It only looks like there is a plan B when plan A works. Wiggins wins Le Tour, but there's Froome next to him on the podium and they can say 'well if anything had happened to Brad, we'd have had someone able to take over'. They can keep telling themselves that, but it doesn't make it true. Urán's slipped 20 places today and is no longer in a position to take over as leader.

This is hilarious: https://twitter.com/ukcyclingexpert

This is hilarious: https://twitter.com/ukcyclingexpert

I can guarantee that if anything had happened to Brad they'd have sent Froome 'back' to look after him thereby taking care of Plans A & B in one fell swoop.

Some interesting chat coming out from David Walsh yesterday that Uran and Henao had been told to stay put and not to come back to pace Wiggo back to the group. Plans B & C finally coming out but not until both plans had been compromised pacing Wiggins back earlier in the week.

I've said right from the start that I'm not sure about Bradley Wiggins. He is not in the kind of condition he was in last year and I would not be surprised if we do not see him again after the rest day today.

However - it could of course be that he has been telling the truth about becoming more of an explosive climber and he is lulling everyone into a false sense of security.

Charlie Wegelius was suggesting that Wiggins has been suffering from the same thing Dario Cataldo was earlier in the week

I'd seen Vaughters saying the that Wegelius had mentioned this to him too.

He hasn't looked like Wiggins 2012 vintage at any point during 2013. Virus or no virus I think he's struggling to follow up 2012 and knowing how noisy his 'inner chimp' is I think he needs someone like Shane Sutton to start shouting at him again.

Maybe Sky do have a plan. Urán off the front - trying to break Nibali's foot-soldiers rather than the man himself, I fancy, but a shift from Business As Usual nonetheless.

Sky have a dilemma now Rigoberto or Brad, Uran looked good today but Brad finish Ok - much depends on Niboli and Evans and whether they can keep it up for two weeks.

Brad still looks OK as long as he doesn't have to go downhill in the rain!!

Unless (and this is a pretty big unless) Sky know something we don't about one of the climbs where they are confident that Brad can climb it at a far higher watts per kg than we have previously seen thereby putting a minute or more in Nibbles then I would say that that no dilemma exists.

I saw an interesting chat with Dave Brailsford after the stage yesterday where he said that they have to attack wherever they can. He wasn't playing down what Brad may or may not do.

I think that Uran is now plan A but I can't see him winning the whole thing.

Wiggins is cooked, losing gobs of time on the flattest of stages. If he is struggling with a chest infection this weather won't be helping any, but either way, he's done.
Urán the man now.

If Uran is the man then why did Sky only give him one man while sending back 6 men to look after Brad?

I appreciate that yesterday was a fairly innocuous stage but.......I remember a long conversation last year around Froomegate where Froome should have been sent up the road to win the stage but was ordered to stay where he was 'just in case' Brad needed him.

I think having Brad still there is no good for him or the team as whilst Brailsford might be saying he is the leader I think his team and his DS's still have loyalty to Brad.

4 stage wins for Cav - has there ever been a pure sprinter as good as him?

Oh - no doubt about it at all. Cav is the best sprinter I think the sport has ever seen.

I wouldn't bet against him winning stage 17 as the climb is far enough away from the end.

Boring stage yesterday in what should have been the Queen stage yesterday should have helped his legs recover along with the rest day today.

It's like one of the Classics today. Attack after attack after attack. Marvellous.

With Santambroggio in trouble the top 10 all smelled blood and finished him off.

Great white jersey battle between Betancuor and Majka. Nibali looked like he was maybe trying to finish off Cuddles and Uran too. Nibali has this in the bag barring disaster.

Red jersey battle is between Cuddles and Cav. Cav was playing down his chances today - it all depends how much Cuddles wants the red jersey because he could choose to attack on the final climb if Cav is around.

Yowsers. Proper hard-man effort from Visconti today.