The 103rd Le Tour de France starts today at Mont-Saint-Michel. There are only 42 inhabitants on the island that is visited by millions of tourists every year. During the first stage the peloton will get to the first categorized climbs of this Tour, both of the fourth category. It will be the sprinters who will fight for the stage win and the first yellow jersey of this Tour at Utah Beach, one of the beaches where the Allied troops landed on D-Day (June 6, 1944).

André Greipel is one of the favourites and is ready to go for his first yellow jersey.

“The moment has finally come," he said. "For the past three days we were already in France, but today the Tour really starts. This year it doesn’t all begin with a prologue, the sprinters and their teams need to start to work immediately . We did a recon of this stage on Wednesday, so we know what to expect.

"Winning the first stage would be fantastic, we noticed last year how an early stage win takes away the pressure. The yellow jersey would be an incredible bonus, but to achieve that goal we need to ride a perfect stage. I have a team around me that I completely trust, with riders who know what to do and who have ridden dozens of races together. We are ready!”