Briton claims his first Tour stage win to move nearly two minutes ahead of closest rival

Exclusive Tour de France blog: A look at Bradley Wiggins’ capture of the yellow jersey from inside the Team Sky camp.

A stage win, a crash, a fifth place and a finish six minutes down and well out of the action: for World Champion Mark Cavendish, who is used to racking up Tour stage wins at a rate that has made him its fifth most prolific such performer, this has been the strangest of starts. And it promises to go on like that, too.

Britain’s Chris Froome won his first Tour de France stage this afternoon, simultaneously thrusting himself into the polka dot jersey and Bradley Wiggins into the yellow jersey.

Win a bottle of wine

No doubt about it, this is a strange Tour for Mark Cavendish. On Monday, the Briton won, despite riding without any of the support he was used to when he rode for the HTC team. On Wednesday, despite having two Sky riders shadowing him, he had a bad crash. Yesterday, despite having unprecedented backing from the entire Sky squad in the closing kilometres of a Tour stage, the world champion suffered an almost equally rare – but clear – defeat in a bunch sprint.

A "no comment" or simply no words at all from a handful of g rim-faced riders and team management, with quote-hungry reporters and TV cameras massing round team buses and cars, and team staff staring blankly across a flimsily fenced-off area at the press pack beyond: this is usually the scene when a Tour de France drugs scandal breaks. And so it was again yesterday morning in Rouen, as the latest round of doping suspicions over the seven-times Tour winner Lance Armstrong surfaced.

Andre Greipel won his second stage of the 2012 Tour de France this afternoon, having reeled in an early breakaway within inches of the finish line. Mark Cavendish, overpowered by Greipel's turn of speed, finished in fifth place.

Tour de France exclusive: No one on Team Sky mentions it; let alone discusses it for fear of jinxing the whole thing, but I can tell it is there.

Two more Sky riders in the wars as quest to match Armstrong's record is put on hold

David Millar will do his utmost to support Mark Cavendish's bid for victory on the opening day of the Olympics after being confirmed in the Great Britain team for London 2012.

If Britain's Bradley Wiggins had flashbacks of his crash and early departure in last year's Tour yesterday nobody would have blamed him.

Cavendish sprints to an incredible 21st stage win

Mark Cavendish won his 21st Tour de France stage this afternoon, having perfectly negotiated a chaotic run-in to the finish.