Is the Tour de France already over as far as the race for the yellow jersey goes?

Chris Froome’s stinging attack on stage ten looks to have killed off his rivals chances, with few riders even attempting attacks on the rain-soaked stage 12.

But after a brutal few days, with the punishing climb on stage ten and the fierce pace of the peloton in extreme heat on stage 11, perhaps we should not have expected quite so much action.

Vincenzo Nibali was insistent Froome would crack in the Alps, and with La Toussuire and Alpe d’Huez to come, there will be plenty of opportunity to attack.

The transition stages, too, boast their fair share of climbs to tackle if anybody is daring enough to push Froome.

Nevertheless, you can’t help but feel an opportunity was lost for some teams on stage 12, not least Movistar who finished with Alejandro Valverde and Nairo Quintana in the yellow jersey group.

They launched one double attack, and isolated Froome in the process, but whether it was lack of energy or just a lack of awareness, Quintana’s pace eased and the group came back together.

It was a message of what can be done, and an indication of how to shake the stubborn Welshman from their company, though.

Quintana has more than three minutes to make up, but there will be opportunities to at least cut the deficit between now and Paris – it’s going to be tough, but don’t be fooled into thinking it’s all over just yet.