If riders were hoping for a relaxing stage 2 to recuperate then they may be disappointed: today’s stage is the longest of the entire Tour, 209km from the small village of Lauwin-Planque to Boulogne-sur-Mer on the northern coast of France.

A three-week Grand Tour will always contain natural ebbs and flows, and, for much of Monday’s stage between Valenciennes and Dunkirk, it looked as if the peloton had declared an unofficial rest day, with the riders happy to cruise back towards the coast after a weekend of wind, rain and intensity.

Jasper Philipsen has won the opening stage of the Tour de France in a sprint to the line in Lille. Defending champion Tadej Pogačar finished safely.

The two biggest names to crash in the chaotic third stage of the Tour de France were Jasper Philipsen and Remco Evenepoel. For the Alpecin-Deceuninck sprinter, it was immediately game over, while his compatriot from Soudal Quick-Step suffered no major consequences.