TOUR DE FRANCE LONGEST STAGE PYRENEES

Vincenzo Nibali is in the yellow jersey as the Tour de France peloton set off on the longest stage, into the Pyrenees.
The Italian holds a lead of more than 4½ minutes over second-place Alejandro Valverde of Spain.
The 237.5-kilometre (147-mile) Stage 16 from Carcassonne to Bagneres-de-Luchon features an ascent up the super-tough Port de Bales.
Valverde won a stage in the 2012 Tour that had a similar climb over the Port de Bales and a finish downhill.
Before the stage, the Lampre-Merida team said world champion Rui Costa would not start due to pneumonia. The Portuguese rider had been in 13th place, about 13 minutes behind Nibali.

© Sapa - AP