Crikey Stephane Rossetto is still one minute and seven seconds clear.

The Cofidis rider is digging deep. Can he hold on?

Stephane Rossetto is still one minute and 13 seconds clear.

The peloton looks like it is just starting to rotate at the front end to get the chase going.

That said there's a pretty stiff tailwind helping the Frenchman. It's still a big ask though.

Image source, MattWarwick

Matt W: A hole in the clouds to shine on Manchester from the Peak District. I can see Wales from here - come on Geraint.

I've not watched the Tour from the top of a hill before but if anyone else fancies it, feel free to let me know where you're watching the first stage from.

Jakob Fuglsang is probably one of several riders with podium ambitions who aren't that unhappy that Sunweb's Tom Dumoulin, who finished second last year, is missing.

Now more from Danish rider Jakob Fuglsang: "The race looks more open without Chris Froome who is a very good road captain by the way he guides his team-mates but let’s not forget that Ineos is still the strongest team and they have the defending champion [Geraint Thomas].

"I still believe they’re the favourites. The dream is to win the Tour. The yellow jersey is the symbol of the leader in cycling. It’s not pink, it’s not red. Everyone knows that the rider in yellow is the leader.”

Could Stephane Rossetto be the man to end Cofidis' 11-year Tour drought for a win?

The French team have not won since stage 19 of the 2008 edition with Sylvain Chavanel in Montlucon.

Rossetto, 32, who is making his debut at Le Tour, has just three victories on his palmares. A stage at the 2013 edition of Tour du Limousin, the general classification at the 2014 Boucles de la Mayenne and the fourth and final stage at last year's Tour de Yorkshire.

His lead is about 1 minute and 30 seconds.

What a story this would be?

Approaching Waterloo, the site of a famous battle which marked the end of the Napoleonic Wars, Stephane Rossetto is still going hell for leather for a solo win.

The Cofidis rider has eked out one minute and 50 seconds from the peloton.

Image source, Getty Images

Now what about Thibaut Pinot?

Can the Groupama-FDJ rider end France's 34-year wait for a champion?

Fifth at the Dauphine, the 29-year-old already has wins on the board at the Tour du Haut Var and the Tour de l'Ain in 2019.

But then again, nothing is quite like Le Tour.

He will be hoping to improve on his third place in 2014 after failing to finish twice and missing one of the four subsequent races.

Image source, Getty Images

Talking of contenders what can Nairo Quintana do this year?

A past winner of the Giro and Vuelta, Quintana, has frequently been cast as a potential winner of the Tour but has that ship sailed?

The 29-year-old Colombian finished on the podium in 2013, 2015 and 2016 but dropped back to 12th and 10th place finishes in 2017 and 2018.

Can't imagine we'll see much of him until stage six on Thursday, which is the first mountain stage finishing on top of La Planche des Belle Filles.

Image source, Getty Images

When it comes to those who can challenge Geraint Thomas for the overall GC victory, Danish rider Jakob Fuglsang has definitely come up on the rails.

The former mountain biker, heads into his ninth Tour in the best season of his career, after winning the Liege-Bastogne-Liege and the Criterium du Dauphine.

And the Astana rider looks as though he's going to try and target the intermediate sprints.

"These bonus sprints [awarding eight, five and two seconds to the top three riders at that intermediate point during stage three, six, eight, nine, 12, 15, 18 and 19] can be decisive on GC," he said.

The Dane, has been quiet today, obviously keeping his powder dry.

Here's one for all you Tottenham fans.....

Result of the intermediate sprint at Les Bons Villers:

1. Peter Sagan, 20 points2. Sonny Colbrelli, 17 pts3. Greg Van Avermaet, 15 pts4. Michael Matthews, 13 pts5. Matteo Trentin, 11 pts6. Lukas Postleberger, 10 pts7. Michal Kwiatowski, 9 pts8. Michael Schar, 8 pts9. Tim Wellens, 7 pts10. Vincenzo Nibali, 6 pts11. Luke Durbridge, 5 pts12. Imanol Erviti, 4 pts13. Nelson Oliveira, 3 pts14. Dylan Van Baarle, 2 pts15. Adam Yates, 1 pt

What's this a Frenchman attacking like crazy to go off the front.

Cofidis rider Stephane Rossetto is having a right dig but without support surely that won't and can't last all the way into Brussels.

Now then Ireland's Dan Martin and Britain's Simon Yates have made it back to the peloton after dropping off the back with a rather cautious approach to the aforementioned cobbles earlier.

Mark Cavendish's omission from Dimension Data team has been a hot topic of conversation.

So what actually happened....

Well Cavendish’s name was in the team selected by the performance manager, Rolf Aldag, but team principal, Doug Ryder “overruled” him in naming the final eight.

“There’s no secret about it. I wanted to have him here and I think he would have suited our strategy but ultimately it was a team owner decision,” said Aldag on ITV 4.

"It’s within my responsibility to select a team and I called eight names and Mark was included.

"The team owner has the right to overrule me, which he did.

"I thought for the stages that he’d be a good choice but we’ll never know."

Peter Sagan took 20 points for winning the intermediate sprint to become the virtual leader in the points classification.

However, there are another 50 points available on the finishing line so his day's work is not done.

The finale of this stage has a slight uphill kick, outside the royal palace which overlooks Brussels.

Peter Sagan beats Sonny Colbrelli on the line of the intermediate sprint. Greg van Avermaet is third.

That had been coming since the last stretch of cobbles, with the Bora-Hansgrohe team speeding up and stringing out the peloton to give their man the perfect lead out.

The three-time world champion is up and running. As expected.

Looks like Italian sprinter Elia Viviani had a puncture on the cobbles. Not great but it could have been worse for the Deceuninck–Quick-Step man.