15:21. Vermote is ploughing a lone furrow up Bear Road as Tao Geoghagen Hart launches an attack from the front group.
15:20. Dowsett is trailing Kwiatkowski's group by 45 seconds. Still the climb of Bear Road to go...
15:18. Wiggins, Roche and Kwiatkowski are all among the front group. Vermote leads with ten kilometres remaining!
15:13. The peloton is fragmenting again on the Beacon. Dowsett struggling!
15:12. Absolutely enormous crowds at the top of the Beacon as Vermote goes over the top.
15:10. The gap is down to 2'30" as the break continue to struggle up the climb. The peloton are now on the slopes too.
15:08. The break are now on the slopes of Ditchling Beacon. Vermote attacks immediately!
15:02. NetApp-Endura are now taking up the chase on the front. Could they have a plan for Leopold König today?
15:00. The riders are now appraoching Ditchling Beacon. With 22 kilometres remaining, the gap is 3'19".
14:52. Wiggins has taken up position on the wheel of Kwiatkowski. Just a shade over four minutes is the gap noww as the leaders enter the final 30 kilometres.
14:47. About 16 kiloometres to go until the riders hit the slopes of Ditchling Beacon. It's a real leg-breaker, and could provide the platform for an attack.
14:44. Alex Dowsett is safely in the bunch and it looks as though the break will be reeled in.
14:41. BMC's Steve Cummings, another home favourite, is at the front of the peloton as they continue to chase. The gap is 4'40" with 35 kilometres to go.
14:38. Not much happening at the moment as the riders head towards the second climb of Ditchling Beacon.
14:30. Somehow, Marcin Bialoblocki has recovered and has rejoined the break. It's five at the front again, and the gap is 5'26" with 43 kilometres to go.
14:22. The remaining four breakaway riders have an advantage of 5'36". That continues to drop steadily.
14:17. Marcin Bialoblocki is the first man to lose contact with the break. He can be happy with his day's work though.
14:14. That means that McNally, should he finish the race, is the first classification winner of the race. He can't be caught in the King of the Mountains competition.
14:13. The main field has splintered into several groups as Mark McNally (An Post) takes the final point at the summit.
14:11. As has become the norm for races on British shores, the crowds are absolutely enormous. Brilliant support from the public.
14:09. And the peloton are also now onto the climb.
14:08. The break are now onto the fast, sweeping descent of Beachy Head. The gap is really starting to fall now.
14:00. The break have reached the first climb. None of them are major players in the KOM competition, so Mark McNally (An Post) will hope to seal the title today.
13:57. BMC and Tinkoff-Saxo are now driving on the front. The gap continues to fal steadily. Now 7'36".
13:51. Around 14 kilometres to go until the leaders reach the first climb of the day, the Cat.2 Beachy Head. The gap is just under eight minutes as things stand.
13:50. That didn't last long. The five breakaway riders are all back together. A sign that the quintet are not working well together perhaps?
13:49. The breakaway has split! Konovalovas and Van Baarle have decided to take matters into their own hands and have dropped their three companions.
13:47. The peloton are now moving pretty quickly, and are putting more time into the breakaway. As it stands it doesn't look like they'll stay away.
13:45. A Bardiani rider is now leading the peloton as the gap starts to tumble. It's down to 8'18" with just over 75km remaining.
13:42. The fact that Van Baarle is in the break means that Movistar and Dowsett will be very, very keen to get the chase going in earnest sooner rather than later.
13:41. Dylan Van Baarle (GRS) has taken all three sprints today. He's also the man in the break closest on GC, at 1'25".
13:36. The breakaway are still looking strong as the riders pass the 83 kilometre mark. However, the gap is starting to come down.
13:30. Julien Vermonte (OPQS) is back among the cars. Looks to be getting some instructions. Are they hatching a plan to put Michal Kwiatkowski back in yellow?
13:24. Last year's winner Sir Bradley Wiggins (Sky) is just over a minute down on overall leader Alex Dowsett. Surely he will have to go on the attack today if he's to keep his chances of retaining his crown alive?
13:21. Currently 94 kilometres remaining, and the gap is still more than nine minutes. Very interesting to see if the main field have learned anything...
13:17. Surely the peloton aren't going to make the same mistake again?
13:11. That quintet have an advantage of nine minutes - the same as Dowsett, Brandle and Tom Stewart (Madison-Genesis) held at one point yesterday as they stayed away for the entire stage.
13:10. Five riders in the day's breakaway so far: Ista (IAM), Van Baarle (GRS), Konovalovas (MTN), Bialablocki (VGR) & Vermote (OPQS).
12:50. Vavel will have all the action as it unfolds throughout the stage.
12:47. However, those climbs could also provide an ideal springboard for another rider to claim a solo victory.
12:45. If the sprinters can defy the odds and stay with the bunch over the three main climbs, expect a bunch sprint along the sea front in Brighton.
12:43. Here's today's stage profile.
12:41. There are also three categorised climbs inside the final 70 kilometres: the Cat.2 Beachy Head, and the Cat.1 duo of Ditchling Beacon and Bear Road.
12:39. This is the longest stage of the race, with the riders facing a gruelling 226.5 kilometres.
12:37. Today's stage takes the peloton from Camberley down to the south coast, finishing in Brighton.
12:36. So here's how things look going into the penultimate day of the 2014 Tour of Britain.
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12:34. Matthias Brandle (IAM) has won the last two stages, both from the breakaway.
12:33. Edoardo Zardini (Bardiani-CSF) is the man in the final podium spot, six seconds behind Kwiatkowski.
12:32. Alex Dowsett (Movistar) is the man in yellow after a successful breakaway yesterday, and the home favourite now leads Michal Kwiatkowski (OPQS) by 34 seconds.
12:30. Hello and welcome to this afternoon's coverage of Stage 7 of the Tour of Britain, live from Brighton.