Well that’s all from me, thanks for reading. I’ll leave you with our stage three report:
Here’s the general classification after stage three:
Peter Sagan speaks! “Well my team did an amazing job today. It was not easy, it was a lot of stress in the peloton. In the end, a pretty hard climb, BMC did a very good job for Richie [Porte]. After I decided ‘OK I go’, it was 400m to go, I start my sprint and I put my foot out of my clip. I thought ‘Another mistake!’ but I restart and I won. I’m very happy.”
Unclips mid sprint - still wins. @petosagan
— CyclingHub (@CyclingHubTV) July 3, 2017
#TDF2017🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/UO0dQOyNoA
Our cycling correspondent, William Fotheringham:
I'd never use the term easy for any win in a bike race. But Sagan could afford to pull his foot out, put it back and still win. Yikes.
— William Fotheringham (@willfoth) July 3, 2017
Here it is:
Sprint incroyable de @petosagan, surpuissant pour s'imposer devant @blingmatthews / What a sprint from Sagan, so much power! 💪💪 #TDF2017 pic.twitter.com/FJGFOYWHnL
— Le Tour de France (@LeTour) July 3, 2017
“The man is amazing!” emails Robert Graves. “You could see it in him at the intermediate sprint. Amazing!” He really is. That’s Peter Sagan’s eighth Tour de France stage win, and when you consider just how many times he’s finished second, third and fourth, that tally could be an awful lot higher.
Updated
It was an incident-free ride for Geraint Thomas, Chris Froome and the other top general classification riders. Exactly what they were looking for. Thomas will retain the yellow jersey for another day.
After a relatively so-so day that was an extraordinary finish. It may actually have been Sagan’s foot which slipped out of his pedal clip rather than a problem with his chain. Either way, he had to stop for a moment but still had enough to keep his rivals at bay. Matthews took second, Van Avermaet actually took fourth and Dan Martin got in ahead of him on the line to grab third.
Peter Sagan wins stage three!
Peter Sagan seems to have a problem with his chain as he approaches the finish, but even so the world champion manages to hold off Van Avermaet and Matthews to take stage three.
Updated
Sagan jumps past Porte with 200m to go...
Porte’s running away here, can Sagan close the gap?
Porte attacks! Sagan goes with him, the rest follow.
1km remaining
There are perhaps 30 riders in a bundle towards the front approaching the 1km mark as the road cruelly kicks up in gradient...
Fulstang for Astana is up there, as is Peter Sagan and he has a couple of team-mates with him. Michael Matthews seems to have slipped back a little but Van Avermaet is right up there with Richie Porte for company...
2km remaining
It’s an uphill grind from here. They approach the pinch point 2km out from the line, a sharp left turn which is going to squeeze the peloton into a narrow string...
Michael Matthews’ Sunweb team-mates are well placed with the Australian on their shoulder, Peter Sagan is up there too.
5km remaining
BMC lead the peloton sweeping down, descending hard before the final climb...
Updated
Les than 6km to go. The final 4km are a steady category three climb up the Côte des Religieuses with an uphill finish which will surely deny the pure sprinters. Peter Sagan, Michael Matthews, Greg Van Avermaet and Philippe Gilbert are the favourites but this one is wide open.
BMC now move into position on the nose with Richie Porte and co trying to position Greg Van Avermaet before this climax.
Trek-Segafredo move to the front of this race leading John Degenkolb towards the finish with Alberto Contador tucked in there too.
10km remaining
Vasil Kiryienka was the Sky rider involved in the crash, and he’s working his way back towards the pack. At the front, Lilian Calmejane’s brave effort is over and he’s swept up by the peloton. After more than 200km of various attacks and breakaways, all riders are approaching the final climb as one.
A small crash at the back of the peloton and a Team Sky rider is involved. Trek-Segafredo’s Michael Gogl is down, but the Sky rider hasn’t yet been identified. It isn’t Froome or Thomas, though.
Calmejane grimaces and looks over his shoulder to see the peloton no more than 250m behind him, a swarm closing in.
15km remaining
Calmejane will reach the summit and claim the King of the Mountains point on offer but he doesn’t look to have enough in the tank to sustain this attack, with his lead over the BMC-led peloton receding.
Lilian Calmejane, the 24-year-old Frenchman on his Tour de France debut, has moved around a minute clear of the rest. He descends aggressively before the category four Côte de Villers-la-Montagne.
20km remaining
Lilian Calmejane of Direct Energie has found another reserve and powers clear, and it looks as if he’s going to attempt what would be a pretty miraculous solo victory. Romain Hardy has been swept up by the peloton and Thomas De Gendt soon will be.
Thomas De Gendt has run out of puff. He falls away from his fellow breakaway riders, as does Hardy and Perichon and they are splitting up!
Adam Hansen has been swallowed by the peloton, by the way, meaning every rider bar the four out in front – Hardy, Calmejane, De Gendt, Perichon – is in the main bunch, somewhere.
With around 25km to go the peloton have squeezed a few more seconds out of the leaders, bringing the gap down to 1min 20sec. David Tate tweets from the finish:
@lawrenceostlere View at 75m from the finish in Longwy pic.twitter.com/wy2oKWXaUv
— David Tate (@M21er) July 3, 2017
“I’ve had some of the expensive but delicious artisanal pickles made by Calmejane, Hardy, De Gendt and Perichon out of a disused distillery in Wisconsin,” emails Tom Longfield, who has dearly missed Name That Breakaway and clearly has a sophisticated palate.
Updated
30km remaining
On the nose of the peloton the main players are jostling for position, with Sunweb taking up residence near the front presumably with Michael Matthews’s bid for the stage win in mind.
The Tour of France is in France!
Romain Bardet rejoins the peloton, which is 1min 35sec and one country behind the leading four of Hardy, Calmejane, De Gendt and Perichon.
Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg have all been ticked off and now the leaders are only around 3km from their first taste of France on this Tour.
Updated
Romain Bardet has crashed, according to race radio. It doesn’t seem to be a major incident but it’s enough to force two of his AG2R La Mondiale team-mates to drop back and help him work his way back into the fold – they are around 30 seconds off the back of the peloton.
40km remaining
The shape of the race has changed in the last 10km. The Frenchman – Calmejane, Perichon and Sicard – and one experienced Belgian – De Gendt – lead the way. Everyone else is around 1min 40sec back in the peloton except for Adam Hansen, the veteran Australian who is halfway between the two groups on his own.
Updated
There is a slight sense of alarm in the peloton now that the breakaway has been strengthened by three additional riders, but what they might not know just yet is that there is a split in the ranks: Calmejane, Hardy, De Gendt and Perichon have pushed on and left the other five riders behind. After 170km out on the front, Frederik Backaert and Romain Sicard are finally swept up by the peloton with Nils Politt, Nate Brown and Adam Hansen moving backwards too.
The new breakawayers: Nils Politt (Katusha), Adam Hansen (Lotto-Soudal), Romain Hardy (Fortuneo), Frederik Backaert (Wanty), Nate Brown (Cannondale), Romain Sicard (Direct Energie), Lilian Calmejane (Direct Energie), Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal), and Pierre-Luc Perichon (Fortuneo-Oscaro).
50km remaining
The nine breakaway riders are 1min 20sec ahead of the peloton. Meanwhile, Eurosport are discussing husks of sourdough bread. “Good afternoon Lawrence!” emails Adrien Dunnion. “Concerning the breaks, stages like today make you wonder why the riders even bother going on a breakaway, it seems a little futile. First real chance of a break winning I’d say is the Station des Rousses (a break won there in 2010!). Concerning today, hard to look past Sagan, although Michael Matthews and Philippe Gilbert are also good shouts – and personally I’m hoping Dan Martin can pull a win out of the back (especially with Valverde out), that’s if they allow Dan to reach Gilbert to the line!” I think unfortunately Dan Martin might be on supporting duties today.
Lilian Calmejane (Direct Energie), Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal), and Pierre-Luc Perichon (Fortuneo-Oscaro) are the three riders who escaped the peloton a moment ago, and they’ve caught the breakaway to make a group of nine out front. No major general classification contenders are amongst the leading nine – Chris Froome and co are tucked in the main bunch around a minute back down the road.
A crash near the back of the peloton, and it’s Alexis Vuillermoz who is down on the road. It doesn’t seem serious and he stands and slowly hauls himself back on to his bike, before attempting to catch up with the rest.
Excitement! Thomas De Gendt leads a trio of riders firing out of the dense peloton pack as they try to bridge the gap to the original breakaway.
I know exactly what David is talking about (below) and that feeling of inevitability is brewing on stage three with 60km to go. For the first time since around the fifth kilometre, the breakaway’s advantage is less than a minute.
“Good afternoon!” cheers David Alderton. “Taylor Phinney’s exertions yesterday did result in a very well deserved jersey, and got me thinking about breakaways: I think there’s a certain thrilling inevitably in watching a break splinter and slowly get pulled back into the peleton with (say) 10km to go. However, this changes massively, when there’s 3km or fewer kilometres left. The pendulum swings back the other way, and there is a huge desire to have the plucky riders’ heroics justly rewarded. Jack Bauer, in 2014, being caught with so little distance left was heartbreaking, and felt unjust, but Van Avarmaet’s last year was imperious. It’s going to be interesting to see how the race plays out, with GC contenders unlikely to let each other far out, and FdJ’s Pinot has said he’s after stage wins. Whether he’ll be allowed to go after a decent showing in Italy is something to ponder and for him to work on. Sagan should do well, especially on a day like today.”
Stage three has been relatively uneventful so far compared to the previous two days but, with 65km to go, it’s well set up for an exciting finish and all of the main contenders are well placed. The breakaway’s lead has been cut down significantly to only around one and a half minutes.
Updated
There was a small problem for Geraint Thomas, enough for the yellow jersey to drop out the back of the peloton, but whatever it is is resolved quickly as he rejoins his Sky team-mates near the front of the main bunch.
Peter Sagan’s big brother, Juraj, has decided to help out by steaming to the front of the peloton to pick up the pace. That move has closed the gap to the breakawayers down towards two minutes. Roy Seibel emails poetically on that breakaway breakaway a moment ago: “Nate and Nils went up the hill to fetch a pail of KOM points.”
Updated
The peloton passes not especially close to Le Château de Vianden, but it’s featured on Eurosport nonetheless and it’s a beauty. Here it is 21 years ago, which is the only photo I could find.
Updated
With a little more than a third of stage three remaining, a reminder of the six out in front of the peloton by around two and a half minutes:
Nils Politt (Katusha), Adam Hansen (Lotto-Soudal), Romain Hardy (Fortuneo), Frederik Backaert (Wanty), Nate Brown (Cannondale) and Romain Sicard (Direct Energie)
They are making their way towards the Tour’s natural home, and as they cross the French border with around 20km remaining it will mark the beginning of the demanding double-climb end to this stage.
There are 90km remaining, the next 75 of which are relatively flat. Politt and Brown have taken a rest and allowed the four behind them to catch up – breakaway reunited! Robin Hazlehurst has stiff competition in the anagram market:
@lawrenceostlere Nils Politt & Nate Brown = Winnable Sprint Lotto #anagramthatbreakaway
— Henry Bloomfield (@DrHenryB) July 3, 2017
Nathan Brown leaves behind Nils Politt at the top of the Côte d’Eschdorf to secure the two King of the Mountains points on offer, but he has had to work over more than 10km to earn that. It seems like a huge expense for a small reward but, as with Taylor Phinney’s monumental efforts yesterday, it might help secure him the famous polka dot jersey for a day and that means everything to a debutant on the Tour de France.
Great to see some steps have been taken towards solving the Luxembourgish issue highlighted earlier:
@lawrenceostlere re: Luxembourgish, it's better in French: Luxembourgeois. Classy.
— TG (@NikosHeadband) July 3, 2017
@lawrenceostlere As the OED HQ's CFO&COO I hereby declare Luxembourgish to be replaced by GrandDuchynesque (a la mode). Comme ci comme ca
— Serge Nuffler (@SergeNuffler) July 3, 2017
A consequence of the earlier intermediate sprint is that Marcel Kittel is certain to retain the green jersey for another day. Peter Sagan will have to wait.
100km remaining
So Nils Politt (Katusha) and Nate Brown (Cannondale) are building a significant advantage over their former breakaway pals of more than half a minute, and in doing so they’ve moved nearly three minutes clear of the peloton. They are on a short descent before the Côte d’Eschdorf and they are working their way down with full commitment.
Tim is on form.
au contraire @lawrenceostlere I think there's a certain Discreet Charm to the Luxembourgeoisie #TDF2017 pic.twitter.com/myWMYBjeBb
— (((Tim Morton))) (@TimMorton2) July 3, 2017
Nils Politt and Nate Brown have gone rogue off the front of the breakaway, powering clear of the other four in order to secure some more King of the Mountains points, and ruining our fun in the process. Nevertheless, Robin Hazlehurst, possibly the only Name That Breakaway anagram specialist in the world, has emailed with a better than good effort:
“I’ve cracked today’s anagram-the-breakaway and it suggests that there is a secret message about the confusion waiting at today’s finish line: Code: a wobbly sprint train, then a dark crash. Either that or it is a sprinter cursing his incompetent colleagues in theatrical fashion: O wobbly sprint train, catch a darkened rash!”
@lawrenceostlere Politt, Hansen, Hardy, Backaert, Brown & Sicard are the earnest steelworkers at the heart of a 1970s television play. #NTB
— Martin Sykes-Haas (@martinsykeshaas) July 3, 2017
Frederik Backaert (Wanty) shows a burst of speed at the top of the Côte de Wiltz to pick up the single mountains classification point on offer. Meanwhile back in the peloton, Thomas Boudat has fallen innocuously and as he gets back on his saddle he holds his arm gingerly. That doesn’t look ideal.
Name That Breakaway:
@lawrenceostlere Politt, Hansen, Backaert, Sicard, Hardy and Brown are in the van in the Birds Eye Steakhouse ad! https://t.co/w5S7YKvoFC
— John McEnerney (@MackerOnTheMed) July 3, 2017
Should the suits at OED HQ have come up with a more creative demonym for Luxembourg than Luxembourgish? Not as unfortunate as Cretans but it’s a little clunky.
Updated
100km completed
Politt, Hansen, Hardy, Backaert, Brown and Sicard continue to lead the way by two minutes as they make their way up this 3.1km drag.
@lawrenceostlere Politt Hansen&Hardy comfortably win intervarsity debate vs Backaert Brown& Sicard that #NTB maybe started too early in #TDF
— Dara Carroll (@DaraCarroll) July 3, 2017
@lawrenceostlere Politt, Hansen, Backaert, Sicard, Hardy and Brown. Six elite Allied agents behind enemy lines; two are really Nazi moles.
— Hugh Brechin (@HughRBrechin) July 3, 2017
After giving him that big billing I now understand it was Cavendish who edged out Sagan and the rest on the line. Ah. Moving on, and the peloton remain 1min 50sec behind the breakaway and are working their way through the feed zone, while up ahead the leading six are beginning the category four Côte de Wiltz.
The intermediate sprint is won by Nils Politt at the front of the breakaway without much challenge from his co-conspirators. Behind them, the sprint giants move to the front of the peloton anticipating a race for the remaining points. Mark Cavendish, André Greipel and Peter Sagan get their legs working and it’s Sagan – the man whose relationship with the Tour de France green jersey is much like Rafa Nadal’s relationship with the French Open – who wins the battle.
“The Guardian’s live blog of the Tour is even more valuable than usual for fans in India this year,” emails Prateek Chadha. “For the first time in over a decade none of the sports networks here seems to have bought the rights to it. It seems that reruns of any and all sports (cricket, football, kabaddi, darts, hockey, horse racing, wrestling etc.) are more financially rewarding.” That’s a shame, Prateek, but I’m glad you’re on board with the live blog. You’ll miss those darts re-runs when they’re gone.
This stage has already covered wide highways and undulating Formula One tracks and now the peloton are navigating narrow winding country lanes between rolling fields, stretching the group out as they go. They dip through a little village where a cluster of locals are waiting for them before turning back out on to the main road. The breakaway’s lead remains bouncing between 1min 30sec and two minutes.
A reminder of the six riders out in front (1min 40sec clear ahead of the peloton):
Nils Politt (Katusha), Adam Hansen (Lotto-Soudal), Romain Hardy (Fortuneo), Frederik Backaert (Wanty), Nate Brown (Cannondale) and Romain Sicard (Direct Energie)
The peloton is through more than a third of the day’s racing and Spa-Francorchamps has been conquered, but the meat of this long stage three is still up ahead. An intermediate sprint point and four categorised climbs are still to come, with our six-man breakaway leading the charge by a couple of minutes over the main group.
@lawrenceostlere They tried Politt, Hansen, Hardy, Backaert, Brown, Sicard, but went with Pugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble, Grub
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) July 3, 2017
Luxembourg!
The Tour de France rolls into its third country of the 2017 edition. Back in Belgium, Team Sky continue to cluster around the front of the peloton and they are happy to control this gap of around two minutes from the breakaway.
I could do without that today, Serge.
@lawrenceostlere Thanks to the NSA, the Politt, Hansen, Hardy, Backaert, Brown and Sicard ransomware attacks will infest your laptop today
— Serge Nuffler (@SergeNuffler) July 3, 2017
@lawrenceostlere weren't Politt, Hansen, Hardy, Backaert, Brown & Sicard part of the expedition who found the source of the Congo? #NTB
— Paul Cutting (@PabloCutting23) July 3, 2017
I reported not so long ago that the breakaway’s advantage was narrowing. Well it’s opened back up, increasing to more than two minutes for the first time in stage three. The main GC contenders won’t be too worried but those riders fancying the stage win today like Michael Matthews, Peter Sagan and Philippe Gilbert will have an eye on that time. “How’s Phinney look?” asks Robert Graves. “Suffering like a dog from yesterday’s escapade?” The American is in good shape in the peloton, clad in polka dots today after his monstrous efforts in dire conditions yesterday.
Team Sky are lurking around the front of the peloton, a blast of yellow in amongst the white skin suits which have caused some uproar this morning.
L'Equipe go big on the @TeamSky skinsuit story #TDF2017 pic.twitter.com/jXrRYDMkIb
— Ian Parker (@iparkysport) July 3, 2017
Another Romain, F1’s Grosjean, enjoyed the Tour’s visit to Spa:
Really cool to see @LeTour going through one of the most beautiful corner of the world. #eaurouge #SpaFrancorchamps https://t.co/EEljpdTz6Y
— Romain Grosjean (@RGrosjean) July 3, 2017
🏎💨🏎💨🏎💨🏎💨🏎💨🏎💨 6 bolides à l'avant / racing cars at the front. @F1 #SpaFrancorchamps pic.twitter.com/8mTsk1S8o5
— Le Tour de France (@LeTour) July 3, 2017
The sun is shining as the road flattens out towards the border with Luxembourg – now around 10km away. Politt, Hansen, Hardy, Backaert, Brown and Sicard are through 55km of stage three and all of a sudden their lead is starting to narrow, down to less than 1min 40sec for the first time in a long time. This sort of Name That Breakaway creativity is lovely to see:
If you want my advice @lawrenceostlere when in a #TDF2017 break, do what the Romains do and you'll get a Hansen reward
— (((Tim Morton))) (@TimMorton2) July 3, 2017
Name that breakaway
The leading six are ploughing on with this gap of nearly two minutes, and with not a whole lot happening right now it gives us a chance to soak up some #NTB action:
“It’s an obscure piece of mathematical arcana that the Politt-Hansen-Hardy conjecture about flow over bumpy surfaces was proved by Backaert, Brown and Sicard,” emails Bob O’Hara. “The conjecture was first written down on Hardy’s shirt sleeves during a dinner at New College, Oxford. Of course something is ‘bumpy’ if it has multiple bump functions, i.e. they are smooth and compactly supported.”
“The latest John Grisham novel – The Breakaway,” writes Harry McNeill Adams. “The law firm of Politt, Hansen, Hardy, Backaert, Brown and Sicard is the wealthiest in Southern Arkansas. One rainy day in early July, a man dressed in dark lycra strolls into the foyer with a mysterious package and leaves it without a word on Sicard’s desk. What does it contain? Who knows what lies inside? The firm’s partners can agree on only one thing: this is a job for The Breakaway”.
@lawrenceostlere Patrick Bateman worked for Politt Hansen Hardy in American Psycho #namethatbreakaway
— Tom Ashworth (@tommyhashbrown) July 3, 2017
Bar the vastly experienced Adam Hansen and the four-time Tour de France rider Romain Sicard, this breakaway is a little short on Grand Tour pedigree. Frenchman Romain Hardy, American Nathan Brown and Belgian Frederik Backaert are all on their debut Tours, as is the 23-year-old Katusha rider Nils Politt. Nonetheless they are working well together to maintain that advantage of nearly two minutes over the main pack.
The peloton remains nearly two minutes behind the breakaway of Nils Politt (Katusha), Adam Hansen (Lotto-Soudal), Romain Hardy (Fortuneo), Frederik Backaert (Wanty), Nate Brown (Cannondale) and Romain Sicard (Direct Energie). The Australian veteran Hansen, on his 18th consecutive Grand Tour, seems to be taking up the role as group chief. He’s won a stage on the Vuelta and the Giro but never the Tour de France so he may just fancy this, but it’s going to be a tough ask for this group to make this move stick over another 175km.
Sunweb have positioned themselves close to the front of the peloton. They have grand plans for Michael Matthews today and the finish – a 2km uphill drag – is perfect for the Australian.
The overhead camera captures some pretty spectacular shots as the peloton snakes its way around Spa. The steep slopes reveal themselves when cycling replaces motor sport here, and the narrow track has strung out the group a little. They spin off the side of the circuit and make their way back out to the main roads of the Ardennes region of Belgium, heading south towards Luxembourg.
Updated
This little detour to Spa is a nod to the legendary Belgian pilot Jacky Ickx, a close friend of Tour legend Eddy Merckx. The peloton work their way on to the track almost two minutes behind the breakaway six. Team Sky have positioned themselves close to the front of the main pack with 25km of stage three complete.
Legendary pieces of two different sports come together as the Tour de France takes to motor racing’s Spa-Francorchamps circuit, home of the Belgian Grand Prix, for one lap. Eau Rouge looks an awful lot steeper on a bicycle.
Texan Nathan Brown powers towards the top of the first little climb of this stage and picks up the one King of the Mountains point on offer.
@lawrenceostlere I loved Politt Hansen's "Hardy" - their unplugged album #namethebreakaway
— geoffrey manboob (@geoffreymanboob) July 3, 2017
The breakaway!
Those two leading groups have merged to make a six-man breakaway: Nils Politt (Katusha), Adam Hansen (Lotto-Soudal), Romain Hardy (Fortuneo), Frederik Backaert (Wanty), Nate Brown (Cannondale) and Romain Sicard (Direct Energie). Do your worst.
Updated
The big GC names have glided towards the front of the peloton and they are taking it very easy, chatting and fuelling up as they bumble towards the Belgium-Luxembourg border. Meanwhile up front...
@lawrenceostlere Doesn't Politt Hansen Hardy have a clean eating blog? #namethatbreakaway
— Lyndsey Melling (@LyndseyMelling) July 3, 2017
Sicard was in no man’s land trying to get up with the leading group but now he has company with Frederik Backaert (Wanty) and Nate Brown (Cannondale) joining the French rider. If they can close up to the front trio then we’ve got the makings of a workable breakaway. The peloton is around 30secs back and putting their collective feet up.
After 6km, three riders have made a mini-breakaway stick – Nils Politt (Katusha), Adam Hansen (Lotto-Soudal) and Romain Hardy (Fortuneo) – while Romain Sicard of Direct Energie is trying to bridge up to make it four. The peloton gave chase initially but gave it up on a short sharp descent.
The early attempted breakaway by Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal) and Frederik Backaert (Wanty), with co-conspirator Thomas Voeckler (Direct Energie), has not quite managed to shed a stubborn peloton.
This is a very unpredictable stage but one thing is inevitable...
@lawrenceostlere do we start #namethatbreakaway today?! #TDF2017
— Max McCall (@maxmccall) July 3, 2017
Stage three is under way!
It’s a rolling start on the packed streets of Verviers in beaming sunshine, a welcome change from the rainy opening two days. Thomas De Gendt puts his foot down immediately and hits the front.
Quick-Step Floors’ won yesterday’s stage through Marcel Kittel and in riders like Philippe Gilbert, Matteo Trentin and Dan Martin they have every chance today too. Here’s Ireland’s Martin: “We’ve got a few cards to play. It’s a really hard stage, not just the finish. I just want to stay safe and see if I’m there at the end.”
Updated
A look back at stage two
If you missed yesterday’s action, here is William Fotheringham’s report from Liège:
And our video highlights of Marcel Kittel’s impressive sprint victory:
Preamble
First it was their deluxe motor homes and now it is their aerodynamic skin suits putting Team Sky under scrutiny. But on top of all the accusations coming their way, yesterday was a reminder that they are still the battling the usual, massive challenges that come with a Grand Tour.
Both last year’s winner Chris Froome and the man in yellow, Geraint Thomas, were caught up in a spectacular crash on stage two, the rain causing the incident but also minimising the damage: “The road was so slippery that you just slid,” said Thomas afterwards. Froome “lost a little bit of skin on my backside” while their team-mate Luke Rowe was sent to hospital for a precautionary scan but has been given the all-clear to continue racing.
Today’s stage is a 212.5km route from Belgium through Luxembourg and down into northern France, finishing on the up at Longwy near the striking Vauban citadel. There are five categorised climbs creating opportunities for a breakaway or two, and the 2km finish along the Côte des Religieuses is enough of a gradient at an average 5.2% to kill off the sprinters and favour a puncheur, rather than an out-and-out climber. With a 10-second bonus for the win, Thomas’s claim over the yellow jersey is at risk.
Here’s the lowdown from our stage-by-stage guide:
The first major stress for the main men, with a nasty little third-category climb to the Vauban citadel at the finish. It is not as severe as last year’s early hit-out in Cherbourg but someone will lose a damaging amount of time. Often it is down to crashes or punctures as the field fight for position as Richie Porte can testify.
Updated
