Epernay has only played host to one stage finish in the Tour de France before and that was back in 1963 but ending a stage in the heart of the champagne has quite an intoxicating feel to it doesn't it

The prestigious Avenue de Champagne borders the most famous local brands of Moet et Chandon and Perrier-Joet, with the finish line a tad further up the Rue des Coteaux.

Former Aussie rider Matt White describes it a touch differently mind...

Of course there will be plenty of team tactics as we get to the back end of stage three.

But just have a look at this.....

Tony Martin is back doing a turn on the front of the peloton who are about three minutes and 15 seconds behind the breakaway riders.

Here are the scores on the doors for the first ten riders in the intermediate sprint at Dizy-le-Gros:

1. Paul Ourselin, 20 points
2. Yoann Offredo, 17 pts
3. Stephane Rossetto,15 pts
4. Anthony Delaplace, 13 pts
5. Tim Wellens, 11 pts
6. Elia Viviani 10 pts
7. Peter Sagan, 9 pts
8. Sonny Colbrelli, 8 pts
9. Michael Matthews, 7 pts
10. Andrea Pasqualon 6 pts

Not good news for Astana....

Danish rider Jakob Fuglsang, who is expected to be one of the main GC contenders in the 2019 Tour, is having treatment at the medical car behind the peloton.

The former mountain biker, 34, came into his ninth Tour in the best shape of his career, after winning the Liege-Bastogne-Liege and the Criterium du Dauphine.

But at the moment he's grimacing badly which is understandable after a painful crash on stage one on Saturday.

Peter Sagan who is wearing the green jersey today as runner-up to Mike Teunissen is now the virtual leader of the points classification.

Elia Viviani took the sprint for points behind the breakaway.

The 30-year-old Italian held off Peter Sagan and Sonny Colbrelli, with a little dig into the line.

The breakaway group are through the intermediate sprint and Paul Ourselin (Total Direct Energie) has taken it.

Tim Wellens came through in fifth there, behind Yoann Offredo (Wanty-Groupe Gobert), Stephane Rossetto (Cofidis) and Anthony Delaplace (Arkea-Samsic).

He could have feigned an interest at least.

Bradley Wiggins who of course won the Tour de France in 2012 is taking a novel approach to following the Tour this year.

Working as a commentator for Eurosport, he's been hanging off the back of a motorbike, watching the peloton at close quarters.

Amusingly he's just shaken hands with Maxime Bouet (Arkea-Samsic) while saying, "You are my hero, I love you" to the French rider.

Kasper Asgreen (Deceuninck-Quick Step) is ratcheting up the tempo at the front of the peloton.

Danish time trial champion, Asgreen, was the runner-up at the Tour of Flanders in April and has brought the breakaway group back to almost four minutes after taking over from Tony Martin.

Of course all of this is designed to play into his teammate Julian Alaphilippe's hands.

We're about 20km from the intermediate sprint, which of course offers points towards the green jersey classification.

So as it stands, 20 points for winning it will be hoovered up by someone within the breakaway group, while the rider in fifth will collect 11 before it tapers down over the next ten best placed riders.

The only one with even a passing interest in this group is likely to be Tim Wellens, who already has seven points and could move up to fifth in the points classification (on the road).

It would no surprise me in the slightest though if Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Soudal) and Michael Matthews (Sunweb) make a play for the 10 points still available to those down the road.

The peloton is a fine site as it sweeps through northern France. There's a touch of wind but it looks like pretty ideal conditions for racing.

Julian Alaphilippe is pretty much the man on everyone's lips today.

And his Deceuninck-Quick Step team have come to the front of the peloton to take the heat off Tony Martin as they try to reduce the lead the breakaway group has.

Is it a touch over-cautious? Maybe but the time gap is tumbling down. It's five minutes and 15 seconds now.

Marc: Thibaut Pinot is a much better time trialist than Romain Bardet! As with every year, time trials are Bardet's Achilles heel! AG2R even say they don’t focus on them too much.

Matt: Back-ended short climbs, I could see Jakob Fuglsang being strong here, if he wasn't a GC threat of course.

Jumbo-Visma rider Tony Martin is till sat at the front of the peloton with a quartet of Astana riders tucking in just behind.

But the gap to the breakaway group is increasing. We're at six minutes plus now.

Image source, Getty Images

Now I know the Tour de France is in full swing but what about a bit of transfer news...

Well according to reports , externalItaly's Elia Viviani is set to leave Deceuninck-Quick-Step at the end of the season to join Cofidis and he will be replaced by Sam Bennett moving over from Bora-Hansgrohe.

Bennett is set to replace Viviani as the Belgian teams top sprinter, as the Irishman is apparently frustrated by his lack of Grand Tour opportunities at his current employers.

Pascal Ackermann was preferred for the Giro d’Italia and Peter Sagan was of course first name on the list for their Tour de France squad.

Talking of pressure though...Sunday's team time trial has left AG2R La Mondiale rider Romain Bardet almost a minute behind Geraint Thomas in the GC standings.

That's a fairly hefty chunk of time to make up against someone who won a gruelling climb up Alpe d'Huez in 2018!

Image source, Getty Images

Now all of France is hoping that Romain Bardet or Thibaut Pinot can challenge for the GC victory this year.

Bardet has not exactly been in sparkling form this season but no Frenchman has been closer to returning the Yellow Jersey to the home of the Tour de France since Bernard Hinault won the race 34 years ago.

And Bardet who finished second in 2016, albeit four minutes adrift of eventual winner Chris Froome reckons expectation is a good thing even if he's going to face "hardest third week" he has seen in the race.

"My focus is on the long and hard climbs where we can foresee some big gaps," he said.

"It will be the hardest third week I’ve ever seen at the Tour de France. My team-mates will go in the breakaways to serve my ambitions.

"It’s not the first year that there are big expectations from French people for a French rider to win. It’s been a long wait since Bernard Hinault. But this year, the pressure is not only on my shoulders and it’s good for French people to have guys to support along the road. We’re thrilled.”

The breakaway group have flown through Fourmies in northern France.

Tim Wellens (Lotto-Soudal), Anthony Delaplace (Arkea-Samsic), Yoann Offredo (Wanty-Groupe Gobert), Paul Ourselin (Total Direct Energie) and Stephane Rossetto (Cofidis) covered 47km in the first hour.

Their lead over the peloton is a shade over five minutes.