2pts/2"

The peloton was 1’05" behind Wegmann at the site of the third intermediate sprint.

Five riders from the Quickstep team are leading the peloton to the line for the third intermediate sprint.

The peloton is now less than 1’45" behind Wegmann who is about to claim six points as the first rider over the line for the third intermediate sprint (at the 197.5km mark).

Dave Zabriskie is one rider who was caught up in the crash. All victims of the accident are back on their bikes and racing again.

There has been another big crash in the peloton. It’s on a railway crossing.

With the peloton at the 191km mark, it is 2’10" behind Fabian Wegmann.

Wegmann is at the 192.5km mark. He has five kilometers to ride before reaching the site of the third intermediate sprint of the stage.

Jens Voigt has come to the front of the peloton as it crossed the Rhein River. He wanted to be the second German rider of the 2005 Tour’s peloton to make it ’home’.
The peloton was 2’40" behind Wegmann at the border.

Fabian Wegmann doesn’t appear to have the energy to hold off the peloton all the way through to the finish in Karlsruhe. He has been on the attack for 145km already today and has spent much of that time out of the saddle to ensure he stays on top of his gears. He is now 2’40" ahead of the bunch which is being led by the Quickstep and Davitamon teams.
There is a consolation for the rider who has done so much work today; he will wear the polka-dot jersey in stage eight.

The stage leader is in his home country. Fabian Wegmann has a lead of 2’45" on the peloton and he is the only rider from the 2005 Tour currently racing in Germany.

Wegmann’s advantage has dropped to 2’45". The peloton is still being led by the Quickstep and Davitamon teams.

When the second stage of the 2002 Tour concluded in Germany, Thor Hushovd lost over 19 minutes to the stage winner (Oscar Freire).
The rider who is currently in second place in the race for the green jersey was involved in an early escape but he was struck down with cramp during the stage. He got off his bike several times to stretch his legs but insisted on continuing through to the finish in Sarrebruck. He was last in the stage, 19’22" behind Freire.

The average speed for the fourth hour of racing today is 41.3km/h.

The peloton is now just 3’00" behind the escapee, Fabian Wegmann.

Contrary to a newsflash posted earlier today, Salvatore Commesso was not the last rider to win a stage of the Tour in Germany. Although the Italian did win in Fribourg-en-Brisgau in 2000, there has been another stage contested on German soil since.
Oscar Freire won the stage to Sarrebruck in 2002. Clad in the rainbow jersey of world champion, the Spaniard beat Robbie McEwen and Erik Zabel in a sprint.
(Sorry for any confusion caused by the earlier report.)

The peloton is now 3’15" behind Fabian Wegmann. The German Gerolsteiner rider was the virtual leader of the Tour for much of the stage (after beginning the day in 53rd place, 3’43" behind Armstrong).
At the moment, the escapee is still the virtual leader of the youth classification.

The riders at the head of the peloton seem to realize that they can catch Wegmann when they want to. The German who has been on the attack since the 45km mark reached a maximum gain of 8’35". That advantage has been reduced to just 3’30" (when the peloton was at the 166km mark).
The bunch is still being led by the Davitamon-Lotto team but the effort has eased a little in the last couple of kilometers.

So far three riders have abandoned the 92nd Tour de France. There are still 28 nations represented in the peloton. The breakdown is:
34 - Spain – Constantino Zaballa abandoned during stage five.
30 - France
26 - Italy – Claudio Corioni abandoned during stage six.
16 - Germany
11 - Belgium
10 - Australia
9 - USA and The Netherlands
6 – Switzerland – Steve Zampieri abandonded during stage seven.
5 - Ukraine
4 - Austria
3 - Kazakstahn, Russia and Sweden
2 - Denmark, Estonia and Norway
1 - South Africa, Brazil, Colombia, Finland, Hungary, Luxembourg, Uzbekstahn, Portugal, Czech Republic, Slovenia and Venezuela

The bunch is now less than four minutes behind Wegmann. The chase is being controlled by riders from the Davitamon-Lotto team but there is also one man from Domina Vacanze and a host of Quickstep riders at the head of the peloton.
The bunch is at the 160km mark and is 3’50" behind the lone escapee.

The peloton is at the 157.5km mark. This group is now 4’10" behind Wegmann.

Wegmann is now in Bischwiller at the 158km mark. His lead on the peloton has been reduced to 4’50".

The rider who attacked the peloton at the 45km mark is now 5’10" ahead of the peloton.
Fabian Wegmann reached a maximum gain of 8’35" when the peloton was at the 109km mark.

With the peloton at the 151km mark, it is 5’10" behind Fabian Wegmann.

The peloton is now strung out because of the rapid pace that’s being set by Christophe Brandt of the Davitamon team. He has two colleagues with him and it’s obvious that the order has been given to reel in the escapee before the finish in Karlsruhe.
Wegmann is now 5’25" ahead of the peloton.

The points for the second intermediate sprint in stage seven were won by:
1. Fabian Wegmann (GST) 6pts/6"
2. Tom Boonen (QST) 4pts/4"
3. Thor Hushovd (C.A) 2pts/2"
The peloton is now 6’00" behind the lone escapee.

The sprint for minor places at Brumath was won by Tom Boonen. The rider in the green jersey had to take on Thor Hushovd but Boonen easily claimed the four points for second place.

There are now three riders from the Credit Agricole team at the head of the peloton. Right behind the team of Thor Hushovd are riders from Quickstep-Innergetic.
The advantage of Wegmann is likely to drop rapidly now that the sprinters’ teams have decided it’s time to chase.

There are now some teams showing some interest in chasing down the escapee. Wegmann’s lead on the peloton has dropped to 7’35".

Fabian Wegmann has claimed first place points at the second intermediate sprint.
The peloton is now being led by riders from the Domina Vacanze, Credit Agricole and Davitamon-Lotto teams.
The main pack has 5km to go before the sprint in Brumath (146.5km).

The stage leader has 88km to go. Fabian Wegmann has been on the attack for 95km. He currently leads the peloton by 8’00".

As is often the case when races are contested on wet roads there have been numerous punctures today. The latest rider to suffer a flat is the leader of the Liberty Seguros team, Roberto Heras.

The first three hours of the seventh stage have been raced at an average speed of 45.5km/h.

As the peloton pass through Furdenheim at the 126km mark of the stage it is 7’50" behind Fabian Wegmann.

There are 16 German riders in this year’s Tour de France. One of them, Fabian Wegmann (GST), is in the lead of the stage. The others are:
Jan Ullrich, Matthias Kessler, Andreas Kloden, Stephan Schreck and Tobias Steinhauser (TMO).
Jens Voigt (CSC).
Daniel Becke (IBA).
Bert Grabsch (PHO).
Jorg Jackshe (LWT).
Patrik Sinkewitz (QST).
Robert Forster, Sebastian Lang, Michael Rich and Ronny Scholz (GST).
And Jorg Ludewig (DOM).

The conditions for today’s stage aren’t ideal. There have been moments when the sun is shining but the also plenty of rain. Right now Benjamin Noval and Pavel Padrnos lead the peloton through another shower.

There have been escapes in each of the non-time trial stages of this year’s Tour and each has been chased down by the Quickstep and Davitamon teams. The pursuit has begun around the mid-way mark of the stage.
At the moment, the Discovery Channel squad is at the head of the pack. There isn’t any interest from Boonen and McEwen’s teams in chasing down Wegmann at the moment.
The Gerolsteiner rider’s advantage hovers at around eight minutes. Wegmann is currently at the 125km mark.

The stage leader today is now 8’05" ahead of the peloton. He reached a maximum gain of 8’35" when the bunch was at the 109km mark.

When a stage of the Tour was last contested on German soil, the winner was Salvatore Commesso. The Italian escaped the peloton early in the 246km stage from Lausanne to Fribourg-en-Brisgau along with Alexandre Vinokourov.
The pair established a lead on the peloton of over 27 minutes - something that would be almost unthinkable these days given ’Vino’ record in recent years.
On the final turn of the stage, the pair came to a standstill as they played a game of cat-and-mouse tactics, a la a track sprint. Once they got rolling again Commesso proved to be too cunning and won the stage easily from the Telekom rider.

This is the third year that Gerolsteiner has contested the Tour de France. No rider from the German-registered squad has ever won a stage before today.
Wegmann is trying to change that... he is currently 8’35" ahead of the peloton which is being led by the Discovery Channel team.

The advantage of Wegmann continues to increase. With the peloton at the 109km mark, it was 8’35" before the Gerolsteiner rider who has been on the attack since the 45km mark.

The peloton is being led by the Discovery Channel team. After the feedzone the main pack has a deficit to the escapee of 8’30".

As Discovery riders lead the peloton out of the feedzone, we can report that the rain has stopped and the roads are dry. Most riders are still wearing arm warmers and many also have vests, knee warmers and bootie covers on because of the cool conditions.

As the peloton enters the feedzone (at the 103km mark) it is 7’55" behind Wegmann.

If Fabian Wegmann is able to maintain his current advantage of 6’50", he will end the day as the leader of three classifications. He has more points than any other rider in the climbing classification and will wear the polka-dot jersey tomorrow.
But at the moment he’s also the virtual leader of both the general and youth classifications.
He began the day in 53rd place overall (3’43" behind Armstrong) and ninth place in the young rider category (2’30" behind Popovych).

Wegmann is now in the feedzone at the 103km mark. His advantage on the peloton is 6’50". He began his escape at the 45km mark when he raced ahead to claim the climbing points at the Col de la Chipotte. On the descent he was joined by Robbie McEwen. Their pair built a lead on the peloton of over a minute and then McEwen surrendered and waited for the peloton.
Wegmann has been on his own since around the 50km mark.

The advantage of Wegmann is 6’50" as the peloton pass the 95km mark.

The roads have been dry for the first two hours of racing today but a few drops of rain are now falling on the peloton. It’s not quite like yesterday and although it’s overcast at the site of today’s finish (in Karlsruhe), the forecast is for dry conditions.

The average speed for the second hour of stage seven is 45.8km/h. The average for the first two hours is 47.3km/h.

The peloton is 6’50" behind Wegmann (at the 89km mark).

The peloton is at the 86.5km mark. It is being led by the Discovery Channel team and is currently 7’20" behind the lone escapee, Fabian Wegmann.

The rider who currently leads the seventh stage by over seven minutes, Fabian Wegmann, has been with the Gerolsteiner team since turning pro in 2002. In his second season with the German-registered squad, he won the overall title at the Sachsen Tour.
The next year he won the climbing classification at the Giro d’Italia.
He’s won two races in 2005, the GP Buchholz and the GP Schwarzwald.

In the history of the Tour, 53 stages have been won by 16 German riders. Below is a summary of which German riders won stages, when and where.
1932: Kurt Stoepel – Nantes
1937: Erich Bautz – Belfort and Royan; Otto Weckerling – Briancon; Heinz Wengler – Saintes
1938: Willi Oberbeck – Caen; Otto Weckerling – Strasbourg
1962: Rudi Altig – Spa, Amiens and Antibes
1964: Rudi Altig – Metz
1966: Rudi Altig – Charleville, Revel and Paris
1967: Rolf Wolfhohl – Toulouse
1969: Rudi Altig – Roubaix
1970: Rolf Wolfhohl – Bordeaux
1977: Klaus-Peter Thaler – Rennes; Dietrich Thurau – Fleurance, Pau, Bordeaux, Chamonix and Paris
1978: Klaus-Peter Thaler – St-Germain-en-Laye
1979: Dietrich Thurau – St-Priest
1987: Rolf Golz – Blagnac
1988: Rolf Golz – Nancy
1990: Olaf Ludwig – Besancon
1992: Olaf Ludwig – Paris
1993: Olaf Ludwig – Montpellier
1995: Erik Zabel – Charleroi and Bordeaux
1996: Jan Ullrich – St-Emilion; Erik Zabel – Norgent-sur-Oise and Gap
1997: Jan Ullrich – Andorre and St-Etienne; Erik Zabel – Plumelec, Bordeaux and Pau
1998: Jens Heppner – Lorient; Jan Ullrich – Correze, Albertville and Le Creusot
2000: Marcel Wust – Vitre; Erik Zabel – Troyes
2001: Jens Voigt – Sarran; Erik Zabel – Boulogne-sur-Mer, Seraing and Evry
2002: Erik Zabel – Alencon
2003: Jan Ullrich – Cap’Decouverte

Wegmann’s lead on the peloton (which is now at the 80km mark) has grown to 7’30".

The current advantage of Fabian Wegmann is over seven minutes. He began his escape on the first climb of the day and is clearly hoping that he can hold off the peloton until the finish in the German city of Karlsruhe. He is trying to become the 17th German to win a stage of the Tour de France... the first to do so on home soil.

The points for the second climb of the seventh stage were won by:
1. Fabian Wegmann (GST) 4pts
2. Ronny Scholz (GST) 3pts
3. Beat Zberg (GST) 2pts
4. Rubens Bertogliati (SDV) 1pt
The escapee in today’s stage, Fabian Wegmann will wear the polka-dot jersey in stage eight.

The peloton has past the second summit (at 74km) 7’05" behind Fabian Wegmann.

Fabian Wegmann has won both the climbs in today’s stage. He already had three points in the mountains classification before the start of stage seven. Now he has a tally of 10 points which means he will wear the polka-dot jersey tomorrow.

The peloton is now at the 71km mark. It is led by the Discovery Channel team and is 7’45" behind the lone escapee, Wegmann.

The lone escapee in the seventh stage, Fabian Wegmann, began the day in 53rd place 3’46" behind Armstrong. He is now seven minutes ahead of the peloton, which means he is currently the virtual leader of the 92nd Tour de France.

The advantage of the lone escapee has blown out to seven minutes over the peloton as he climbs the Col du Hantz.

Christophe Mengin is suffering in today’s stage. The rider who crashed while in the lead yesterday is now 1’50" behind the peloton.

The stage leader Wegmann is now at 3km away from the second climb of the seventh stage. The Col du Hantz is the first category-three ascent of this year’s race. It is a 3.5km climb with an average gradient of 5 per cent. The top is at the 74km mark of today’s 228.5km stage.

The rider who currently leads the stage, Fabian Wegmann of the Gerolsteiner team, won the climbing classification of the 2004 Giro d’Italia.
He began the seventh stage of the 2005 Tour de France in 53rd position in general classification 3’43" behind Lance Armstrong.

At the 63km mark, Wegmann has pushed his advantage on the peloton up to 3’43".

After a brief stint on the attack with Fabian Wegmann, Robbie McEwen has rejoined the peloton.

At the 59.5km mark, Wegmann’s advantage on the peloton was 2’05". He began his move after winning the climbing points at the Col de la Chipotte (at 45km).

Fabian Wegmann is now on his own at the front of the stage. He has an advantage of 1’20" at the 57km mark.

McEwen has realized that it’s a long way to Karlsruhe. He has stopped his effort at the front of the stage and is now waiting for the peloton.

The advantage of McEwen and Wegmann continues to increase. At the 56km mark, the pair are 1’10" ahead of the peloton.

Fabian Wegmann (Ger - GST) and Robbie McEwen (Aus - DVL) are now 1’05" ahead of the peloton. It’s a bold move for both riders: Wegmann must be keen to try and win the stage on home soil while McEwen must be interested in absorbing sprint points.
They began their move 180km from the finish of the stage. The next intermediate sprint is not until Brumath (with 82km to go).

The director of the Bouyges Telecom team Jean-Rene Bernaudeau celebrates his 49th birthday today. He was the best young rider in the Tour de France in 1979.

Steve Zampieri is the third rider to abandon the 92nd Tour de France. The Phonak team is now down to eight riders.

The advantage of the two escapees has grown to 28" at the 49km mark.

The peloton covered 48.8km in the first hour of racing in stage seven.

Wegmann and McEwen have achieved the first significant advantage on the peloton in stage seven. These two riders began their move at the 46km mark and they are currently 18" ahead of the bunch.

At the 46km mark, McEwen (DVL) and Wegmann (GST) have gone on the attack.

The escape group was caught on the first climb of the stage. The points at the summit of the Col de la Chipotte were won by:
1. Wegmann (GST) 3pts
2. Voeckler (BTL) 2pts
3. Auge (COF) 1pt

Alberto Contador and Sylvain Chavanel have attacked the lead group in the quest for climbing points.

The escape group is now 1km from the summit of the Col de la Chippotte (at the 45km mark).

Evgeny Petrov has chased down the escape. There are now seven riders ahead of the peloton.

Five riders attacked at the 39.5km mark. They are: Juan Antonio Flecha (FAS), Alberto Contador (LWT), Fred Rodriguez (DVL), Ronny Scholz (GST), Sylvain Chavanel (COF). Kjell Carlstrom (LIQ) chased them down and this group of six now lead the peloton by 10".

There have been a number of escape attempts in the last couple of minutes but none has succeeded in gaining any real advantage on the peloton. So far 38km have been raced.

The peloton caught the four escapees - Dekker, Van Bon, Nazon and Pineau - at the 33km mark.

The points for the first sprint of stage seven, in Rambervillers (at the 32.5km mark) were won by:
1. Leon Van Bon (DVL) 6pts/6"
2. Erik Dekker (RAB) 4pts/4"
3. Thor Hushovd (C.A) 2pts/2"

Jean-Patrick Nazon and Jerome Pineau have attacked the peloton and caught the two stage leaders, Dekker and Van Bon.

Dekker and Van Bon have a lead of 10". They are now less than 1,000m from the site of the first intermediate sprint.

Tom Boonen has caught the peloton after his crash at the 23.5km mark.

Van Bon and Dekker began their escape at the 30km mark. They are just slightly ahead of the peloton.

Two Dutch riders have attacked the peloton on the approach of the first sprint. They are Leon Van Bon (DVL) and Erik Dekker (RAB). The Saunier Duval team is leading the peloton which is reacting to every escape attempt.

McEwen has eased his effort at the front of the stage and has been caught by the peloton.

The first intermediate sprint is at the 32.5km mark. One rider who is moving to the head of the peloton is Robbie McEwen. He has a lead of 100m on the peloton at the 27km mark. The Australian champion appears interested in taking advantage of the misfortune of Boonen who crashed at the 23.5km mark. Both riders are contenders for the green jersey.

Everyone who was involved in the recent crash has remounted their bikes and are back in the peloton.

The crash occurred at the 23.5km mark. Alas, we have no more news about the incident other than the fact that Tom Boonen was caught up in it.

There has been a crash in the peloton involving a number of riders. One of the men caught up in the accident is Tom Boonen (QST).

The escape has been caught at the 18km mark. The peloton is all together at this stage although there have been a number of sorties and also some riders suffering punctures.

The official start time for stage seven was 12.09pm. There were 187 riders at sign on this morning. The only retirements to date are Constantino Zaballa (SDV) and Claudio Corioni (FAS).

The rider who crashed while in the lead of the stage yesterday, Christophe Mengin, has dropped of the back of the peloton at the 17.5km mark.

There are six riders involved into today’s early escape. They are: Rodriguez (DVL), Cancellara (FAS), Quinziato (SDV), Vicioso (LWT), Backstedt (LIQ) and Rich (GST).

The peloton is in Moyen at the 15km mark of the 228.5km stage. The long distance of the stage means that the signal for race radio is rather dismal early today. At this stage the only information we have is that there is an escape group with a lead of 10" on the peloton. Alas, we have no names or numbers. Once information is available it will be posted immediately.

There is a group of riders on the attack although race radio is nothing but a crackle of static early this morning so it’s difficult to relay who is involved. What we can report, however, is that the leaders had a lead of 10" at the 12km mark and that the peloton is chasing hard.

There has been a bit of aggression early in stage seven but at this stage the peloton refuses to allow any move to gain much of an advantage. Right now the bunch is all together.

The first attack in stage seven has come from a Rabobank rider. It’s a similar theme each day. Alas, race radio has not yet given the name of the rider involved. If the past couple days are anything to go by, it’s likely to be either Karsten Kroon or Erik Dekker.

The two climbs of stage seven are rather early in the day. They are the category-four Col de la Chipotte (at 45km) and the first category-three rise of the 2005 Tour, the Col du Hantz (at 74km).

There are three intermediate sprints during the stage from Luneville to Karlsruhe. With the two riders at the top of the points classification - Tom Boonen (QST) and Thor Hushovd (C.A) - separated by only seven points we can expect to see their teams control the peloton until the first prime.
The sprints today are in Rambervillers (at the 32.5km mark), Brumath (146.5km) and Ralstatt (at 197.5km).

The peloton has arrived at the rallying point for the official start. The Christian Prudhomme has dropped the flag to signal the beginning of racing at 12.08pm. (We await confirmation from race radio for the number of riders who signed on this morning but can report that, despite the crash in the final kilometer of stage six, there were no serious injuries although many riders did suffer cuts and abrasions in the accident on the final turn.)

The peloton is currently rolling through the 4.1km neutral zone. The official start is expected to be at around 12.08pm. Live coverage of the stage will begin immediately after the flag falls to signal the start of the seventh stage.

There were overnight showers at the site of today’s stage start in Luneville. Right now it’s overcast but there is no rain. The weather bureau suggests that there is a chance of rain during the stage. It has also said that the temperature at the start is a cool 15 degrees Celsius in the air and 21 degrees at road level.

After six stages of the 92nd Tour de France the following riders lead the four major prize classifications:
Lance Armstrong (DSC) wears the yellow jersey as the overall leader. He has an advantage of 55" over his team-mate George Hincapie and is 1’02" ahead of yesterday’s runner-up Alexandre Vinokourov (TMO).
Tom Boonen (QST) continues to wear the green jersey as leader of the points classification. The winner of stages two and three has 106 points - seven more than Thor Hushovd (C.A) and 30 more than Stuart O’Grady (COF).
Karsten Kroon (RAB) wears the polka-dot jersey for stage seven. He acquired all of his seven points in the climbing classification during the sixth stage. He has the same tally as Stephane Auge, but because Kroon won two of the climbs yesterday (while Auge won just one) he will wear the spotted top today.
Yaroslav Popovych (DSC) is in the white jersey which represents the best young rider in the general classification. The Ukranian has a lead of 57" over Vladimir Karpets (IBA).

There was one significant change to the top order in the general classification after yesterday’s stage to Nancy. Alexandre Vinokourov finished second (behind Lorenzo Bernucci). With the time bonus and the seven second advantage he had over the peloton in Nancy, he elevated himself from seventh overall to third.
The rider who finished the centenary Tour in third place is now 1’02" behind Lance Armstrong in the race for the yellow jersey.

The last 43km of the seventh stage will be raced in Germany. The last time a stage of the Tour was contested in Germany was back in 2000 when Salvatore Commesso beat Alexandre Vinokourov in a two-man sprint in Fribourg-en-Brisgau. On that day the crowds lining the course were impressive. We can expect to see the same thing again today.

The 228.5km seventh stage from Luneville to Karlsruhe is scheduled to begin at midday. The peloton will ride through a 4.1km neutral zone before the race director will drop the flag to signal the official start.