Sky High

This is Christopher Froome from the team Sky Pro Cycling - By the time I took this picture the riders had ridden 160km and were here, just over 2 kilometers up a mountain that climbs 15.3 km (The Col de Pailhères in the Pyrénées).

See the grim determination bigger here.

When they got to the summit, they then had a death-defying ride for 20 kms back down the mountain, to sea level, before climbing again another 7.82 km to a height of 1,375 meters - an 8.2% slope.

The stage was the first mountain stage in The Tour de France - normally the Pyrénées follow the Alps, but tis year it is different.

It was clearly going to be a day where dreams were dashed - this became obvious when the sprinters and even the red polka-dotted King of The Mountains were left trailing behind.

Christopher Froome won this stage in a great way - leaving many sports journalists in France with the headline "The Tour is over".

Froome's nearest rival is not even a rival - it's his teammate Richie Porte at 51" today and the nearest real rival Valverde the Spanish rider from the Movistar team at 1 minute 25 seconds from Froome.

Chris Froome will start the gruelling stage tomorrow from St Girons to Bagnères de Bigorre with four category one climbs and a category 2 before a much deserved rest day.

The weather, like today is set to be very hot!