More riders have punctured by the looks of things. I know dogs are a frequent hazard on the Tour but I didn't think Muttley would be the one causing problems.

The Tour de France is about to enter France. Great news.

France’s Laurent Pichon is now officially 'Powless' of course - he's been out on his own since the American sat up at the bottom of Cote d'Orioko Benta - but the only way to describe his now solo ride is 'powerful'.

The 36-year-old Arkea-Samsic rider is holding his lead on the peloton and is two minutes and 22 seconds clear.

Anyone fancy a dip? The Atlantic coast has been an amazing backdrop to the opening stages of this year's Tour.

Image source, EPA

We are racing through San Sebastian at the moment and quite a few riders seem to be getting punctures - more of the tacks which were apparently the scourge of stage two? Maybe.

Alexey Lutsenko is one of the riders affected, and while his wheel was being changed he showed whatever object was in his tyre to a fan on the roadside.

We've not seen much of Mark Cavendish today, but that's a good thing - a reminder that he will hope to be in the mix at the finish in Bayonne in an hour or so, when the Manxman will look to break Eddy Merckx's record of 34 Tour stage wins.

Ah, no surprise to see that Powless has sat up in his saddle. His hard work is done for the day and he will wait to be swallowed up by the pack.

Veteran Frenchman Laurent Pichon plugs on, suddenly all alone.

The gap from escape duo Neilson Powless and Laurent Pichon to the peloton is two minutes and 20 seconds but with no more mountains to climb, there won't be much of an incentive for Powless to keep this going. Neither of them will stay clear and win this stage - the sprinters' teams will make sure of that.

Trouble for British rider Fred Wright, who has had a crash somewhere on the way down Cote d'Orioko Benta. He is back on his bike but doesn't look too happy.

Yep, Neilson Powless celebrates as he is first over the top of Cote d'Orioko and that means he has collected all seven mountain points that were up for grabs today.... as usual the American is wearing a huge grin on his face when the race camera pans to him.

Ooh, something's not right with Wout van Aert's feet - his cleats to be exact.

He has hopped off his bike to allow a mechanic to adjust them, or oil them by the looks of things. That's seen him left behind by the peloton and he is almost three minutes adrift, although he will have plenty of time to get back in touch.

Time to go uphill again... Neilson Powless and Laurent Pichon are on their way up Cote d'Orioko Benta.

I think it's a fairly safe bet that Powless will collect the two points up for grabs at the summit.

It's normally the teams of the General Classification contenders or the man in yellow who control the pace at the front of the peloton - for example UAE of Tadej Pogacar and race leader Adam Yates, who set the tempo in stage two.

But on sprinters' stages like this, it is their teams have to do the legwork, literally. At the moment it is Team Jayco AlUla of Dutch rider Dylan Groenewegen who are controlling the chase of the front two, and making sure they don't get too far clear.

The gap to the front two has come down a bit, to just over two minutes. They are still moving pretty quickly though...

Australian rider Ben O'Connor is not having a great Tour so far, losing a big chunk of time in the first two stages. More woe for him today, too - he's had problems with his chain by the looks of things and had to change his bike. All sorted now though.

Image source, EPA

One more climb left today, the category three Cote d'Orioko Benta.

No doubt Neilson Powless will fancy more mountain points there - he and veteran Frenchman Laurent Pichon are still out on their own at the front of the race, two minutes and 30 seconds ahead of the bunch.

Lafay is back in the peloton now by the way, he sat up and eased off on the way up Col d'Itziar.

Here's the standings in the points category after that intermediate sprint - all of these riders could potentially take the green jersey off Victor Lafay tonight, if they win the stage in Bayonne and take the 50 points that come with the victory.

Top of the points category:

1.Victor Lafay (Cofidis) 80 points2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 423. Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) 364. Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost), 325. Michael Woods (Israel-PremierTech), 316. Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), 317. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), 308. Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates), 30

So, Victor Lafay, who is wearing the green jersey, has just cemented his early lead in the points category and the man in polka dots, Neilson Powless, continues to do the same.

He's just hoovered up two more points by being first over the top of Col d'Itzia. His fellow escapee, Laurent Pichon, did not try to stop him.

Today is all about Cav and co. - the fast men who will contest the finish - but, all being well, Britain's Adam Yates will stay in the leader's yellow jersey when the dust settles.

He earned it by winning stage one and holds a six-second lead over his twin brother, Simon, and two-time winner Tadej Pogacar.

General Classification after stage two:

1. Adam Yates (GB/UAE Team Emirates) 9hrs 9mins 18secs

2. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) +6secs

3. Simon Yates (GB/Team Jayco-AlUla) Same time

4. Victor Lafay (Fra/Cofidis) +12secs

5. Wout van Aert (Bel/Jumbo-Visma) +16secs

6. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Jumbo-Visma) +17secs

Image source, EPA