A second successive French victory was secured in Bologna on a day the two favourites went toe to toe in a late climb

125km to go: Here we go, a climb, the first of the day, all 2km of it, at a 7.5% incline. Jonas Abrahamsen, who began the day in polka dot, takes to the front with very little chasing going on, and takes the two points. What will that climb do to the peloton?

130km to go: At least it’s not one of those soggy tours so far. Emilia-Romagna looks a beautiful spot, and on towards Imola they go, scene of the 2020 World Championships, as won by Julian Alaphilippe.

BBC lacks the hottest takes from Lineker’s Rest Is Football crew while Overlap gang and Christina Unkel boost ITV

It is accepted among TV and film execs that a tertiary element now complicates the relationship between viewer and product. Even auteurs such as Martin Scorsese and Christopher Nolan have been forced to assimilate grudgingly the reality of phones, tablets and watches pumping out all manner of distraction.

Coverage of Euro 2024 has seen further foxes in the chicken coop of linear TV broadcasting. Going viral on social media is a key target even if neither of the UK broadcasters has yet headed down the route of CBS’s Champions League coverage: less infotainment, more a raucous post-works drinks session. Podcasting, meanwhile, part of the wider football media landscape since Germany 2006, has become a lucrative, fresh and – crucially here – unregulated frontier for pundits.