Tour de France live: Stage 3 start time and route as sprinters set to battle in Dunkirk – UK Times

Stage three is set to start around 1.10pm local time (12.10pm BST) and finish at 5.20pm local time (4.20pm BST).

If you missed yesterday’s long and dramatic stage, read our report to get up to speed:

After two days of carnage and chaos on the roads of northern France, the Tour peloton might be hoping for slightly calmer proceedings as they negotiate a 178.3km route from Valenciennes to Dunkirk. It’s been a perfect start for Alpecin-Deceuninck with Mathieu van der Poel securing victory yesterday to take the yellow jersey from teammate Jasper Philipsen – and the Belgian sprinter will again be among the favourites today with a fast finish expected in the Channel port city.

The forecast is, however, a little iffy – could rain and headwinds yet create more unpredictable racing?