Tim Merlier wins stage nine of the Tour de France in a sprint finish as Mathieu van der Poel's hopes of an audacious breakaway victory are dashed inside the final kilometre.

"It was quite okay in the bunch today but with the echelons attempts in the finale, I didn’t get any drink in the last 60 kilometres, so I was a bit overheated. Apart from that, it was quite okay today although it was nervous. Five minutes and a half was ...