The flag dropped a little earlier but there is very little to report on at present.

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.

Image source, Getty Images

Stage two was a slow burner but it sparked into life in the closing stages.

And we could be on for more of the same today as the race rolls out of a very damp Valenciennes.

Mathieu Van der Poel is the man in possession of the coveted yellow jersey and Tadej Pogacar is currently in the polka dots as the leader of the mountains classification.

Jasper Philipsen is in green as he tops the points classification, while Kevin Vauquelin is in white as the best young rider.