'They're boring, no fun, and make no sense': Does the Tour de France really need 200km stages?

The longest stage of this year's race wasn't exactly a thrill a minute

Laurent Pichon was one of three riders to get in some solo miles off the front

(Image credit: Yuzuru Sunada)

Tour de France stages of 200km (and more) are "boring, no fun and make no sense" according to teams and riders in the 2018 race after finish of the 230km stage to Chartres on Friday, the longest stage of the 2018 race.

Most will only remember Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo) sprinting to victory ahead of Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step Floors) and Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe), but there were five and a half hours of racing before that which saw no fewer than four different breakaways get away before being caught.

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