Belgian sprinter Tim Merlier wins the ninth stage of the Tour de France in a thrilling mass sprint. The stage, held Sunday, covered 174 kilometers of flat terrain.

Stage 1 result as Jasper Philipsen sprints to victory as Evenepoel loses time in crosswinds - The Belgian took the first yellow jersey of the race on a chaotic day in Lille

Ben O'Connor is a late faller on a chaotic first day of the Tour de France as two key contenders lose time after a split and two riders abandon the race after crashes.

The stage victory gives Philipsen the first race leader's jersey of the race as well as the first green jersey. Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) leads the mountains classification after claiming two points from the day's breakaway while Girmay, 25, is the best young rider.

Italian rider Jonathan Milan timed his attack perfectly, adding a stage victory to the Olympic gold he won in the team pursuit at the 2021 Tokyo Games.

Pogacar was happy to cruise around the peloton and stay safe on stage eight and still leads the general classification by 54 seconds from Remco Evenepoel, with Frenchman Kevin Vauquelin a further 17 seconds down and Jonas Vingegaard 1:17 adrift of his big rival.

Tour de France start details – including time and date – for 2025 cycling race.

If riders were hoping for a relaxing stage 2 to recuperate then they may be disappointed: today’s stage is the longest of the entire Tour, 209km from the small village of Lauwin-Planque to Boulogne-sur-Mer on the northern coast of France.

Jasper Philipsen won a chaotic opening stage of the Tour de France to take the first yellow jersey of the race with the help of Australian Kaden Groves.

The Visma-Lease a Bike team of Jonas Vingegaard were the protagonists, with several contenders for the overall classification — including Remco Evenepoel — distanced as the echelons formed. That main part of the peloton, which also contained Primoz Roglic and Geraint Thomas, ended up losing 49 seconds to the stage winner.