When you look at the profile of the eleventh Le Tour de France stage, you can only think of a bunch sprint, but the wind could make that more difficult than it seems. André Greipel already won a Tour stage in Monpellier in 2013 and no doubt he wants to repeat that performance today.

“Today it will presumably be the sprinters who fight for the stage win," he said. "We haven’t won a stage yet this Tour and of course that isn’t fun. The only thing I can do is stay focussed and have faith in the capabilities of the team and myself. We have proven many times before that we can do this and I hope we can show it again today.

"Before we get to a sprint we will have to race very attentively with a strong wind that could cause a very nervous race. That I already won once in Montpellier is a nice anecdote, but not more than that.”