Belgian rider Tim Merlier has won the crash-marred third stage of the Tour de France in a photo finish and Mathieu Van der Poel has kept the yellow jersey.

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.

Jonas Rickaert (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious) had an early go at trying to zip off up the road but decided to sit up with no other real takers. Stage two was a slow burner but it sparked into life in the closing stages.