For the first time in three years the Tour de France starts with a short individual time trial, the only one of this edition. The riders have to cover 13.8 km in Utrecht.

 “Lotto Soudal doesn’t have the big specialists in its team, but we do have some guys who can ride a good time trial," sports director Herman Frison said. "Although we hope for a bunch sprint tomorrow, it’s not an option not to go full gas. This is the Tour! Each performance is followed with a lot of attention and you never know what a few seconds less or more can mean the following days.

"Riders who have a chance to win today? Fabian Cancellara, Tony Martin, Tom Dumoulin and Rohan Dennis.”