And that is where I'm going to sign off for the day. Thanks, as always, for your company. I always like seeing a bit of history and Mark Cavendish ending a two-year Tour de France winning drought was pretty special. Here's the race report.
I'm back from 13:00 BST on Saturday for stage eight, It'd be lovely if you were around to join me for what promises to be another terrific stage.
Geraint on stage eight
Tour de FranceCopyright: Tour de France
Geraint's Tour de France stage-by-stage guide: "We rode the Mur de Bretagne at the 2011 Tour when I was in the white jersey as best young rider. It was a real sting in the tale after a heavy day in the rain. It will certainly be a stressful finish and we could see a breakaway or a sprint.
"Even somebody like Alberto Contador might go for the win if they are feeling confident, because this year there is a time bonus of 10 seconds for stage wins.
"That's a bit less important at a three-week race when you see time gaps of several minutes in the mountains, but it can have an effect on the morale of the team. It's always nice to be on the front foot gaining time, instead of losing it."
Geraint's one to watch: "The stage profile seems to suggest a puncher like Valverde but maybe a confident Contador could spring a surprise."
On to stage eight
Just two more stages to the first rest day then and Saturday's eighth stage is 181km from Rennes to Mur de Bretagne and a steep climb to the finish, which is a little like the Mur de Huy from earlier in the week.
It's a day when Chris Froome's rivals are likely to come out to play.
Froome's thoughts
Yellow Jersey
Classification
A word from the race leader Chris Froome: "We're not looking at definitely holding on to the yellow jersey. It's about staying out of trouble and making sure I don't lose any time on my general classification rivals. Tejay van Garderen is looking good. Nairo Quintana has lost a bit of of time but I've no doubt he'll be up there in the mountains. Everyone is waiting to see what the Giro d'Italia has taken out of Alberto Contador."
Post update
Green Jersey
Classification
1 Andre Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Soudal 199 points
2 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo 187
3 Mark Cavendish (GB) Etixx - Quick-Step 151
4 John Degenkolb (Ger) Giant-Alpecin 148
5 Bryan Coquard (Fra) Europcar 96
Standings after stage seven
Yellow Jersey
Classification
1 Chris Froome (GB) Team Sky 26hrs 40mins 51secs
2 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo +11 secs
3 Tejay van Garderen (US) BMC Racing +13secs
4 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto-Soudal +26secs
5 Greg van Avermaert (Bel) BMC Racing +28secs
Cav's missus is "super happy"
A heavily pregnant Peta Todd to the rescue. "Super happy. Super happy. It's the first time I've followed the Tour from a car and at eight months pregnant and with a toddler. It's been up and down for the first week for the whole team."
Post update
Yellow Jersey
Classification
That's a third stage win for Etixx - Quick-Step in what is turning out to be a quite a Tour for the Belgian team.
Cav climbs on to the podium and takes the plaudits of the crowd. And I bet Tony Martin is shouting with delight from his hospital bed.
Then comes a sheepish-looking Chris Froome.
The British rider, who won this race in 2013 lest you forget, is getting the yellow jersey as race leader. He musters a smile but you just know it's not the way he wanted to get the jersey.
Still, he has jerseys to sign and interviews to give.
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Gregg Coull: YES!! Cav shuts up his critics, even with a weakened lead out train
Chris Johnson: Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaav! @MarkCavendish back in business. Brilliant, brilliant win on tricky, technical sprint.
Andrew McGonnell: I expect all those who have dismissed Cav to form an orderly q to apologise to @MarkCavendish now
Cav not "super happy"
Disappointing that. No "super happy". Not even one. I might let him off though. He looked a little choked. Big hug for wife and daughter before he disappears off to the podium.
Here's Cav
Mark Cavendish: "I was lying in a room with my wife and daughter yesterday and I got a feeling. My team were motivated. It was incredible. After the near misses earlier in the race, for everyone to keep the faith. After such a loss with Tony Martin, it was so nice to get a win. It's for Tony.
"I just wanted it so bad. I am so happy."
Stage seven result
APCopyright: AP
1. Mark Cavendish 4hrs 27mins 25secs
2. Andre Greipel
3. Peter Sagan
4. John Degenkolb
5. Alexander Kristoff
Post update
Green Jersey
Classification
Mark Cavendish also picks up 50 valuable points in the race for the green jersey. A jersey that Andre Greipel will continue to wear because he picked up 35 points. Full standings to follow when I get them.
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Matt Taggart: That's more like it Cav! Good show of strength, number 27 in Paris!?! #bbccycling
Post update
That looked a nailed on Greipel win. Once he hit the front it was game over. But Cavendish somehow managed to find a way to win. That is his 26th Tour de France stage win, which puts him third on his own in the list of all-time victories.
Only the legends Eddy Merckx (34) and Bernard Hinault (28) are ahead of him.
Can't wait for the post-race interview. I bet he says "super happy" about a dozen times.
Post update
Rob Hayles
Former GB cyclist on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra
He got boxed in, he was down on numbers but he went back to old school bike racing. He was able to float in the wheels, get sucked along in the slipstream and then squeezed through the door that Greipel left open and get his hands in the air.
Post update
Wow wow wow! Mark Cavendish timed that to absolute perfection. He was able to come up the inside on the shorter route to the finish.
Cavendish wins
APCopyright: AP
Mark Cavendish wins stage seven.
Post update
Here comes the Etixx boys with Cavendish in tow but it's looking like Katusha or here comes Greipel. Cavendish is boxed in.
Final kilo
APCopyright: AP
"Katusha are nicely lined up," says Hayles. Could this be Kristoff's day.
2km to go
The peloton is suddenly hugely strung out as Giant-Alpecin put the pressure on as they swing round a roundabout. FDJ take it on, they have Demare.
3km to go
Etixx - Quick-Step move towards the front. Giant-Alpecin leading the way. There is still not quite the full-on urgency that you'd expect at his stage. It's all nice and calm but that is about to change.
Sprinters to the fore
The Katusha lead-out train of Alexander Kristoff has taken up on the left. Sky have switched over to the right, just inside the Lotto boys. Giant-Alpecin, the team of John Degenkolb are alsp bullying their way to the front.
6km to go
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Not great news for Mark Cavendish, one of his team-mates, Julien Vermotte, is out the back with a mechanical issue. That's one less in his lead-out train.
Post update
Right then, time for my fingers to turn into sausages as I start mis-typing...if I pressed save before correcting every error, you'd have no idea what was going on!
Team Sky are at the business end of the peloton, pressing on at a furious pace. Geraint is third wheel and looking in good shape. Bit of an uphill drag to the finish. Surely the Welshman doesn't fancy it?
Last 10km
Anthony Delaplace gets the award of the most aggressive rider of the day. Just as his team-mate Brice Feillu and Luis Mate are captured by the peloton.
Post update
Tony MartinCopyright: Tony Martin
I do have time to bring you this great photo though. Good luck with the recovery Tony.
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Craig McKerracher: Rob - Pete Kennaugh didn't get to wear white at last years TDF - he was at the Tour of Austria instead. #bbccycling
Not sure I've got time to get into this right now...
15km remaining
EPACopyright: EPA
"I had to run back to the car to save the bar of chocolate," says Rob on commentary, referring to the punishing heat that has been beating down on the riders all day as they move from Normandy into Brittany in north-west France.
Brice Feillu decides to have another attack, despite the peloton being just a handful of seconds behind them. Luis Mate of Cofidis follows. The other two have called it a day.
Geraint back in peloton
Geraint is in the top 10 on general classification and he can see the back of the peloton. His team-mate Richie Porte has dropped right to the back and G is straight on to his wheel. Australian Porte will now ferry him back up to the front of the peloton.
No Thibaut Pinot-style histrionics from Thomas.
Geraint punctures
Geraint Thomas drops back out of the peloton. Looks like a front-wheel puncture. No huge panic for the Welshman, who calmly unhooks his wheel while he waits for his team car to bring him a spare.
He's instantly in the team cars, using them to pace himself back up to the peloton.
"That's not good, he's a good plan B for Team Sky," says Rob. "It would be prudent of the team to keep a rider like him in the picture."
Post update
The Bretagne-Seche riders are again trying to put the hurt on. It's a classic case of one going, the other two in the break being forced to chase, and then the other one goes. But the lead is only 15 seconds.. they have next to zero chance of making it to Fougeres.
25km remaining
Gorilla Greipel is safely positioned in the middle of his Lotto-Soudal team. Four men ahead of him, four behind. He has the Tinkoff-Saxo train to his left. Might be a bit too steep for the German to notch a hat-trick today.
Post update
Rob Hayles
Former GB cyclist on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra
In the last 5km we've got four roundabouts and with around 800m to go they take a right-angled right-hander and then it goes left but it's fairly straight up to the finish. It's quite narrow but there won't be too many fighting for the finish. The sprinters teams will have it strung out while the general classification teams will be keeping their riders safe.
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AFPCopyright: AFP
Rob: Peter Kennaugh isn't the new British road champion - he's just retained his title! He was wearing white in last year's tour too! #bbccycling
Post update
And we are just 18km from the last 10km. The battle for position at the front of the peloton is following that of past days. I don't know whether the riders have a preferred position on the road but Team Sky often take up the left, Movistar the middle and Lotto the right.
Post update
Matt Slater
BBC Sport at the Tour de France
AFPCopyright: AFP
You can tell it's a "transition day" at the Tour when Simon starts spouting cycling history and Rob talks about cars. He was taking photos of Citroen CVs in the car park again this morning - tourists have been arrested for less than that before.
But needs must on a day when it is almost too hot to sit and watch the race, let alone take part in it.
The break's lead is down to 30" now and Daniel Teklahaimanot has had enough - I am not sure why he continued after the only climb of the day at 12.5km, perhaps he was enjoying the company up there.
Katusha have been doing a bit of the chasing recently, having let Lotto-Soudal and Etixx - Quick-Step do the work for the most of the day. Team Sky are up there, too. It really is all about the last 10km today.
On the attack
The two riders from Bretagne-Seche Environnement in the break are having a little dig.
There is good reason for them to be out there are showing a bit of steel. Their team manager Emmanuel Hubert grew up in today's hosting town.
"The last 70km of the stage were my training roads", he told letour.com this morning. "They're suitable for a breakaway. We keep attacking as we believe that one day, an attack will be successful. We've had a lot of crashes since the start in Utrecht: Eduardo Sepulveda, Armindo Fonseca, Brice Feillu. But we remain motivated for a stage win and the polka dot jersey."
30km remaining
We are hurtling towards Fougeres at around 50km/h.
The Tinkoff-Saxo team of Alberto Contador and Movistar squad of Nairo Quintana are lined up in the middle of the peloton. The Team Sky squad a little more scattered but trying to take their familiar position down the left, with Pete Kennaugh leading the way.
And Teklehaimanot is dropping back to the peloton. As I mentioned earlier, there's no point in him exerting himself too much. The four out front are just 30 seconds clear.
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Fred: Why is everyone saying Cav will lose with one less lead out man? Sagan's come 2nd in a few stages already and he has none.
I've been keeping an eye on Teklehaimanot and his last couple of turns on the front of the break. The first time he was busy adjusting his sunglasses, hands off the bars, sat up, just like you or I when showing off to the kids - "look son, no hands!"
The second time he was taking a swig from his bidon. Both times, his time on the front lasted for about three pedal revolutions.
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Michael RixCopyright: Michael Rix
Spot the odd one out, says Michael Rix on Twitter - that's new British road champion Pete Kennaugh at second wheel #bbccycling
In the peloton
EPACopyright: EPA
It's pretty much as you were with an Etixx - Quick-Step rider tapping out the rhythm with a train of Lotto-Soudal riders in his slipstream. They have the leaders in their sights because they are on a super-straight section of road. The time difference is 45 seconds.
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Simon Brotherton
Cycling commentator on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra
Not to be outdone by Rob, Si is keen to impart his knowledge...it's all about our finishing town.
"Fougeres was the destination at end of the 1985 team time trial which was 73km long. Bernard Hinault's team won it and he joined the five-time Tour winners club that year. And 1985 was the last year that a Frenchman won the Tour." So there.
In the break
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
We have a touch under 50km remaining and our five out front lead by just under one minute.
They are: Kristjian Durasek (Lampre-Merida), Luis Angel Mate (Cofidis), Anthony Delaplace and Brice Feillu (Bretagne-Seche Environnement) and, of course, Daniel Teklehaimanot (MTN).
Teklehaimanot doesn't look massively interested in helping with the pace-setting. But can you blame him? His sole aim today was to win the solitary King of the Mountains point on offer after 13km to retain the polka dot jersey and he did just that. He knows the break will be swept up before the race reaches Fougeres.
Citroen 2CVs and eggs
Rob Hayles
Former GB cyclist on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra
A nugget of information from Rob..."The Citroen 2CV was designed so a farmer could drive across a ploughed field with a basket of eggs on the passenger seat without breaking them."
He was sparked into life by the sight of a couple of the famous French car driving across a ploughed field. He assures us he is speaking the truth. #bbccyling if you know different.
Nibali-Froome spat
Rob and Si are discussing yesterday's crash that led to race leader Tony Martin crashing out. "It was like a game of pile on" says Rob.
A brief run down of how Si saw it... defending champion Vincenzo Nibali was brought down in the melee and was a little animated, allegedly lobbing a water bottle in the direction of Chris Froome. Froome later went to Nibali's team bus to explain what really happened.
Nibali later apologised, on Twitter, and that, was that. Simples.
55km remaining
EPACopyright: EPA
The five out front have just over 30 miles left in today's stage. The peloton has certainly eased up a little and their lead is back up to about 80 seconds.
Post update
Rob Hayles
Former GB cyclist on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra
There's been nothing normal about this year's Tour up to now. But today should be for the sprinters. Cavendish has something to prove but he's lost one of the big horses in his lead-out train in Tony Martin. The sprinters are rapidly running out of opportunities in this year's race.
Rob Hayles is awake. How do I know? I can hear him in my headphones and that can only mean one thing. The commentary, with Simon Brotherton is up and running. Click the buttons at the top of this page and away you go.
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Peter ScrivenerCopyright: Peter Scrivener
Anybody else out on the route today? Or if you are planning on being at a stage, remember to tweet us your pics and we'll use as many as we can.
Post update
EPACopyright: EPA
The Lotto and Etixx riders suddenly seemed to realise that they were closing that gap too quickly and have sat up a little. The lead now pegged at one minute.
Three hours of racing completed. Average speed 40.3km/h, which puts them a little behind schudule. It is hot and they have had a tough week.
Pacy peloton
AFPCopyright: AFP
The pace is up in the peloton. The riders are strung out in a long snake-like line as they zip along windy country lanes. There's a bit of a tailwind helping them along their way.
They are going along so quickly that they have knocked a minute off the leading quintet's advantage, almost while I'm typing this.
I'd be surprised if they want to close this down so far from the finish - they are more than 70km from Fougeres. If they close it down too early, that will offer up opportunities for counter-attacks and the teams of the sprinters will not want to be chasing those down.
Lotto-Soudal are doing the bulk of the work, spending 69% of the time on the front, Etixx 31%.
Post update
Matt Slater
BBC Sport at the Tour de France
I'm not going to lie to you: not much has happened today. Yet.
After six days of often frantic action, the riders appear to be chillaxing out there for the moment, if that is possible in this race, under brilliant Normandy sunshine.
Here is a recap: five men got away early, Daniel Teklahaimanot among them in order to grab the single KoM point on offer today (job done), John Degenkolb won the intermediate sprint for sixth, Mark Cavendish went the wrong way around Degenkolb's lead-out Ramon Sinkeldam and took ninth place, and, erm...you are all caught up.
As has been noted, the finale is uphill: 250m at 4%. Cavendish cannot afford any detours there.
Sunny at the finish
BBCCopyright: BBC
The weather at the finish in Fougeres is a rather pleasant 28C so it's sun cream and sun hats galore. And a dousing from the Caravanne which looks like it's handing out free water this year.
Froome in virtual yellow
Yellow Jersey
Classification
Anthony Delaplace is the best-placed rider in the general classification, but he is 25 minutes adrift of Chris Froome, who, of course, is the virtual Maillot Jaune.
Froome leads American rider Tejay van Garderen by 13 seconds but more importantly, he is 36 seconds clear of two-time winner Alberto Contador, one of his main rivals for the overall victory.
Defending champion Vincenzo Nibali is one minute, 38 seconds back, while Nairo Quintana, who was runner-up to Froome in 2013, is one minute, 56 adrift.
88km remaining
EPACopyright: EPA
The quintet out front are two minutes clear of the peloton. They did have a three-minute lead before the intermediate sprint but they are being kept on a tight leash today.
One Etixx - Quick-Step rider on the front of the main bunch, followed by three Lotto-Soudal riders, team-mates of Andre Greipel.
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Andrew Harvey: Martin is a miss for Cav, but Etixx should be able to put together a strong lead-out without him. Cav by half a wheel
Wayne Holland: Kristoff for stage 7 win, with Cav missing one of his main lead out men in Martin.
Jon Chandler: Bonjour! to @tonymartin85 "respect" to @chrisfroome "chapeau" & to all British cycling fans.... #prayforCav #bbccycling
In the break
The riders completed the first couple of hours of racing at an average speed of 40km/h. Not quite the 1385.5km/h I was seeing a little earlier.
Wakey, wakey Rob! Commentary from Rob, with Simon Brotherton begins at 15:00 BST on this very webpage.
Greipel going for hat-trick
EPACopyright: EPA
The Gorilla that is Andre Greipel was a little more to the point: "It's a tricky finale today and it's not necessarily going to be easy. It might be a disadvantage for Cavendish to lose Martin. In any case I'll try to go for the hat-trick."
Slower sprints not as safe
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
This is what Mark Cavendish had to say in the pre-stage media scrum...
On Tony Martin's injury: "It's the Tour de France. It's an amazing emotional rollercoaster. I really feel sorry for Tony and the team. Losing Tony is like we lost five guys. We'll try and win it today for Tony.
On the finish: "It's a bit twisty. The Tour de France seem to have taken the speed out of the sprints. I don't know whether that's to take the speed out and make it safer but it's not, it makes it harder to judge."
Post update
Green Jersey
Classification
ReutersCopyright: Reuters
The peloton, two minutes behind, is led over by John Degenkolb for 10 points. Peter Sagan, Andre Greipel and Mark Cavendish follow in that order.
Those four are likely to be contesting the finish in Fougeres in a couple of hours or so. The sprint, as Cavendish pointed out pre-stage, is uphill. That may not suit him as much as Degenkolb and Sagan...
In the break
Green Jersey
Classification
EPACopyright: EPA
There are five riders out front Kristjian Durasek (Lampre-Merida), Luis Angel Mate (Cofidis), Anthony Delaplace and Brice Feillu (Bretagne-Seche Environnement) and, of course, Daniel Teklehaimanot (MTN).
They have recently gone through the day's intermediate sprint. Mate was first over the line for 20 points.
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Ron Davies: I'm a Manx Missile fan but in #TDF2015 today, I'm going for Kristoff. #bbccycling
Head over heart Ron, never a good combo!
Blistering speed
While I wait for television pictures of today's stage, here's a wee snippet of info from the official Tour website. It suggests the riders are pootling along at an average of 1385.5km/h today.
Nope, that's not a typo by me, for a change. Now I know Dan Teklehaimanot will be buoyed by keeping the polka jersey...we should be over by 14:15 BST by my humble calculations.
Post update
MtnCopyright: Mtn
Again, no pics from today's stage but here's the man himself celebrating on the podium yesterday.
Teklepolkadot
Polkadot Jersey
Classification
On to the good news. And it's terrific news for MTN-Qhubeka and their Eritrean rider Daniel Teklehaimanot. You may recall that yesterday he took all the King of the Mountains points to become the first African rider to wear the polka dot jersey.
Well, with only one category four climb to get over today, and that coming in the opening 15km, there was no surprise to see young Daniel getting into today's break. And he duly went over the top of Cote de Canapville first to ensure he would be keeping the jersey for a second day.
The only man who could have stopped him keeping the polkadots was Joaquim Rodriguez but he didn't fancy a long day out front.
Contador crashes
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
So, that crash in the neutral zone...it involved one of the race favourites.
Alberto Contador is the latest to taste Tarmac. He apparently had a coming together with Robert Gesink but both riders were quickly back up and pedalling again. Perhaps Alberto felt a bit left out.
No pics of the tumble, so you'll have to make do with a shot of him looking more relaxed from yesterday's stage.
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Jess Parsons: Gutted for @tonymartin85 - Talk about bittersweet for EQS! Stage 7 win for @MarkCavendish without Martin's gas could be unlikely.
Matt Taggart: Sticking with Cav to break his TdF2015 duck today (surprise surprise), though the Maillot Vert has really got Greipel firing. #bbccycling
186 left pedalling
Today's stage is, I'm sure you're aware, already well under way. We started with 198 riders last Saturday, we have 186 riders left racing (Greg Henderson of Lotto-Soudal and Etixx - Quick-Step's Tony Martin the two to abandon overnight).
They left Livarot at precisely 11:53 BST. There was a crash in the neutral zone but there's better news from out on the road...
The votes are in from the radio crew out in France.
Team leader Simon Brotherton is going for John Degenkolb to win stage seven.
Domestique Rob Hayles has picked Peter Sagan (always the bridesmaid Rob.)
Roleur Matt Slater is going heart over head I reckon: Mark Cavendish
They all think Chris Froome will actually be in yellow this evening.
You can listen in to the denouement of today's stage on this very website from 15:00 BST.
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Which Mark Cavendish will we see today then? The Manx Missile or the er...Crawling Cav (insert your own suitable alliteration because I'm struggling a bit!)
It's not like Cav is having a terrible year, but the Tour is where a rider is really measured. He has 25 Tour wins but he has been stuck on that number for two years now. There was talk back then that he would be approaching Eddy Merckx's record of 34 by now.
He's lost one of his big lead-out men in Tony Martin but still has Mark Renshaw to follow around the peloton.
"There are very few people - two, three in my career - whose judgement I would take over my own in terms of positioning and movement in the peloton. Mark is definitely one of them. He's on the highest rank," Cav told BBC Sport about his lead-out man in his excellent guide to sprinting.
Get in touch at #bbccycling or on text at 81111. Is it going to be a Cav-tastic day?
"If Alexander Kristoff or Mark Cavendish are still searching for their first-stage win they will be really motivated to win this one, as it'll be their last chance for a while. It will be pretty chaotic I should think. It's still the first week of the race and it's still stressful.
"For Team Sky today will be all about keeping Froome up at the front. Our bigger guys like Ian Stannard, Luke Rowe, Bernhard Eisel and Christian Knees, will look to keep him out of trouble. These are the stages when they work hardest."
Geraint's one to watch: "Again, it has to come to down either Kristoff or Cavendish. Whoever wants it most."
Post update
Mark Cavendish had mixed emotions after yesterday's stage, as, I would imagine, his entire Etixx - Quick-Step team did, given that Zdenek Stybar emerged from the chaos to win the stage, while the rest of the squad helped poor Tony Martin to cross the finish line.
Cavendish has to put yesterday's accident out of his mind quickly though because today's stage seven offers another opportunity for the sprinters to show off their skills....
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Mark CavendishCopyright: Mark Cavendish
Martin on the mend
APCopyright: AP
While you've all been sleeping, Tony Martin has been busy getting his broken collarbone fixed. "Got my own plane to Hamburg, collarbone fixed at 6am," he tweeted.
In a later statement from his Etixx - Quick-Step team he added: "I will follow the race on TV from the hospital. It will be strange but that's life and cycling. I have to try to see the glass half full and keep the good memories.
"I had a great first part of the Tour with a great team around me. I won a stage and wore the yellow jersey for the first time in my career. A dream came true during this Tour and now I'm already looking forward to coming back one day again and living the great emotions of this race."
Welcome to stage seven
Yellow Jersey
Classification
Hello and welcome to live text and radio commentary of stage seven of the 2015 Tour de France.
As Chris Froome tweeted earlier this morning, there will be nobody in the yellow jersey today after race leader Tony Martin broke his collarbone at the end of yesterday's stage.
The German finished the stage and because his crash was inside the final 3km, he was awarded the same time as those around him, meaning he retained his 12-second lead over Froome. However, he is out of the race and Tour rules dictate that Froome cannot wear yellow, unless he earns it today.
Live Reporting
By Peter Scrivener
All times stated are UK
Get involved
Post update
Thanks and goodbye
And that is where I'm going to sign off for the day. Thanks, as always, for your company. I always like seeing a bit of history and Mark Cavendish ending a two-year Tour de France winning drought was pretty special. Here's the race report.
I'm back from 13:00 BST on Saturday for stage eight, It'd be lovely if you were around to join me for what promises to be another terrific stage.
Geraint on stage eight
Geraint's Tour de France stage-by-stage guide: "We rode the Mur de Bretagne at the 2011 Tour when I was in the white jersey as best young rider. It was a real sting in the tale after a heavy day in the rain. It will certainly be a stressful finish and we could see a breakaway or a sprint.
"Even somebody like Alberto Contador might go for the win if they are feeling confident, because this year there is a time bonus of 10 seconds for stage wins.
"That's a bit less important at a three-week race when you see time gaps of several minutes in the mountains, but it can have an effect on the morale of the team. It's always nice to be on the front foot gaining time, instead of losing it."
Geraint's one to watch: "The stage profile seems to suggest a puncher like Valverde but maybe a confident Contador could spring a surprise."
On to stage eight
Just two more stages to the first rest day then and Saturday's eighth stage is 181km from Rennes to Mur de Bretagne and a steep climb to the finish, which is a little like the Mur de Huy from earlier in the week.
It's a day when Chris Froome's rivals are likely to come out to play.
Froome's thoughts
Yellow Jersey
Classification
A word from the race leader Chris Froome: "We're not looking at definitely holding on to the yellow jersey. It's about staying out of trouble and making sure I don't lose any time on my general classification rivals. Tejay van Garderen is looking good. Nairo Quintana has lost a bit of of time but I've no doubt he'll be up there in the mountains. Everyone is waiting to see what the Giro d'Italia has taken out of Alberto Contador."
Post update
Green Jersey
Classification
1 Andre Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Soudal 199 points
2 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo 187
3 Mark Cavendish (GB) Etixx - Quick-Step 151
4 John Degenkolb (Ger) Giant-Alpecin 148
5 Bryan Coquard (Fra) Europcar 96
Standings after stage seven
Yellow Jersey
Classification
1 Chris Froome (GB) Team Sky 26hrs 40mins 51secs
2 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo +11 secs
3 Tejay van Garderen (US) BMC Racing +13secs
4 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto-Soudal +26secs
5 Greg van Avermaert (Bel) BMC Racing +28secs
Cav's missus is "super happy"
A heavily pregnant Peta Todd to the rescue. "Super happy. Super happy. It's the first time I've followed the Tour from a car and at eight months pregnant and with a toddler. It's been up and down for the first week for the whole team."
Post update
Yellow Jersey
Classification
That's a third stage win for Etixx - Quick-Step in what is turning out to be a quite a Tour for the Belgian team.
Cav climbs on to the podium and takes the plaudits of the crowd. And I bet Tony Martin is shouting with delight from his hospital bed.
Then comes a sheepish-looking Chris Froome.
The British rider, who won this race in 2013 lest you forget, is getting the yellow jersey as race leader. He musters a smile but you just know it's not the way he wanted to get the jersey.
Still, he has jerseys to sign and interviews to give.
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Gregg Coull: YES!! Cav shuts up his critics, even with a weakened lead out train
Chris Johnson: Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaav! @MarkCavendish back in business. Brilliant, brilliant win on tricky, technical sprint.
Andrew McGonnell: I expect all those who have dismissed Cav to form an orderly q to apologise to @MarkCavendish now
Cav not "super happy"
Disappointing that. No "super happy". Not even one. I might let him off though. He looked a little choked. Big hug for wife and daughter before he disappears off to the podium.
Here's Cav
Mark Cavendish: "I was lying in a room with my wife and daughter yesterday and I got a feeling. My team were motivated. It was incredible. After the near misses earlier in the race, for everyone to keep the faith. After such a loss with Tony Martin, it was so nice to get a win. It's for Tony.
"I just wanted it so bad. I am so happy."
Stage seven result
1. Mark Cavendish 4hrs 27mins 25secs
2. Andre Greipel
3. Peter Sagan
4. John Degenkolb
5. Alexander Kristoff
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Green Jersey
Classification
Mark Cavendish also picks up 50 valuable points in the race for the green jersey. A jersey that Andre Greipel will continue to wear because he picked up 35 points. Full standings to follow when I get them.
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Matt Taggart: That's more like it Cav! Good show of strength, number 27 in Paris!?! #bbccycling
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That looked a nailed on Greipel win. Once he hit the front it was game over. But Cavendish somehow managed to find a way to win. That is his 26th Tour de France stage win, which puts him third on his own in the list of all-time victories.
Only the legends Eddy Merckx (34) and Bernard Hinault (28) are ahead of him.
Can't wait for the post-race interview. I bet he says "super happy" about a dozen times.
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Rob Hayles
Former GB cyclist on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra
He got boxed in, he was down on numbers but he went back to old school bike racing. He was able to float in the wheels, get sucked along in the slipstream and then squeezed through the door that Greipel left open and get his hands in the air.
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Wow wow wow! Mark Cavendish timed that to absolute perfection. He was able to come up the inside on the shorter route to the finish.
Cavendish wins
Mark Cavendish wins stage seven.
Post update
Here comes the Etixx boys with Cavendish in tow but it's looking like Katusha or here comes Greipel. Cavendish is boxed in.
Final kilo
"Katusha are nicely lined up," says Hayles. Could this be Kristoff's day.
2km to go
The peloton is suddenly hugely strung out as Giant-Alpecin put the pressure on as they swing round a roundabout. FDJ take it on, they have Demare.
3km to go
Etixx - Quick-Step move towards the front. Giant-Alpecin leading the way. There is still not quite the full-on urgency that you'd expect at his stage. It's all nice and calm but that is about to change.
Sprinters to the fore
The Katusha lead-out train of Alexander Kristoff has taken up on the left. Sky have switched over to the right, just inside the Lotto boys. Giant-Alpecin, the team of John Degenkolb are alsp bullying their way to the front.
6km to go
Not great news for Mark Cavendish, one of his team-mates, Julien Vermotte, is out the back with a mechanical issue. That's one less in his lead-out train.
Post update
Right then, time for my fingers to turn into sausages as I start mis-typing...if I pressed save before correcting every error, you'd have no idea what was going on!
Team Sky are at the business end of the peloton, pressing on at a furious pace. Geraint is third wheel and looking in good shape. Bit of an uphill drag to the finish. Surely the Welshman doesn't fancy it?
Last 10km
Anthony Delaplace gets the award of the most aggressive rider of the day. Just as his team-mate Brice Feillu and Luis Mate are captured by the peloton.
Post update
I do have time to bring you this great photo though. Good luck with the recovery Tony.
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Craig McKerracher: Rob - Pete Kennaugh didn't get to wear white at last years TDF - he was at the Tour of Austria instead. #bbccycling
Not sure I've got time to get into this right now...
15km remaining
"I had to run back to the car to save the bar of chocolate," says Rob on commentary, referring to the punishing heat that has been beating down on the riders all day as they move from Normandy into Brittany in north-west France.
Brice Feillu decides to have another attack, despite the peloton being just a handful of seconds behind them. Luis Mate of Cofidis follows. The other two have called it a day.
Geraint back in peloton
Geraint is in the top 10 on general classification and he can see the back of the peloton. His team-mate Richie Porte has dropped right to the back and G is straight on to his wheel. Australian Porte will now ferry him back up to the front of the peloton.
No Thibaut Pinot-style histrionics from Thomas.
Geraint punctures
Geraint Thomas drops back out of the peloton. Looks like a front-wheel puncture. No huge panic for the Welshman, who calmly unhooks his wheel while he waits for his team car to bring him a spare.
He's instantly in the team cars, using them to pace himself back up to the peloton.
"That's not good, he's a good plan B for Team Sky," says Rob. "It would be prudent of the team to keep a rider like him in the picture."
Post update
The Bretagne-Seche riders are again trying to put the hurt on. It's a classic case of one going, the other two in the break being forced to chase, and then the other one goes. But the lead is only 15 seconds.. they have next to zero chance of making it to Fougeres.
25km remaining
Gorilla Greipel is safely positioned in the middle of his Lotto-Soudal team. Four men ahead of him, four behind. He has the Tinkoff-Saxo train to his left. Might be a bit too steep for the German to notch a hat-trick today.
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Rob Hayles
Former GB cyclist on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra
In the last 5km we've got four roundabouts and with around 800m to go they take a right-angled right-hander and then it goes left but it's fairly straight up to the finish. It's quite narrow but there won't be too many fighting for the finish. The sprinters teams will have it strung out while the general classification teams will be keeping their riders safe.
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Rob: Peter Kennaugh isn't the new British road champion - he's just retained his title! He was wearing white in last year's tour too! #bbccycling
Post update
And we are just 18km from the last 10km. The battle for position at the front of the peloton is following that of past days. I don't know whether the riders have a preferred position on the road but Team Sky often take up the left, Movistar the middle and Lotto the right.
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Matt Slater
BBC Sport at the Tour de France
You can tell it's a "transition day" at the Tour when Simon starts spouting cycling history and Rob talks about cars. He was taking photos of Citroen CVs in the car park again this morning - tourists have been arrested for less than that before.
But needs must on a day when it is almost too hot to sit and watch the race, let alone take part in it.
The break's lead is down to 30" now and Daniel Teklahaimanot has had enough - I am not sure why he continued after the only climb of the day at 12.5km, perhaps he was enjoying the company up there.
Katusha have been doing a bit of the chasing recently, having let Lotto-Soudal and Etixx - Quick-Step do the work for the most of the day. Team Sky are up there, too. It really is all about the last 10km today.
On the attack
The two riders from Bretagne-Seche Environnement in the break are having a little dig.
There is good reason for them to be out there are showing a bit of steel. Their team manager Emmanuel Hubert grew up in today's hosting town.
"The last 70km of the stage were my training roads", he told letour.com this morning. "They're suitable for a breakaway. We keep attacking as we believe that one day, an attack will be successful. We've had a lot of crashes since the start in Utrecht: Eduardo Sepulveda, Armindo Fonseca, Brice Feillu. But we remain motivated for a stage win and the polka dot jersey."
30km remaining
We are hurtling towards Fougeres at around 50km/h.
The Tinkoff-Saxo team of Alberto Contador and Movistar squad of Nairo Quintana are lined up in the middle of the peloton. The Team Sky squad a little more scattered but trying to take their familiar position down the left, with Pete Kennaugh leading the way.
And Teklehaimanot is dropping back to the peloton. As I mentioned earlier, there's no point in him exerting himself too much. The four out front are just 30 seconds clear.
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Fred: Why is everyone saying Cav will lose with one less lead out man? Sagan's come 2nd in a few stages already and he has none.
Anyone want to explain? #bbccycling
Teklehaimanot taking it easy
I've been keeping an eye on Teklehaimanot and his last couple of turns on the front of the break. The first time he was busy adjusting his sunglasses, hands off the bars, sat up, just like you or I when showing off to the kids - "look son, no hands!"
The second time he was taking a swig from his bidon. Both times, his time on the front lasted for about three pedal revolutions.
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Spot the odd one out, says Michael Rix on Twitter - that's new British road champion Pete Kennaugh at second wheel #bbccycling
In the peloton
It's pretty much as you were with an Etixx - Quick-Step rider tapping out the rhythm with a train of Lotto-Soudal riders in his slipstream. They have the leaders in their sights because they are on a super-straight section of road. The time difference is 45 seconds.
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Simon Brotherton
Cycling commentator on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra
Not to be outdone by Rob, Si is keen to impart his knowledge...it's all about our finishing town.
"Fougeres was the destination at end of the 1985 team time trial which was 73km long. Bernard Hinault's team won it and he joined the five-time Tour winners club that year. And 1985 was the last year that a Frenchman won the Tour." So there.
In the break
We have a touch under 50km remaining and our five out front lead by just under one minute.
They are: Kristjian Durasek (Lampre-Merida), Luis Angel Mate (Cofidis), Anthony Delaplace and Brice Feillu (Bretagne-Seche Environnement) and, of course, Daniel Teklehaimanot (MTN).
Teklehaimanot doesn't look massively interested in helping with the pace-setting. But can you blame him? His sole aim today was to win the solitary King of the Mountains point on offer after 13km to retain the polka dot jersey and he did just that. He knows the break will be swept up before the race reaches Fougeres.
Citroen 2CVs and eggs
Rob Hayles
Former GB cyclist on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra
A nugget of information from Rob..."The Citroen 2CV was designed so a farmer could drive across a ploughed field with a basket of eggs on the passenger seat without breaking them."
He was sparked into life by the sight of a couple of the famous French car driving across a ploughed field. He assures us he is speaking the truth. #bbccyling if you know different.
Nibali-Froome spat
Rob and Si are discussing yesterday's crash that led to race leader Tony Martin crashing out. "It was like a game of pile on" says Rob.
A brief run down of how Si saw it... defending champion Vincenzo Nibali was brought down in the melee and was a little animated, allegedly lobbing a water bottle in the direction of Chris Froome. Froome later went to Nibali's team bus to explain what really happened.
Nibali later apologised, on Twitter, and that, was that. Simples.
55km remaining
The five out front have just over 30 miles left in today's stage. The peloton has certainly eased up a little and their lead is back up to about 80 seconds.
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Rob Hayles
Former GB cyclist on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra
There's been nothing normal about this year's Tour up to now. But today should be for the sprinters. Cavendish has something to prove but he's lost one of the big horses in his lead-out train in Tony Martin. The sprinters are rapidly running out of opportunities in this year's race.
Live on the website
BBC Radio 5 live sports extra
Rob Hayles is awake. How do I know? I can hear him in my headphones and that can only mean one thing. The commentary, with Simon Brotherton is up and running. Click the buttons at the top of this page and away you go.
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Anybody else out on the route today? Or if you are planning on being at a stage, remember to tweet us your pics and we'll use as many as we can.
Post update
The Lotto and Etixx riders suddenly seemed to realise that they were closing that gap too quickly and have sat up a little. The lead now pegged at one minute.
Three hours of racing completed. Average speed 40.3km/h, which puts them a little behind schudule. It is hot and they have had a tough week.
Pacy peloton
The pace is up in the peloton. The riders are strung out in a long snake-like line as they zip along windy country lanes. There's a bit of a tailwind helping them along their way.
They are going along so quickly that they have knocked a minute off the leading quintet's advantage, almost while I'm typing this.
I'd be surprised if they want to close this down so far from the finish - they are more than 70km from Fougeres. If they close it down too early, that will offer up opportunities for counter-attacks and the teams of the sprinters will not want to be chasing those down.
Lotto-Soudal are doing the bulk of the work, spending 69% of the time on the front, Etixx 31%.
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Matt Slater
BBC Sport at the Tour de France
I'm not going to lie to you: not much has happened today. Yet.
After six days of often frantic action, the riders appear to be chillaxing out there for the moment, if that is possible in this race, under brilliant Normandy sunshine.
Here is a recap: five men got away early, Daniel Teklahaimanot among them in order to grab the single KoM point on offer today (job done), John Degenkolb won the intermediate sprint for sixth, Mark Cavendish went the wrong way around Degenkolb's lead-out Ramon Sinkeldam and took ninth place, and, erm...you are all caught up.
As has been noted, the finale is uphill: 250m at 4%. Cavendish cannot afford any detours there.
Sunny at the finish
The weather at the finish in Fougeres is a rather pleasant 28C so it's sun cream and sun hats galore. And a dousing from the Caravanne which looks like it's handing out free water this year.
Froome in virtual yellow
Yellow Jersey
Classification
Anthony Delaplace is the best-placed rider in the general classification, but he is 25 minutes adrift of Chris Froome, who, of course, is the virtual Maillot Jaune.
Froome leads American rider Tejay van Garderen by 13 seconds but more importantly, he is 36 seconds clear of two-time winner Alberto Contador, one of his main rivals for the overall victory.
Defending champion Vincenzo Nibali is one minute, 38 seconds back, while Nairo Quintana, who was runner-up to Froome in 2013, is one minute, 56 adrift.
88km remaining
The quintet out front are two minutes clear of the peloton. They did have a three-minute lead before the intermediate sprint but they are being kept on a tight leash today.
One Etixx - Quick-Step rider on the front of the main bunch, followed by three Lotto-Soudal riders, team-mates of Andre Greipel.
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Andrew Harvey: Martin is a miss for Cav, but Etixx should be able to put together a strong lead-out without him. Cav by half a wheel
Wayne Holland: Kristoff for stage 7 win, with Cav missing one of his main lead out men in Martin.
Jon Chandler: Bonjour! to @tonymartin85 "respect" to @chrisfroome "chapeau" & to all British cycling fans.... #prayforCav #bbccycling
In the break
The riders completed the first couple of hours of racing at an average speed of 40km/h. Not quite the 1385.5km/h I was seeing a little earlier.
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BBC Radio 5 live sports extra
Wakey, wakey Rob! Commentary from Rob, with Simon Brotherton begins at 15:00 BST on this very webpage.
Greipel going for hat-trick
The Gorilla that is Andre Greipel was a little more to the point: "It's a tricky finale today and it's not necessarily going to be easy. It might be a disadvantage for Cavendish to lose Martin. In any case I'll try to go for the hat-trick."
Slower sprints not as safe
This is what Mark Cavendish had to say in the pre-stage media scrum...
On Tony Martin's injury: "It's the Tour de France. It's an amazing emotional rollercoaster. I really feel sorry for Tony and the team. Losing Tony is like we lost five guys. We'll try and win it today for Tony.
On the finish: "It's a bit twisty. The Tour de France seem to have taken the speed out of the sprints. I don't know whether that's to take the speed out and make it safer but it's not, it makes it harder to judge."
Post update
Green Jersey
Classification
The peloton, two minutes behind, is led over by John Degenkolb for 10 points. Peter Sagan, Andre Greipel and Mark Cavendish follow in that order.
Those four are likely to be contesting the finish in Fougeres in a couple of hours or so. The sprint, as Cavendish pointed out pre-stage, is uphill. That may not suit him as much as Degenkolb and Sagan...
In the break
Green Jersey
Classification
There are five riders out front Kristjian Durasek (Lampre-Merida), Luis Angel Mate (Cofidis), Anthony Delaplace and Brice Feillu (Bretagne-Seche Environnement) and, of course, Daniel Teklehaimanot (MTN).
They have recently gone through the day's intermediate sprint. Mate was first over the line for 20 points.
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Ron Davies: I'm a Manx Missile fan but in #TDF2015 today, I'm going for Kristoff. #bbccycling
Head over heart Ron, never a good combo!
Blistering speed
While I wait for television pictures of today's stage, here's a wee snippet of info from the official Tour website. It suggests the riders are pootling along at an average of 1385.5km/h today.
Nope, that's not a typo by me, for a change. Now I know Dan Teklehaimanot will be buoyed by keeping the polka jersey...we should be over by 14:15 BST by my humble calculations.
Post update
Again, no pics from today's stage but here's the man himself celebrating on the podium yesterday.
Teklepolkadot
Polkadot Jersey
Classification
On to the good news. And it's terrific news for MTN-Qhubeka and their Eritrean rider Daniel Teklehaimanot. You may recall that yesterday he took all the King of the Mountains points to become the first African rider to wear the polka dot jersey.
Well, with only one category four climb to get over today, and that coming in the opening 15km, there was no surprise to see young Daniel getting into today's break. And he duly went over the top of Cote de Canapville first to ensure he would be keeping the jersey for a second day.
The only man who could have stopped him keeping the polkadots was Joaquim Rodriguez but he didn't fancy a long day out front.
Contador crashes
So, that crash in the neutral zone...it involved one of the race favourites.
Alberto Contador is the latest to taste Tarmac. He apparently had a coming together with Robert Gesink but both riders were quickly back up and pedalling again. Perhaps Alberto felt a bit left out.
No pics of the tumble, so you'll have to make do with a shot of him looking more relaxed from yesterday's stage.
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Jess Parsons: Gutted for @tonymartin85 - Talk about bittersweet for EQS! Stage 7 win for @MarkCavendish without Martin's gas could be unlikely.
Matt Taggart: Sticking with Cav to break his TdF2015 duck today (surprise surprise), though the Maillot Vert has really got Greipel firing. #bbccycling
186 left pedalling
Today's stage is, I'm sure you're aware, already well under way. We started with 198 riders last Saturday, we have 186 riders left racing (Greg Henderson of Lotto-Soudal and Etixx - Quick-Step's Tony Martin the two to abandon overnight).
They left Livarot at precisely 11:53 BST. There was a crash in the neutral zone but there's better news from out on the road...
Stage winner predictions
BBC Radio 5 live sports extra
The votes are in from the radio crew out in France.
Team leader Simon Brotherton is going for John Degenkolb to win stage seven.
Domestique Rob Hayles has picked Peter Sagan (always the bridesmaid Rob.)
Roleur Matt Slater is going heart over head I reckon: Mark Cavendish
They all think Chris Froome will actually be in yellow this evening.
You can listen in to the denouement of today's stage on this very website from 15:00 BST.
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Which Mark Cavendish will we see today then? The Manx Missile or the er...Crawling Cav (insert your own suitable alliteration because I'm struggling a bit!)
It's not like Cav is having a terrible year, but the Tour is where a rider is really measured. He has 25 Tour wins but he has been stuck on that number for two years now. There was talk back then that he would be approaching Eddy Merckx's record of 34 by now.
He's lost one of his big lead-out men in Tony Martin but still has Mark Renshaw to follow around the peloton.
"There are very few people - two, three in my career - whose judgement I would take over my own in terms of positioning and movement in the peloton. Mark is definitely one of them. He's on the highest rank," Cav told BBC Sport about his lead-out man in his excellent guide to sprinting.
Get in touch at #bbccycling or on text at 81111. Is it going to be a Cav-tastic day?
Geraint's guide
Team Sky rider Geraint Thomas, in his BBC Sport stage-by-stage guide says stage seven will "certainly be a sprint".
"If Alexander Kristoff or Mark Cavendish are still searching for their first-stage win they will be really motivated to win this one, as it'll be their last chance for a while. It will be pretty chaotic I should think. It's still the first week of the race and it's still stressful.
"For Team Sky today will be all about keeping Froome up at the front. Our bigger guys like Ian Stannard, Luke Rowe, Bernhard Eisel and Christian Knees, will look to keep him out of trouble. These are the stages when they work hardest."
Geraint's one to watch: "Again, it has to come to down either Kristoff or Cavendish. Whoever wants it most."
Post update
Mark Cavendish had mixed emotions after yesterday's stage, as, I would imagine, his entire Etixx - Quick-Step team did, given that Zdenek Stybar emerged from the chaos to win the stage, while the rest of the squad helped poor Tony Martin to cross the finish line.
Cavendish has to put yesterday's accident out of his mind quickly though because today's stage seven offers another opportunity for the sprinters to show off their skills....
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Martin on the mend
While you've all been sleeping, Tony Martin has been busy getting his broken collarbone fixed. "Got my own plane to Hamburg, collarbone fixed at 6am," he tweeted.
In a later statement from his Etixx - Quick-Step team he added: "I will follow the race on TV from the hospital. It will be strange but that's life and cycling. I have to try to see the glass half full and keep the good memories.
"I had a great first part of the Tour with a great team around me. I won a stage and wore the yellow jersey for the first time in my career. A dream came true during this Tour and now I'm already looking forward to coming back one day again and living the great emotions of this race."
Welcome to stage seven
Yellow Jersey
Classification
Hello and welcome to live text and radio commentary of stage seven of the 2015 Tour de France.
England are battering the Aussies at cricket and Andy Murray's Wimbledon semi-final against Roger Federer will not start for a few hours so let's focus on cheering Mark Cavendish on to his 26th stage win in this most iconic of races.
As Chris Froome tweeted earlier this morning, there will be nobody in the yellow jersey today after race leader Tony Martin broke his collarbone at the end of yesterday's stage.
The German finished the stage and because his crash was inside the final 3km, he was awarded the same time as those around him, meaning he retained his 12-second lead over Froome. However, he is out of the race and Tour rules dictate that Froome cannot wear yellow, unless he earns it today.
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