Paris-Nice / 09-16 March 2014

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35 km to go

Things are hotting up

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The gap is down to three minutes and the break is starting to fall apart with Thurau going clear. He uses the incline before the line as his launchpad to attack and there's a strong chance riders will use that on the final ascent before the finishline.

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QuickStep are all over the front of the peloton, with Cavendish safely tucked in as well. The road narrows as they line moves closer with the peloton now 2'28 down.

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Thurau still leads, the German in a similar position to Alex Dowsett who attacked the break in yesterday's stage.

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Thurau leads by 35 seconds with the bunch further back at 2'20 as we dip into the final 25km of racing.

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The lone Europcar rider is doing a decent job at the moment, as he extends his lead to 40 seconds, with the bunch still at 2'10. The chase is becoming more organised though with Omega on the front. Belkin and Cannondale are close by too.

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Parts of the final circuit suits a lone rider and Thurau is making the most of the opportunity as he draws up and out of the saddle as the incline increases. He's not a pure climber but he's looking strong.

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The three chasers are almost a minute behind now with the bunch a further 60 seconds down.

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Cannondale lead the peloton over the line with Ivan Basso in second wheel.

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Greipel and his Lotto team are in the middle of the pack but are looking to move up as the field come over the line with 19km to go.

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Thurau has 1'14 on the chasers, with the bunch at 1'20. The three riders are about to be caught with 17km to go.

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And now we just have one lone rider up the road with Katusha trying to move into contention at the front of the peloton.

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And Wiggins is now on the front as he moves Porte and a few other Sky riders up.

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Saxo are doing the same thing with Bennati and Contador both looking to play a part in today's action.

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Thurau's lead is down to 1'10 and the wheels are starting to fall off. It looks like Kittle isn't going to contest the sprint today, as he sits at the very back of the bunch.

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Devolder is trying to get Trek into the action as BMC drag Evans up as well. All the GC contenders want to be near the front, as well as the sprinters. It's going to be so hard for a single team to take control here.