The International Cycling Union has objected to the presence of Johan Bruyneel, Lance Armstrong's former team manager, in staff areas of the Tour de France.

Mathieu van der Poel's withdrawal means that 19 riders have now abandoned this year's Tour de France, with 165 lining up in Montpellier for the start to week three. That's a huge blow for Mathieu van der Poel, Alpecin-Deceuninck and the Tour itself.

So far we’ve seen a largely-imperious Tadej Pogačar, an aggressive Visma-Lease A Bike squad, a super-strong Ben Healy, a hyper-committed Mathieu van der Poel and myriad other storylines. All in all it’s been an enthralling edition of the Tour.