As it happened: challenging day ends in draggy bunch sprint

Thanks for joining us today, for what was yet another history-making moment by Biniam Girmay. Tomorrow promises to be a thriller, as the riders take on the fearsome gravel roads. Be sure to join us again.

The finish was much more relevant to the green jersey than the yellow jersey. Here’s the updated rankings in that classification:

1 Biniam Girmay 216 points

2 Jasper Philipsen 128

3 Jonas Abrahamsen 107

4 Arnaud De Lie 92

5 Bryan Coquard 86

6 Arnaud Démare 73

7 Fernando Gaviria 73

8 Dylan Groenewegen 71

9 Kévin Vauquelin 70

10 Tadej Pogačar 63

As for the GC, it’s as you were:

1 Tadej Pogačar in 31:21:13

2 Remco Evenepoel at 0-33

3 Jonas Vingegaard at 1-15

4 Primož Roglič at 1-36

5 Juan Ayuso at 2-16

6 João Almeida at 2-17

7 Carlos Rodríguez at 2-31

8 Mikel Landa at 3-35

9 Matteo Jorgenson at 4-03

10 Aleksandr Vlasov at 4-36

Despite leading the sprint initially, Coquard ended up finishing down in 37th. He started his sprint much too early. 

The top ten in fill:

1 Biniam Girmay

2 Jasper Philipsen

3 Arnaud De Lie

4 Pascal Ackermann

5 Marijn Van den Berg

6 Ryan Gibbons

7 Anthony Turgis

8 Fred Wright

9 Alex Aranburu

10 Remco Evenepoel

As for Philipsen, his torments at this year’s race continues. That’s the second time he’s crossed the line at this Tour in second-place. He had to come from much further back than Girmay in this sprint, which ultimately cost him.

By winning, Girmay becomes the first repeat winner of this Tour de France. If he wasn’t already a superstar of cycling, he is now.

In between, Arnaud De Lie couldn’t find a gap to come through them, and finished third. 

Philipsen led for most of the final metres, but Girmay came around him just in time.

Coquard started his sprint early, and first Philipsen passed him, then Girmay passed him.

…but it’s Girmay who takes the win!

Philipsen comes charging past him…

Coquard sprints…

Coquard second in line, Girmay 3rd.

Cofidis lead for Coquard

They’re on the uphill drag to the line.

Intermarché – Wanty take over…

1KM TO GO

Final kilometre!

Some trains forming now though – Decathlon lead the peloton.

2km to go, and still the peloton is bunched up, with no team stinrging it out.

Almost a crash in the peloton, as a ripple affect goes through the peloton, but thankfully no fallers. Some have been taken out of position though.

Pogacar has Tim Wellens looking after him, as they go under the 3km to go banner.

5KM TO GO

Riders strwen all across the road. This is wide open, with no one team taking control. 

Decathlon-AG2R take over at the front. Sam Bennett must be feeling up for it today. 

Fabio Jakobsen has sat up, so won’t be contesting the sprint. 

EF Education-EasyPost lead the peloton, with Quinn and Healy. They’re presumably working for their sprinter Van den Berg.

Mark Cavendish is still present in the bunch, and right up towards the front surrounded by Astana teammates. Does he fancy his chances, despite the uphill finish?

Wout van Aert currently has his nose to the wind at the front of the peloton, protecting Visma-Lease a Bike leader Jonas Vingegaard. It may be that he’s on domestique duty today, and therefore not sprinting. 

10KM TO GO

No attacks on the climb, and the riders now enter the final 10km. This is looking like it’s going to be a large buch sprint. 

Abrahamsen’s long day is at an end, as the peloton at last make that catch. Chapeau to the Norwegian – he has been the great entertainer of this Tour so far. 

No attacks yet, and the bunch has compressed together, with the pace having slowed.

They’re on the climb now.

EF Education-EasyPost are back on the front again. An uncategorised climb is approaching, and it’s a far from easy one. Could we see attacks?

Michael Matthews might have been dropped, but his Jayco-AlUla teammate Dylan Groenewegen is still there. We also haven’t seen Mark Cavendish be dropped, so he might still be contention for now too.

20KM TO GO

Just over half a minute now for Abrahamsen. The catch is imminent. 

Lots of teams jostling for position at the front of the peloton. There’s a lot of tension, but thankfully no crashes. 

UAE Team Emirates have taken control of the peloton, having disappeared from the front for a while.

A surprise, as Michael Matthews is dropped. Clearly he won’t be in the mix for the stage win.

Some riders getting dumped out the back of the peloton, including Pogačar’s teammate Marc Soler.

Interestingly, EF Education-EasyPost are back at the front. Do they have a new plan to go for the stage win?

30KM TO GO

The increase in pace has seen Abrahamsen’s gap come down a lot in the last few kilometres. It’s now down to 1-45. At this rate he could be caught early enough to encourage new attacks from the peloton. 

The rain is coming down heavier, too. Just what the riders didn’t want. 

Things are definitely getting more tense in the peloton now. There’s a big battle for positioning ahead of a corner. These roads are wet, too. Nerves will be high.

Sandy Dujardin is looking worse for wear in the peloton. He appears to have a bug of some kind, having been back to the medical car earlier, and is now receiving support from his TotalEnergies teammate Mattéo Vercher, who has his arm over his shoulder.

And what about Wout van Aert? On one hand, he looked well short of his best in yesterday’s time trial, but he has managed to get involved in some of the bunch sprints, taking sixth place in Dijon. At his best, he’d be the favourite on a finish like this, but does he have the form today? 

The uphill nature of the finish will make this hard for the purists to get involved, such as stage winners Mark Cavendish and Dylan Groenewegen. Instead, other names who have not shown their faces in the previous bunch finishes could get involved – such as Groenewegen’s Jayco-AlUla teammate Michael Matthews, who has always loved finishes like this.

40KM TO GO

2-50 now for Abrahamsen. The sprinter teams have the situation well under control.  

Although he has the speed of a pure sprinter, Jasper Philipsen is still capable of excelling on a finish like this. He finished second behind Mads Pedersen in a similar stage of last year’sTour and, with the Dane having gone home, could go one better this time – especially as he’ll be fuelled by anger at how frustratingly his Tour has gone so far.

The false flat to the finish also makes this a great opportunity for Biniam Girmay. He’s already been sprinting faster than at arguably any time in his career, and packs a relatively faster punch on a draggy finish like this. Even if he doesn’t earn another win in addition to his stage three triumph, this is a chance for him to extend his lead yet more in the points classification.

So, if and when this does come back together for a sprint, who will be the favourites for the win?

Lotto-Dstny’s presence at the front of the peloton signals that they believe in Arnaud De Lie. The young Belgian has impressed already on Tour debut, with a third, fourth and fifth place finish to his name already, and the slight uphill of today’s finish suits him better than those flat sprints. If he still feels fresh, he’ll have a great chance.

50KM TO GO

3-35 now for Abrahamsen. Even a man as apparently indefatigable as he faces a miracle to defend that over the next 50km.

There might not be any more official climbs from now to the finish, but the road will continue to undulate, and is far from flat. Don’t discount the possibility of some late attacks – perhaps the teams without sprinters who nevertheless didn’t try and get into the break at the start of the day, will instead make their moves towards the end of the stage?

The peloton reach the top of the climb, having reformed earlier. There are no more splits, but Alberto Bettiol is off the back having had a mechanical.

60KM TO GO

Now the peloton are on the climb, being led by Intermarché – Wanty. They’re just over four minutes behind Abrahamsen. 

Abrahamsen reaches the top of the climb, competing a clean sweep of polka-dot jersey points for the day. He’s very unliely to add a stage win to that, but it’s been another great day for the Norwegian regardless. 

It’s only 1.2km, but pretty steep, at 7.8%. 

Abrahamsen has just started the final climb of the day, Côte de Giey-sur-Aujon.

There’s been a split in the peloton amid that crash, with lots of riders caught out behind. There’s no panic, but they are having to chase hard to re-join.

Crash for Warren Barguil in the peloton. He’s OK, but having to wait for a bike change.

70KM TO GO

Abrahamsen’s lead is now down to five minutes. Inexorably, he is being reeled in. 

Geraint Thomas is off the back of the peloton, having had a flat tire. It might take longer to rejoin than it would have done earlier, what with the increase in pace, but only an inconvenience rather than a worry.

A narrowing of the road has caused some problems in the peloton, but, thankfully, nobody hit the deck. 

Some developments in the peloton, which is stringing out. It seems they’re being wary of crosswinds, but right now neither its strength nor direction appears to be conducive to splitting the race.

80KM TO GO

Other teams are helping Lotto-Dstny at the front. Alpecin-Deceuninck for Philipsen, Intermarché-Wanty for Biniam Girmay and Cofidis for Coquard. The gap’s come down a little more to 5-45, and it’s likely to continue in that direction from now on.

The peloton reach the top of the climb, and the pace has gone up a bit. The gap has come down to within six minutes again. 

Sam Bennett’s just stopped, to adjust his own seat post. This will be a tricky finish for him, but such attention to detail suggests he fancies his chances. 

The peloton have only ust started the climb, minutes after Abrahamsen crested it. It’s only 1.1km long, but it averages 8%.

Bike change for Hugo Page in the peloton. No need to panic with the race so relaxed.

Abrahamsen reaches the top, and he still looks strong.

With such a big gap now between the him and the peloton, it’s unlikely we’ll see the same action we did on the previous climbs – though given the unorthodox tactics of EF Education-EasyPost today, you can’t completely discount any attacks.

Abrahamsen is on the Côte de Santenoge now. He’ll extend his lead in the King of the Mountain yet further. 

90KM TO GO

The peloton is being led mostly by Lotto-Dstny, who obviously really fancy their man Arnaud De Lie on a finish like today’s. They’re maintaining their deficit to Abrahamsen rather than reducing it, and the gap remains about six minutes.

While the race is going through a lull, why not have a read of our piece looking back at the old US Postal team of 1999, and where all it’s members are now? 

100KM TO GO

We’re inside the final 100km. The road undulates for a little while longer, until the penulatime climb of the day, Côte de Santenoge, in about 12km.

The man of the day, Jonas Abrahamsen. He will surely add a combativity award to the many honours and prizes already picked up this Tour.

110KM TO GO

The race has settled down again after that sprint. Abrahamsen’s lead is over six minutes, while Intermarché – Wanty lead the peloton.

Here is the updated green jersey rankings in full

1 Biniam Girmay 166

2 Jonas Abrahamsen 107

3 Jasper Philipsen 98

4 Bryan Coquard 86

5 Fernando Gaviria 73

6 Arnaud Démare 73

7 Arnaud De Lie 72

8 Dylan Groenewegen 71

9 Kévin Vauquelin 70

10 Tadej Pogačar 59

That means Girmay extends his lead over Philipsen in the points classification to 68 points, while Abrahamsen reduces his deficit to the Eritrean to 59 points.

Here are the intermediate sprint results in full:

1 Jonas Abrahamsen 20 points

2 Biniam Girmay 17

3 Gerben Thijssen 15

4 Jasper Philipsen 13

5 Bryan Coquard 11

6 Arnaud Démare 10

7 Sam Bennett 9

8 Arnaud De Lie 8

9 Ryan Gibbons 7

10 Anthony Turgis 6

11 Mike Teunissen 5

12 Marco Haller 4

13 Laurez Rex 3

14 Dan McLay 2

15 Pavel Sivakov 1

Crash for Søren Kragh Andersen in the peloton. Philipsen was also held up, though unclear if he too was involved. Either way, both riders appear OK.

120KM TO GO

Despite that lead out, Abrahamsen still has a very big lead of 5-45. That might grow some more now, as we enter an undulating part of the course. 

That was textbook from Intermarché – Wanty. Not only did they have three men to lead Girmay out, they even used Gerben Thijssen to outsprint Philipsen for third place.

Girmay wins the sprint for second.

Intermarché – Wanty are leading the sprint out for Girmay.

The abandon of Pedersen this morning and relegation of Philipsen two days ago means Girmay suddenly has a huge lead in the green jersey classification, of 62 points over the next best rider – who, incidentally, is the day’s breakaway rider, Jonas Abrahamsen. 

The race is about to liven up again, as the peloton approaches the intermatie sprint. Abrahamsen has just gone through it, and the sprinters will be here to contest the rest of the points in about five minutes.

130KM TO GO

Abrahamsen is the only man on the road going hard at the moment. His lead is now 5 minutes, while the peloton take it easy. 

Here’s a glimpse of how bad the rain was earlier in the day. Thankfully it’s eased off since then.

Jegat has been brought back by the peloton, which is now almost five minutes behind Abrahamsen. 

Jegat is in a tricky situation here – a long way from Abrahamsen, and with nobody to help him bridge the gap. In fact, it seems he’s sat up and is waiting for the peloton to catch him.

Things have all clamed down again. Cavendish and other riders who had been dropped have returned, and some riders are pausing for comfort breaks. 

140KM TO GO

So with the first three climbs done, the situation is: Abrahamsen in front on his own, 1-50 ahead of lone chaser Jorgan Jegat, who is 1-30 ahead of the peloton.

Bissegger and Powless have sat up, and have been brought back by the peloton. Do EF have anything else up their sleeve, or is that it now, as the terrain eases for a little while?

Now Jegat reaches the top, 1-20 later.

More polka-dot points for Abrahamsen, who crests the climb alone.

Jegat has not only caught the two EF riders, but has passed them! Another strange  development with EF’s tactics. 

The race has actually calmed down on this climb. Jegat is the only man to have attacked, and the pace in the peloton is down again, as they spread across the road.

Mechanical for Fernando Gaviria.

The first rider to attack fro the peloton on this climb is Jordan Jegat, of TotalEnergies.

The EF duo are setting a fast pace up this climb. They’ll want to stay clear of the peloton, and hope a few riders can bridge up to them and form a bigger breakaway group with them. 

It’s now time for the third climb, Côte de Verrey-sous-Salmaise. We can expect the action to kick off again here.

Grégoire has been caught too. We now have Abrahamsen up the road alone, with Bissegger and Powless behind, closely followed by the peloton.

Those chasers have become the peloton again, as they merge together over the top. 

Now Powless and Bissegger go over the top, only a few seconds ahead of the chasers.

150KM TO GO

Abrahamsen goes over the top of this climb, takes the points again.

There are about 20 riders trying to go clear of the peloton, led by French champion Paul Lapeira.

Lots more attacks from the peloton on the climb, including Kwiatkowski and Lapeira.

Fabio Jakobsen is dropped out of the peloton on the climb.

More unorthodox tactics from EF. Their two leaders have dropped off the pace, meaning Abrahamsen is out alone.

Grégoire is still a minute behind the leaders, and 20 seconds ahead of the peloton.

They’re on the second climb already – Côte de Villy-en-Auxois, which is a category four.

It might have seemed strange of EF Education-EasyPost to reignite the race despite having two men up the road, especially as by doing so they cut their advantage. But there is method in the madness – they must believe that, as it stands, the 3-man lead group has no chance of making it to the finish, and the only way they will is if a few riders (whether from their team, or another) bridge up to them.

The attacks aren’t done, however. Romain Grégoire is the latest to make a move.

The chase group with Healy, Van Gils and Burgaudeau have been brought back by the peloton.

The pace is fast enough again to force some riders out the back of he peloton – including Cavendish. 

And now Bissegger is done.

Max Van Gils and Mathieu Burgaudeau have joined the three chasers.

The break has reached the…