Live from Lille, it’s the latest “Great Loop.” The Tour de France, cycling’s chicest and most significant race, commences from the country’s northern tip. To paraphrase a contemporary great … we got the grip like a handle, and we’re bikin’. Wheels on the road, folks. The complete route can be found here.

Stage two was a slow burner but it sparked into life in the closing stages. And we could be on for more of the same today as the race rolls out of a very damp Valenciennes. Mathieu Van der Poel is the man in possession of the coveted yellow jersey and Tadej Pogacar is currently in the polka dots as the leader of the mountains classification.