The Slovenian completed his triple crown of Giro, Tour and Worlds with a devastating ride from 100km out

245km to go: Into open country, and through some farmland and, yes, Swiss cottages. It’s a Norwegian and an Ecuadorian, Jonathan Caicedo. The Vatican City entrant is being spat well out the back, and needs snookers – and prayers - to finish. But here comes a serious move, and it includes Bardet, and two Belgians. Three Americans, too. The gentleman from Belize, Cory Williams, who we saw go off, is now struggling badly. It’s a large group. With Jan Tratnik of Slovenia in there. Belgium and Slovenia – the teams of the big players – are marking out their territory.

255 km to go: Poland, Portugal, USA and Latvia are the early break. The Qatari rider is way off the back; with the big boys now. The peloton behind them is huge. Then, when that drops back, another trio goes away. We’ve already seen Roman Bardet and Mikel Landa to the fore and nobody is being allowed to go – just yet. Estonia, a member of the refugee team – and Belize? Venezuela on the chase. It’s the United colours of Benetton in these early stages.