Millions watch Tour de France start in Yorkshire

Fans who take selfies while watching the Tour de France are dangerous to riders, Team Sky rider Geraint Thomas has warned.

The Welsh cyclist said: "The worst thing is when people have got their back to the peloton taking selfies. There were a few. They don't see us coming, they're stood in the road and it's dodgy. If you want to do that, stand on a wall or something.

"I think people need to realise we take up the whole road."

He added: "There have been too many accidents with riders hitting spectators, we don't want to see that but it could easily happen."

Christian Prudhomme found his usually excellent command of the English language lacking as he ran out of superlatives to describe the Grand Départ.

The Tour de France director told John Shires that Welcome to Yorkshire had delivered on their promise of 'the grandest ever départ':

The man in charge of the Tour de France has described the Grand Depart in Yorkshire as the greatest ever.

Hundreds of thousands of spectators saw the second day on the leg from York to Sheffield.

It is estimated two and a half million people watched on the streets across the whole weekend.

Grace Melody Gardner reports:

Italian Vincenzo Nibali won the second stage of the Tour de France, a 201-km ride from York, and claimed the overall leader's yellow jersey on Sunday.

Belgium's Greg van Avermaet was second and Pole Michal Kwiatkowski took third place.

Italy's Vincenzo Nibali launched a late attack to win stage two of the Tour de France in Sheffield on Sunday and claim the race leader's yellow jersey.

Hundreds of thousands of people again lined the 201-kilometre route from York on a brutal and unpredictable day of racing.

Nibali (Astana), the 2013 Giro d'Italia champion, left it late but timed his bid to the line to perfection to secure victory ahead of a number of his rivals for the overall title.

He also claimed the race leader's maillot jaune, from stage one winner Marcel Kittel (Giant-Shimano), who endured a difficult day.

Vincenzo Nibali wins Tour de France Stage Two in Sheffield.

A British pub has toasted the Tour de France coming to town by pouring the world's largest ever glass of beer at 3,664 pints - one for each kilometre of the race.

The Fleece Countryside Inn in Ripponden, Yorkshire, smashed the previous record of 2,638, which was achieved in California in 2009.

And they managed to fill it to the brim with time to spare before racers came through Ripponden for the second stage of the Tour.

Angus Wood, co-founder of Stod Fold Brewing Company which produces the pale ale and masterminded the world record bid, said: "We thought it would be a great way to toast the success of the Tour de France's Yorkshire leg.

The Tour de France Hub estimate there were:

• 2.5m spectators lined the route on Saturday and Sunday
• Over 100,000 spectators turned out in York
• Around 60,000 spectators on Holme Moss