Tour de France 2015: Stage 1

Hello and welcome to Cyclingnews' live coverage of the 102nd Tour de France which starts with a 13.8km time trial around the Dutch city of Utrecht at 14:00 CET time.

• Tour de France 2015 preview
• Tour de France 2015 - stage-by-stage guide
• The Cyclingnews Tour de France Podcast episode 1
• Tour de France 2015 stage 1 forum   
• Tour de France 2015 start list

There have been no changes to the official Tour de France start list with Astana confirming that its rider Lars Boom will start the race despite failing a pre-race MPCC cortisol test. Astana team boss confirmed the news this morning. You can read his comments on the matter by clicking here.

Daniel Teklehaimanot will be first rider to start the time trial today as 14:00 local time. Vincezo Nibali is the last rider to roll out at 17:17. Click here to see the full start times for today's time trial

Nairo Quintana (Movistar) will be the first of the 'fab four' to start his time trial at 15:00 local time

Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) will be the next of the 'fab four' down the start ramp at 17:13 local time

Christopher Froome (Team Sky) is the next rider after Contador and will leave the start house at 17:14 local time

Vincenzo Nibali (Astana Pro Team) will be the 198th and final rider to start the time trial at 17:17 local time

Other times to look out for today are the favourites for the stage win, Tony Martin (Etixx-Quick Step), Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin) and Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing).

Dumoulin is the first of the favourites to start, rolling out at 16:25, followed by Martin at16:44. Cancellara who has five opening-day Tour chrono victories to his name, follows at 17:03.

There are three former UCI World Hour Record holders taking part in the 2015 Tour de France who will challenge for stage 1 victory and they start within 10 minutes of each other. Rohan Dennis (BMC) is first off the ramp at 14:37, followed by Alex Dowsett (Movistar) at 16:28, with Matthias Brändle (IAM Cycling) the last of the trio at 16:37 local time.

This will be Daniel Teklehaimanot's first Tour de France appearance. The 26-year-old has previous grand tour experience having ridden and finished the 2012 and 2014 editions of the Vuelta a Espana. The MTN-Qhubkea rider also has the honour of starting the race in the colours of the national Eritrean time trial champion having won the title last week.

Not sure who is going to win the Tour de France overall? Which favourites will lose time in a tough opening week? Let Greg LeMond share his insights into the 2015 edition of the race in our Tour de France podcast. To listen, click here

Tony Martin, a three-time time trial world champion, was second on the last occasion the Tour de France started in the Netherlands back in 2010. He suffered bad luck in the opening test against the clock in 2012 to finish 45 but is confident of a breakthrough victory today.

"It's obviously my number one goal here. Everybody is talking about me and Tom Dumoulin but there are lots of other favourites, Cancellara, Rohan Dennis… But it's true that Tom came close a few times but I hope I will again end up on top this time. I checked the course several times and I guess I know it pretty well by now. It might look a little short but I like it a lot. I hope the weather stays stable even though if shouldn't affect us too much as most of the favourites are starting together."

If Tony Martin wins the time trial today, it will be the third year running that Germany has claimed the first maillot jaune of the Tour de France. If Tom Dumoulin was to win though, it would be the first maillot jaune for the Netherlands since 1989

In his Cyclingnews blog, Tinkoff-Saxo boss Oleg Tinkoff wrote "I'm ready to boycott the Tour de France in 2016".

FDJ team boss Marc Madiot has also penned a blog for Cyclingnews, you can read what he has to say in reply by clicking here

Today will be a special time trial for Andrew Talansky who gets to debut his national stars and stripes bike and jersey on Independence Day. He is one of three leaders this July for Cannondale-Garmin

Time for a weather update. It is currently 32 degrees Celsius in Utrecht with humidity at 44%.

For those of you staying up late in New Zealand, Jack Bauer (Cannondale-Garmin) will be starting at five past the hour

And for Australia, Luke Durbridge is the first rider out of the start house at 14:11 local time. He will be followed by Zak Dempter (Bora-Argon 18) at 14:24, Rohan Dennis (BMC) at 14:37, Richie Porte (Team Sky) at 14:40, Nathan Haas (Cannondale-Garmin) at 15:11, Mark Renshaw (Etixx-Quick Step) at 16:00, Adam Hansen (Lotto-Soudal) at 16:04, Michael Rogers (Tinkoff-Saxo) at 16:04, Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEdge)at 16:23 with Michael Matthews (Orica-GreenEdge) the last at 16:45.

Giant-Alpecin's Koen de Kort will have GoPro camera on his bike for the time trial today as will a rider from every team on every stage of the Tour de France

An elevation gain of just two metres on today's stage

For all our Tour de France coverage, click here for the race page.
 

There is just one intermediate time check in today's time trial coming at the 7.1km mark 

Daniel Teklehaimanot has left the start house and the 2015 Tour de France has officially started!

Alain Gallopin, the Trek sport director, had a few words on the chances of Fabian Cancellara today.

"It's a course for pure specialists, not very technical with wide curves. Therefore it's a good one for Cancellara. He's going well, he's extremely motivated."

8 riders have now started but no one has yet reached the intermediate time check

Former Australian time trial champion Luke Durbridge is dreaming of the yellow jersey.

"It's best to ride it two or three times in the morning and be fresh for it”, he said before the race. “It's a decision I made to start earlier because rain is forecast later in the day. It's a little bit too short for the TT specialists and a little bit long for a prologue. As a result it makes it wide open for a lot of riders. I mentioned Bradley McGee and 2003 because you have to dream. I'll give it a crack and see what happens. I'm not among the leading favourites so I can be relaxed and just try my best."

Daniel Teklehaimanot comes through the intermediate time check with a time of 7:54 minutes

For todays stage 1 start times, click here

Jack Bauer has blasted Teklehaimanot's time at the half way point by 13 seconds

Nelson Oliveira has also passed through the time check but is nine seconds slower than Jack Bauer

For those who haven't seen the map of today's course, here is it for you

Daniel Teklehaimanot crosses the line with a time of 16:30 minutes and is the virtual leader of the Tour de France

Jos Van Emden sets a new best time at the intermediate mark with a 7:27

Marcel Wyss has dethroned Daniel Teklehaimanot on the finish line

That didn't last long for Wyss though as Jack Bauer comes in just one second faster than the IAM Cycling rider with a time of 16:07 minutes

Multiple French national champion Sylvain Chavanel is about to start his time trial at 14:25 local time

Jos Van Emden has just recorded a smashing time of 15:11 minutes, 56 seconds ahead of Jack Bauer on the finish line to become the leader of the Tour

Luke Durbrdige was 10 seconds behind Jos Van Emden at the halfway mark but crossed the line 31 seconds down on the LottoNL-Jumbo rider

24 riders have passed through the intermediate time check and it's Jos Van Emden with the fastest time still

Sylvain Chavanel has just gone through the intermediate time check eight seconds off the time of Jos Van Emden. 

Mark Cavendish is out on course, he'll be looking to get through it unscathed and prepare for the stage 2 sprint tomorrow

Rohan Dennis has just started his time trial and is aiming for victory.

"Obviously it's one of the major goals of my season. I always go for first. One day this first will come eventually, and I'll be extremely happy."

Robert Gesink has gone through the time check just 5 seconds down on teammate Jos Van Emden

Richie Porte is the latest rider to start. What can the Australian national champion do?

Don't forget that you can join the discussion taking place right now on our stage 1 forum for the Tour de France

Lots of fans on the roadside today cheering on the riders despite the mid-30 degree heat

Sylvain Chavanel faded in that second half but did enough to steal second place on the finish line ahead of Luke Durbridge

Robert Gesink crossed the line in second place, 18 seconds down on his teammate

Rohan Dennis was just one second down on Jos Van Emden at the halfway mark

Sylvain Chavanel spoke to France Televisions after he finished the stage.

"30 seconds on Van Emden, it's a lot," he said. "It's two seconds per kilometre! Some riders will go faster than him. I noticed more wind on the course than this morning and there'll be more and more this afternoon."

Richie Porte comes through the intermediate time check 22 seconds down on Van Emden

Rohan Dennis catches his minute man Lars Bak (Lotto Soudal)

Rohan Dennis comes in with the new best time of 14:56 

Spanish national champion Jonathan Castroviejo has just completed a good ride with the third best time, 23 seconds down on Rohan Dennis.

Wilco Kelderman is out on course but we are yet to see images of the Dutch national champion

For any rider to beat Rohan Dennis, they will need to improve upon his average speed of 55.2km/h.

Nairo Quintana is being cheered on by Dutch fans out on course 

Reto Hollenstein hit a spectator while training for the time trial this morning but the Swiss rider is set to start the race. He suffered a pneumothorax of the right lung at last year's race and was forced to abandon. 

Wilco Kelderman crossed the line in fourth place, 30 seconds down on Rohan Dennis with a time of 15:26 minutes

Rohan Dennis set the fastest ever average speed in the Tour de France history for an individual time trial.

Rohan Dennis set the fastest ever average speed in the Tour de France history for an individual time trial. Here's what he had to say to letour.fr

"It was my goal to do well. It was pretty smooth. It was very long on the way home. I kept thinking sixteen minutes because that was my time at training. In the end I got one minute bonus. Let's wait and see now. It looks like it's going to be a long time on the hot seat."

Nairo Quintana crosses the line in 14th place, 1:01 minute down on Dennis 

As it stands here is the top five:

Rohan Dennis (BMC) 14:54

Jos Van Edmen (LottoNL-Jumbo) @ 15 seconds

Jonathan Castroviejo (Movistar) @ 23 seconds

Wilco Kelderman (LottoNL-Jumbo)@ 30 seconds

Robert Gesink (LottoNL-Jumbo) @ 33 seconds

Rigoberto Uran has crossed the line in sixth place, 40 seconds down on Dennis

Nairo Quintana spoke to France Televisions after crossing the line. Here's what he had to say

"That was a very demanding race. Yesterday I felt good. I don't know what my time is worth. I'm only interested to know where I stand compared to the other GC riders, not the time trial specialists who are ahead of me now."

After a strong showing at the Giro d'Italia in May, Ryder Hesjedal is back at the Tour de France and looking for a high overall result. First up though is the time trial

"It's a lot less technical than I thought. There are a lot of big wide open sections. We don't know yet what the wind is going to be like. It's an absolute TT. It's for specialists. My goal is to ride into the race. I've been doing the Giro, recovering and I hope to be stronger than I was in the Giro in the third week of the Tour."

No changes to the top-five at the intermediate time check or finish line after 75 riders have completed the 18.8km course.

Luxembourg national champion Bob Jungels is about to make his Tour de France debut and roll out onto the course

Robert Millar's latest blog for Cyclingnews blog is live. Have a read by clicking here

The latest transfer talk from the Tour de France is all in one easy place for you, find it by clicking here

It has been confirmed that Rohan Dennis has set the Tour de France record for the fastest ever individual time trial. Dennis' average speed was 55.446km/h.

He broke the record that had been set by Chris Boardman on the 1994 7.2km prologue in Lille.

@letourdata Sat, 4th Jul 2015 14:48:22

French rider Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) has begun his ride. He has to limit his losses to his GC rivals today. 

French rider Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) has begun his ride. He has to limit his losses to his GC rivals today. 

It is 30 years since a French rider won the Tour de France. This year they have Pinot and Romain Bardet (Ag2r-La Mondiale) as contenders. 

 Pinot is fighting with his TT bike but trying to stay as aero as possible. 

Riding in the South African champion's jersey, Darryl Impey of Orica sets a time of 15:53.

Here comes Gorilla Greipel. He sets a time of 16:07. 

Britain's Adam Yates (Orica-GreenEdge) is off. It will be fascinating to see how the twins perform this year.

Here comes Pinot. He sets a time of 15:37. Impressive.

@iamspecialized Sat, 4th Jul 2015 14:58:22

The crowds are huge along the TT route, despite the scorching hot weather and 32C temps. 

Pinot gained 20 seconds on Nairo Quintana (Movistar), who was a an early starter and set a time of 15:57.

@EquipeFDJ Sat, 4th Jul 2015 15:06:40

Nico Roche starts now for Team Sky. 

We are getting close to the start time of the big favourites and the rest of the overall contenders.

@Movistar_Team Sat, 4th Jul 2015 15:11:14

Ireland's Dan Martin (Cannondale-Garmin) is off soon. He is hoping to stay within a shot of taking yellow on the Mur de Huy on Monday. 

Rohan Dennis (BMC) is still smiling as he sits in the hot seat as fastest so far.  

Bauke Mollema (Trek Factory Racing) is out on the course and is getting a huge cheer.

@Cyclingnewsfeed Sat, 4th Jul 2015 15:22:55

Here we go! Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin) sets off. Can he beat Dennis' time? We'll know in 15 minutes.

Dumoulin is tucked over his aero bars pushing out the power but without moving in the saddle.  

Dumoulin is down on Dennis's 7km time. He will need to dig deep to win.  

He was only one second slower than Dennis however. 

Here comes Mollema. He sets 15:33.

The Dutch crowds are cheering Dumoulin along, pushing him to go deeper. He is still composed and fast.

2km to go for big Tom Dumoulin. 

He is close to catching the rider in front of him. 

Last Km for Dumoulin. Can he do it? 

Dumoulin stops the clock in a time of 15: 04. It's not enough!

He finished 8 seconds slower than Dennis. 

@friebos Sat, 4th Jul 2015 15:42:16

Here comes Dowsett (Movistar) but he's off the pace in 15:32.

Tony Martin (Etixx-Quickstep) is off. Can he topple Dennis? 

Martin is coming up to the 7km midpoint very soon. 

Nibali and Contador are both warming up for their ides in ice-vests.

Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo) starts in the Slovakian TT champion's jersey. 

Oops! Nerz of Bora-Argon 18 is riding with broken aero bars.

Matthias Brandl (Iam Cycling) finishes fifth fastest. 

Martin is 4 seconds down after 7km. He may struggle go make that up in the windy second part. 

Lars Boom (Astana) starts his ride, despite the team being part of the MPCC. 

Pre-race tests showed he had low cortisol levels and under MPCC rules say he should rest for 8 days. However the Astana team has decided to respect UCI rules-which allow Boom to ride, but snub the MPCC rules. Their actions are likely to mean that Astana will be expelled from the MPCC association.

Martin is off the pace and stops the clock in 15:01. 

Dennis remains 5 seconds faster and lets out a huge sigh of relief. He is set to wi the stage and pull on the first yellow jersey of this year's Tour de France.

@cyclingreporter Sat, 4th Jul 2015 15:57:45

USA champion Andrew Talansky (Cannondale-Garmin) starts in the stars and stripes. 

It's time for Spartacus! 

Can Cancellara win today? He's been off form recently but remains a powerhouse and great time trialist. 

Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) is also in action on the roads of Utrecht. 

Thomas stops the clock in 15:29. 

Cancellara cuts a corner very tight but perhaps loses some speed. 

Romin Bardet (Ag2r-La Mondiale) has not had a great ride, finishing in 16:30.  

He loses 1:30 to Dennis. 

Tejay van Garderen (BMC) starts his ride. Can he gain time on his GC rivals today? 

Wow! Cancellara is fast, passing the 7km split just one second slower than Dennis. 

And Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-SAxo begins his 2015 Tour de France...

Froome is next off.

Froome is quickly up to speed and spinning his legs. 

French sprinter Demare sets off. just 2014 winner Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) after him.  

We stand corrected, there is also J-C Peraud of Ag2r between the two. 

Cancellara is about to catch Rui Costa (Lampre). He is flying!

Nibali is off! 

Here is Cancellara. He sets a time of 15:02. He is third!

@cyclingreporter Sat, 4th Jul 2015 16:19:35

Contador is not super fast at the 7km time split. He is reported to be only 49th, 20 slower.   

Froome is faster in 7:43 and 31st place, 

Purito Rodriguez is off the pace and will time ot his GC rivals. He sets 16:22.

@TeamSky Sat, 4th Jul 2015 16:25:30

Tejay van Garderen sets a time of 15:38. Not great but not bad. He's in the mix of the GC contenders.

Wow! Nibali is faster than Froome and Contador after 7km. He is 18th at only 11 seconds. 

Contador is off the pace, setting 15:54. 

Froome is faster than Contador but only sets 15:46. 

Contador lost 50 seconds to Dennis. 

However most of the GC are pretty close after the TT. We are awaiting just Nibali now.  

He sets a time of 15:39, going better than Froome and Contador. 

Meanwhile Rohan Dennis gives BMC and Australia the first stage win and the yellow jersey of the 2015 Tour de France.

Dennis beat Tony Martin by 5 seconds, with Fabian Cancellara third at 8 seconds. 

Stay with us for live coverage of all the immediate post stage reaction after the TT. We will have quotes from all the main protagonists of the day and instant analysis.  

Surprisingly Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) was the best of the GC contenders in the TT. 

Pinot
Tejay van Garderen  +1''
Nibali +2''
Froome +9''
Valverde +15''
Contador +17''
Peraud +18''
Quintana +20''
Bardet +53''

Rohan Dennis pulls on the yellow jersey on the podium of the Tour de France. What a moment. 

He admitted he was emotional as he knew he as going to win. 

"We decided to go off early, set a bench mark and make everyone else chase me. It worked out perfectly," Dennis said in the flash TV interview.

"There’s a little bit of shock. We’ve worked with the team and came out here bout a month ago to check and recon the course. It’s the Tour de France and the yellow jersey. I’ve always dreamed of being in this position and now I am."

"It started to sink in when I saw the big threats come in behind me. It was surreal but a few emotions came out." 
 

Dennis also takes the green points jersey and more flowers and kisses on the podium. 

@Lotto_Soudal Sat, 4th Jul 2015 16:46:02

Now the debate about how the GC contenders performed begins in earnest. 

The initial winners are Pinot, Van Garderen and Nibali, with Quintana and especially  Bardet the losers. 

Contador as slightly below par, losing 17 to Pinot. They could be significant or not depending on what happens in the next 3 weeks and especially the next few days and the stage 9 team time trial. 

@AndAgo70 Sat, 4th Jul 2015 16:52:07

@letour Sat, 4th Jul 2015 16:58:12

As per tradition, Rohan Dennis is autographing several yellow jerseys after pulling on the first yellow jersey of the 2015 Tour de France.

Rohan Dennis set the fastest ever average speed of an individual time trial at the Tour de France with a speed of 55.446km/h.

The previous record was held by Chris Boardman with 55.152km/h in Lille in 1994 on a 7.2km course. 

That is fitting after Dennis set a new hour record of 52.491km/h this spring.

@TrinityCycling Sat, 4th Jul 2015 17:01:35

@tinkoff_saxo Sat, 4th Jul 2015 17:07:20

Tony Martin has revealed he was disappointed with his second place. 

"I came here to win. Second place is still a good result but is not the result I came here for," he told Eurosport.

"It’s a big disappointment. I didn’t imagine that the heat would play such a big role but at half distance I was cooking. I couldn’t do my usual power, so I knew I the second half that I wouldn’t take the victory because I knew that Rohan Dennis had done a good second half. It’s a big disappointment." 
 

Tony Martin has revealed he was disappointed with his second place. 

"I came here to win. Second place is still a good result but is not the result I came here for," he told Eurosport.

"It’s a big disappointment. I didn’t imagine that the heat would play such a big role but at half distance I was cooking. I couldn’t do my usual power, so I knew I the second half that I wouldn’t take the victory because I knew that Rohan Dennis had done a good second half. It’s a big disappointment." 
 

@tinkoff_saxo Sat, 4th Jul 2015 17:18:19

The first images of Rohan Dennis have landed. Check out out first report, results and photos gallery by clicking here. 

Here is a great shot of Rohan Dennis in action today.

@badencooke Sat, 4th Jul 2015 17:32:55

Here is a great photo of Dennis in the yellow jersey.

Thanks for joining us for our full live coverage of the opening time trial stage from the Tour de France.

We've only just going and there are still 20 stages to enjoy.    

For a full stage report, initial reaction from Rohan Dennis, full results and our huge photo galley, check out the Cyclingnews report page by clicking here. 

We will soon have reaction from all the big-name riders, special interview stories, time trial tech and exclusive news from Utrecht on the Cyclingnews home page.  

Join us on Sunday for full live coverage of the 166km second stage from Utrecht to Zélande on the exposed Dutch coast. If the wind blows, it could be an important stage for the overall classification. 

The stage starts at  13:15CET and we be live at 12:15CET.

A bientot les amis du Tour!

Provisional results: