The environment was solemn and the weather conditions were cloudy and dark but friendliness was on the menu on the main square of Sainte-Mère-Eglise, all coloured in yellow for the teams' presentation of the 103rd Tour de France. The 198 riders met the world's history as they reached the stage by military vehicles from World War II.

That was the theme of the event held in the first village freed by the American soldiers in June 1944. “That was impressive, I'll never forget this moment”, said an emotional Fabio Aru. The 2015 Vuelta a España winner discovered the greatness of the Tour de France on this occasion.

Sprinters were high in demand in the TV mixed zone. “I'm so happy to be back”, said Marcel Kittel after missing out on last year's race. “But I don't want to take all the pressure for myself.” “I'm looking forward to a fast sprint finish on stage 1”, Mark Cavendish said. “It'll be windy and rainy as well on Saturday. There weren't many straight finishes last year, they were all technical. To get back to old Tour de France sprints like that excites me as well as contributing to Qhubeka's charity campaign.”

The first yellow jersey will be up for grabs in the sprinters' camp but GC contenders talked about later in the race. “I have a clearer tactical plan than ever”, warned Alberto Contador while Nairo Quintana confirmed his great feelings after winning the Route du Sud. “I'm getting closer to my #SueñoAmarillo (yellow dream)”, the Colombian admitted. “I feel good”, defending champion Chris Froome commented, “but it's the biggest challenge of my career to win it again considering the level of the competition. It's by far the strongest team we've ever put on the start line of the Tour de France.”

While first timers were amazed by everything, veteran Fabian Cancellara said ahead of riding his last Tour de France before he retires: “It's not a farewell. I can have my farewell later. For now, it's about performance. If I can win another stage, it'll be great but if not, it'll be understandable because everyone wants to win.”