𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Yesterday had plenty of sprinting drama but apart from Remco Evenepoel going down in a crash – getting up again seemingly unhurt – there wasn’t a lot of movement among the general classification.

Here’s how things stand ahead of stage four:

1. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned/Alpecin-Deceuninck) 8hrs 38mins 42secs
2. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates XRG) +4 secs
3. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Visma-Lease a Bike) +6 secs
4. Kevin Vauquelin (Fra/Arkea-B&B Hotels) +10 secs
5. Matteo Jorgenson (USA/Visma-Lease a Bike) same time
6. Enric Mas (Spa/Movistar) same time
7. Joseph Blackmore (Gbr/Israel-Premier Tech) +41 secs
8. Tobias Johannessen (Nor/Uno-X Mobility) same time
9. Ben O’Connor (Aus/Jayco Alula) same time
10. Emanuel Buchmann (Ger/Cofidis) same time

Poor old Philipsen at least managed to win a stage and take yellow before his Tour ended in tears just two days later.

His team Alpecin-Deceuninck has provided an update after successful collarbone surgery:

Soudal-QuickStep’s Merlier had the power to come around Milan and take the win in a photo finish in Dunkirk, but it was a reduced sprint as two crashes in the final five kilometres split the peloton – with Merlier’s team-mate Remco Evenepoel among those to go down.

Philipsen had not even made it that far, forced to abandon after a heavy crash at the intermediate sprint on a day when a calm start to the 178km stage from Valenciennes turned into a frantic, dangerous finish.

This could quite literally be anyone’s game, to the point that it feels impossible to predict. Mathieu van der Poel is the obvious form pick after winning stage two on similar terrain, and Alpecin-Deceuninck will have the added impetus of winning a stage in honour of fallen sprinter Jasper Philipsen, who was forced to abandon yesterday.

Victor Campenaerts and Jonas Abrahamsen will surely light up the race with plenty of attacks, but whether they make the crucial break is another story, and the former may instead be pressed into service keeping Jonas Vingegaard out of danger.

Romain Gregoire also likes this sort of terrain; Alex Aranburu and Thibau Nys can climb and pack a punch too. Of what feels like a hundred options, we’re going with Axel Laurance, who likes a punchy stage and has been a constant attacking presence for Ineos Grenadiers this year.

Stage four is set to begin at 1.15pm local time, 12.15pm BST, and finish at 5.20pm local time (4.20pm BST).

The 2025 Tour de France will be broadcast live on ITV4 in the UK, in what is the last year of free-to-air coverage of the race before it is exclusively shown on TNT Sports and Discovery+.

Viewers can also stream the race online via ITVX app and website, and subscribers can watch the action on the TNT Sports and Discovery+ apps.

Each stage will packaged into hourly highlights shows on ITV4, typically starting at around 7pm BST. The highlights can be streamed on ITVX with the website and app.

Hello and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of stage 4 of the Tour de France!

Today is set to be a cracker, with dozens of riders in with a shot at victory on a punchy parcours through Normandy – and the threat of crosswinds and splits means the GC riders will be on high alert too. Don’t go anywhere!