Jasper Philipsen won the opening stage of the Tour de France in a sprint to the line and defending champion Tadej Pogačar finished safely on Saturday. Pogačar is looking to win the showcase race for a fourth time on the back of great form this season.

Jasper Philipsen has won the opening stage of the Tour de France in a sprint to the line in Lille. Defending champion Tadej Pogačar finished safely.

The Visma-Lease a Bike team of Jonas Vingegaard were the protagonists, with several contenders for the overall classification — including Remco Evenepoel — distanced as the echelons formed. That main part of the peloton, which also contained Primoz Roglic and Geraint Thomas, ended up losing 49 seconds to the stage winner.