On a hot summer day, Rui Costa set at an average speed of 51,269 km/h on the 13,8 km course in Utrecht in the first stage of the Tour de France.

The Portuguese covered the course in 15'09" and this performance did not grant him a place in the top of the stage classification (83rd place, 1'13" behind Rohan Dennis who rode at a record average speed of 55.446 km/h), however he could limit the loss to the other top contenders for the overall classification.

"I was competitive in the first part of the course, my legs were good and I succeded in riding at a high speed," Rui Costa said. "In the central part where the course became more suitable for the specialists, I lost seconds. I was aware that it was possible that I would lose time.

"I've already focused my attention on tomorrow's stage, which will be very dangerous".

Sports director Philippe Mauduit explained that: "We were aware that, without a pure time trial specialist for this kind of course, our target was to limit the loss to the top contenders for the overall classifciation.

"The gap is not so large, I think stages like tomorrow's will make larger gaps. It will be very important to ride as a united team, riding close to each other in order to avoid the dangers that the wind and the course will create."