Tour de France 2018 stage seven LIVE: Dylan Groenewegen wins sprint ahead of Peter Sagan and Fernando Gaviria in Chartres
Stage seven is the longest of this Tour, a 231km route from Fougeres to Chartres via Mayenne, setup for the sprinters like Peter Sagan and Fernando Gaviria
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Stage seven is the longest day of this year’s Tour de France, a placid-looking 231km route from Fougeres in Brittany to Chartres, 100km south-west of Paris, via Mayenne which is setup for the sprinters.
There is every chance of a breakaway – the race was won in 2004 in by a break – but if the peloton reels in the escapees then all eyes will be on Peter Sagan and Fernando Gaviria as they resume their running battle.
Click on stage 7 to refresh the live tracker:
Prediction
Fernando Gaviria to claim his third stage victory.
Odds
Fernando Gaviria 13/10
Peter Sagan 10/3
Dylan Groenewegen 9/2
Marcel Kittel 7/1
Arnaud Demare 11/1
How to watch on TV
The stage will be shown live on ITV and Eurosport from 12pm BST.
Start time
The stage is scheduled to start at around 1pm local time.
PREVIEW
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of stage seven, the longest day of this year's Tour covering 231km of mostly flat ground from Fougeres to Chartres.
It is made for a bunch sprint with only a couple of small climbs on route to setup breakaway opportunities – although the race’s last visit here in 2004 was won in a break.
The most important factor will be the weather; if a crosswind picks up then we could see a burst of speed at the front of the peloton to stretch the pack, and sudden attacks like the one which split the bunch on stage six.
The priority for the general classification contenders like Chris Froome and Richie Porte is to damage limitation; it is stages like these, that look trouble-free, which so often end up producing a surprise.
There is a late left turn in the final 300m so it will be crucial for the sprinters to be in the mix at that moment. There is also a slight uphill drag heading into the line but not enough to put off the sprinters.
All eyes will be on Peter Sagan and Fernando Gaviria as they resume their running battle. It’s two stage wins each so far, with Sagan leading the green jersey standings, but the young Colombian has the chance to land a telling blow.
For more detail, take a flick through our stage-by-stage guide:
Yesterday's stage six was action-packed with Dan Martin winning in Mur de Bretagne. Here's a recap:
Thomas Degand is attempting to make a very bold opening break stick. He’s managed to open up a gap of around 25 seconds from the peloton. Just the 220km to go...
Degand reeled in, another break forms, and is quickly killed off. This could be the pattern in these early kilometres in north-east Brittany.
The longest stage of this year’s Tour, this, but shorter than they used to be:
200km to go
A few more bursts from the front of the peloton have been reeled in. The latest to charge is Yoann Offredo.
180km to go
Offredo (Team Wanty) has been allowed to escape five minutes down the road as the peloton kick back and relax. This is going to be a long and lonely afternoon for the French rider, but it could bring him the day's combativity award which he won on stage two last year. It also comes with a nice cash prize.
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