After the blazing heat of stages ten and 11, the rain came down to soak the Tour de France peloton on stage 12, which finished atop the Plateau de Beille.

But it proved to be a case of the calm after the storm, in the riding sense, as the race for the yellow jersey temporarily stagnated.

While the GC men rode in together, with the few attacks that were made shut down by Team Sky, Joaquim Rodriguez was lighting up the mountain and soloing to victory.

Relive the stage in photos in the wide-screen gallery below.