Show only key events Please enable JavaScript to use this feature 50km to go: Back to smoother roads for a bit, before another big climb, on the Cote de val des Clos, and the first group’s gap in the yellow jersey group to the peloton stabilizes at around 1:05. That group of three is now down to two, Asencio and Demay with Demey dropped. Updated 14.08 BST The Côte de Celles-sur-Ource points 56km to go: Demey is losing ground to the other two breakaway riders as Coralie Demay takes the lead and reaches the summit first with Ascencio on her tail as they hit the first gravel stage. It’s dusty and bumpy, okay. It’s a challenge to balance caution and aggression here. The gap from the leaders in the peloton drops, as would be expected, to just over a minute. All kinds of battles are fought there as Vollering accelerates to the front of the pack. A prominent position is also Kasia Niewiadoma. Updated at 14.01 BST 59km to go: The lead group of Asencio, Demay and Demay go at the riders starting their first climb with a lead that dwindles to around 1:50 as the road narrows and the peloton starts to break out. the fights start to seem a lot more strenuous. And look out or Elisa Longo Borghini, who is positioned well towards the front of the peloton Updated at 13.51 BST

Valerie Demey takes the first intermediate sprint

64km to go: Demey, part of a breakaway trio set for the upcoming twisty gravel section, takes full sprint points ahead of Asencio. The top three are about 2:20 behind the peloton. Vos got a handy nine points there. Here are the full details:

  1. Demey, 25 points2. Asensio, 20 points 3. Demay, 17 points 4. Wiebes, 15 points 5. Confalonieri, 13 points6. Kopecky, 11 points 7. George, 10 points 8. Vos, 9 points 9. Swinkels, 8 points 10. Paladin, 7 points 11. Korevaar, 6 points 12. Amialiusik, 5 points 13. Balsam, 4 points 14. Vollering, 3 points 15. Van Dijk, 2 points Updated at 1.45pm BST 73km to go: This three-rider breakaway now has more than two minutes on the peloton, but it’s still very early. The riders in the peloton are biding their time for now, Vos has just entered the right side forward with her Jumbo-Visma teammates. Updated at 13.37 BST 82km to go: A more consistent break this time from Coralie Demay, Laura Asencio and Valerie Demey and they lead by 1:12. Vos had a brief attempt at a group breakaway from behind them, but she’s heavily marked and they’re tangled. We are about 11km from the first intermediate sprint and 20km from the first gravel section – prepare for mayhem. Updated at 13.31 BST 89km to go: Fortin is still in front heading into the town of Vendeuvre-sur-Barse, but the peloton is only 12-15 seconds behind. Some radio talk: “Regarding Eurosport’s coverage,” writes Alan Amos, “it’s not that ASO only broadcasts from mid-match and has nothing to do with Eurosport, who just do a poor job of communicating ; Other channels, such as France 2, were reported on this website as being in the same situation.” Paul Griffin, meanwhile, just wants to let it rip: “Be thankful Eurosport shows no cycling at all. It’s not impossible to tune in for the climax of the Tour of Flanders or Milan-San Remo and find yourself facing The World 12-Ball Theoretical Billiards Mega Open from Phoenix. the quarter-finals of Uruguay’s famous Meta-Badminton Open elimination round from Montevideo, or worse, one of those collections of skiers crashing to a soundtrack of what appears to be Benny Hill’s theme playing on a kazoo. On the upside: no one on the European continent has a better understanding of Meta-Badminton tactics than I do.’ The Gauntlet lay there. Updated at 13.07 BST 95km to go: And as soon as I get this list out, the attackers are caught before French rider Valentin Fortin of Cofidis is out front alone, with a gap of around 15 seconds. Valentin Fortin comes forward. Photo: Tim de Waele/Getty Images Updated at 13.49 BST This early breakaway in full: Balsamo; Majerus, Reusser, Le Net, Henderson, Markus; Georgi, Koch Cromwell, Boogaard, Manley, Latz, Gasparini, Alzini, Korevaar, Kant, Schweinberger, Vandenbulk, Brendewald, Bogstrom, Allin, Lett, Boizmann. None of the top GC contenders have gone with them 104km to go: An early flurry of traffic sees a brief breakaway of three riders – Martina Alzini (Cofidis), Thalita De Jong (Liv Racing Xstra) and Marta Lach – but the peloton caught them within a few kilometres. Before a more substantial move by a group of 23 riders, who have opened up a gap of around 10-15 seconds. 118km to go: Nothing major to report so far – eight kilometers and still no break. the peloton is still completely. Eurosport, meanwhile, is currently doing this slightly crazy thing of continuing to chew up yesterday’s highlights instead of showing today’s early live stuff. But it does give us a chance to enjoy Ludwig’s happy and sweary emotional interview after her win yesterday. A few more details on today’s much talked about gravel sections – the first greets the riders at 68.1km, the second at 77.4, then one at 89 and the fourth at 106km. And the games are on. Updated at 12.22 BST Some good news: all 131 participants from yesterday are ready to go again today. There were no withdrawals It’s a manageably warm 25 degrees in attractive Troyes town center as the riders set off – they’ll be doing a 6.9km parade through Troyes to get us started. Only 126.8 kilometers to go… Marianne Vos prepares to leave Troyes and start stage 4. Photo: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images Updated at 12.05 BST How they stand: A reminder of the GC score after the third stage 1 Marianne Vos (Jumbo Visma) 08h 30′ 36” 2 Silvia Persico (Valcar -Travel & Service) + 00h 00′ 16” 3 Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon / Sram Racing) + 00h 00 ’16’ ‘ 4 Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek – Segafredo) + 00:00 21” 5 Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (SD Worx) + 00h 00′ 51” 6 Margarita Victo Garcia Canellas (Team UAE ADQ) + 00h 00′ 55” 7 Demi Vollering (SD Worx) + 00h 00′ 57” 8 Juliette Labous (Team DSM) + 00h 01′ 05” 9 Annemiek Van Vleuten (Movistar Team Women) + 00h 01′ 14” 10 Cecilie Ludwig (FDJ Suez Futuroscope) + 00h 01′ 48” Pre-match reading: Here’s yesterday’s report from our Épernay man Jeremy Whittle:

Preamble

Afternoon everyone and welcome to what could be a pivotal, and certainly will be a challenging, stage of the Tour de France Femmes. It’s been a pretty exciting race so far and while we might not be surprised to find Marianne Vos in the yellow jersey, she’s had to work hard for it and was reviewed excitingly yesterday by Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig, the Danish rider who is recovering brilliantly from second her horror stage. Ludwig should also be quite fit for today’s stage, which is demanding, with gravel sections and five graded climbs before a fast descent down the winding roads of Bar-sur-Aube at the finish. Vos is expected to retain her overall lead, but Canyon-SRAM’s Kasia Niewiadoma, who is third in the GC standings, and Paris-Roubaix winner Elisa Longo Borghini may also be in the mix. Riders start around 12pm. BST/1 p.m. CET. Stay tuned. Fourth stage map. Photo: TdF