Tim Merlier clinched victory in stage nine of the Tour de France. He defeated Jonathan Milan in a sprint finish, following Mathieu van der Poel's remarkable effort. This win marked Merlier's second stage victory this year,

A three-week Grand Tour will always contain natural ebbs and flows, and, for much of Monday’s stage between Valenciennes and Dunkirk, it looked as if the peloton had declared an unofficial rest day, with the riders happy to cruise back towards the coast after a weekend of wind, rain and intensity.

Congratulations have been paid to Irishman Ben Healy who has become the first Irish cyclist to take the yellow jersey of the Tour de France since 1987. The 24-year-old, born and raised near Birmingham,