Three-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar won Stage 4 after several late climbs and inched closer to yellow jersey holder Mathieu van der Peul.

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.

The first stage of the Tour de France is completed! The 184 riders started in Lille, where the first leader's jersey was awarded. In three weeks, we will know who will take home the yellow jersey, as well as the green,

Tour de France kicks off on July 5 in Lille, France, with eyes on Tadej Pogačar for his fourth career title and second consecutive yellow jersey.

It is sometimes taken as a given that a lack of success has inhibited the nation's enthusiasm for its home race. Not a bit of it