The battle for the Tour de France points competition starts on unfamiliar shoulders as Egan Bernal claims the race's first green jersey

Tour de France sprinters including Jasper Philipsen, Mads Pedersen, and Tim Merlier will have to put their green jersey aspirations on hold for now after a new face popped up in the maillot vert following Saturday's opening stage.

The rider wearing green for stage 2's hilly run to Montjuïc Park in Barcelona isn't a typical sprinter. Far from it, as 2019 Tour winner Egan Bernal dons green.

The Colombian climber led his Netcompany Ineos team over the first checkpoint of the day during the opening stage team time trial in Barcelona, and with the British squad the quickest of all across that line (and at the finish, for that matter), Bernal raced into green.

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"It's a jersey I never thought I'd wear!" Bernal said after the stage.

"It's a special race with this new team time trial format, but the team was incredibly strong and finished in an amazing way. Team time trials are super hard, and these guys are crazy – they have so much power! It was a good performance.

With time triallist extraordinaire Filippo Ganna part of the Ineos squad this July, it was no surprise that they went for glory on the opening day. In the end, they'd be denied stage victory by Visma-Lease a Bike as Jonas Vingegaard grabbed yellow, but they'll "try on every stage," Bernal said.

"Of course, we came here to win, and we missed out on the victory, but at the same time we're in good shape, and the team is in a great vibe.

"We're definitely going to fight for everything. Every stage is an opportunity. We're here to enjoy the race, and we have nothing to lose, so we'll try on every stage."

It remains to be seen for how long Bernal will manage to defend his newly earned green jersey, though with 25 points up for grabs at the intermediate sprint on Sunday, it seems unlikely he'll hold on this evening.

The sight of a Colombian climber in the sprinter's jersey has lived on as a meme in the past, with Nairo Quintana's stint in green at the 2019 Vuelta a España even spawning its own 'NairoInGreen' subreddit. Maybe Bernal's run as points leader will prove similarly influential…

Bjarne Riis labels Picnic-PostNL's TTT effort 'embarrassing'

Another team who were in the running for green at the first checkpoint of the 19.6km time trial were struggling squad Picnic-PostNL. The Dutch team have just a single win to their names so far this season and lie 28th in the world team ranking, well below their WorldTour competitors and also below 10 second-division ProTeams.

They started out the Tour strong with a fifth-place ride to the first checkpoint after 5.1km of racing, crossing the line just six seconds down on Netcompany Ineos.

However, that was as good as it got for them on Saturday afternoon. By the next checkpoint at the Sagrada Familia church, 10.5km in, they were dead last and 10 seconds adrift, while they'd finish second-last, only above an XDS-Astana team who saw three of their riders crash mid-stage.

1996 Tour de France winner Bjarne Riis had harsh words for the team on his 'Riis in the Field' podcast for Danish website Feltet, labelling their performance "embarrassing".

"I think it's embarrassing. Also what they've delivered all year. There's something completely wrong," he said, as reported by EkstraBladet.

"That a rider like Warren Barguil loses wheels so early, a class rider like him, it's just not good enough. It's clear."

The Frenchman dropped away partway through their effort, leading to several teammates slowing to keep him aboard. In the end, Robbe Dhondt was their top finisher, racing home with the 41st best time, 1:55 down on Vingegaard.

"At WorldTour level, you have to be better," Riis said.

"They are not a new team. I think it's unambitious. It really disappoints me. They haven't stepped on a soft hat all year [An old Danish idiom meaning 'They haven't accomplished anything' – Ed.].

"I'm afraid it will be a bit the same here. It's time to change."

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