Tim Merlier won the third stage of the Tour de France on Monday after a sprint finish that resulted in a number of riders crashing saw the Belgian edge just ahead of Jonathan Milan.

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.

Belgian rider Tim Merlier won the crash-marred third stage of the Tour de France in a photo finish and Mathieu Van der Poel kept the yellow jersey Monday. Defending champion Tadej Pogacar and two-time winner Jonas Vingegaard,