Dan Martin has narrowly missed out on victory in stage five of the Tour de France.

Ireland’s Dan Martin is one of just two Irish riders who will roll out of the German city of Dusseldorf this afternoon for the 104th edition of the Tour de France.

All of Team Sky’s drivers will take safety refresher courses this winter as part of their response to an embarrassing incident that saw the team bus almost run a cyclist off the road in Wales.

Chris Froome clawed back a late attack led by Alberto Contador to retain second place in the overall standings after stage 17 of the Vuelta a Espana yesterday.