Today is the day! The Tour de France starts in Düsseldorf, Germany, this afternoon with a 14-kilometre time trial – in the rain.
Welcome to the 2017 Tour de France! We open things this afternoon with a time trial along the Rhine River in Düsseldorf, Germany. But until the first rider actually rolls down the ramp, let’s take a look at everything that is going on.
Unfortunately, the weather is not helping things today. We have had showers since last night, and that is supposed to continue all day. Rain and 15°C (59°F) to 17°C (62°F). Let us just hope this makes the times today a little slower and we don’t have any crashes.
Katusha's Tony Martin, the World and German time trial champion, is obviously a top favourite today, and he would dearly love to take yellow in his homeland.
Tony Martin also said, he expects the stage "to be decided by seconds. The distance is relatively short. I am in good form and ready to fight for the yellow jersey. A victory in front of my homeland public would of course be unbelievable. I am happy that it is finally starting."
Richie Porte and Chris Froome are usually friends -- but not when racing against each other. They are still friends, even though Porte wasn't real happy with Froome at the Dauphine.
Elie Gisbert (Fortuneo-Oscaro), the youngest rider in the race, is also the first to take off this afternoon at 15:15 CET. Last, of course, is defending champion Chris Froome (Sky) at 18:32. You can find all the start times here.
We hear that the first fans have already taken their places along the course. Well-equipped with umbrellas, raincoats and chairs.
We mentioned Team Fortuneo-Oscaro earlier. Never heard of them? Up until yesterday you knew them as Fortuneo-Vital Concept. Today they have introduced their new co-sponsor.
Illness and injuries have plagued Dimension Data this year, but they have still brought in 20 wins so far, with Edvald Boasson Hagen responsible for 8 of them.
It is hard to believe but Taylor Phinney is making his Tour de France debut today. What does the American expect? He is not real sure, admitting “I've not had the perfect season so far.”
This is far from being the only race on tap today! Stage 2 of the Giro d’Italia Internazionale Femminile has already started. It started yesterday with a team time trial, which you can read about here.
It seems to be not actually raining at the moment, but everything is still wet and the sky still quite dark. We hope that the rain is over but sincerely doubt it.
Our Sadhbh O'Shea gives us a video look at today's course. Take a peek at it!
Who do you think will win or do well in the Tour this year? Sadhbh O'Shea discusses 10 riders to keep an eye on, on our Youtube channel.
Chris Froome is still the man to beat in the Tour de France, but for how much longer? Former TdF winner Cadel Evans thinks his countryman Richie Porte might be a big winner in coming years.
Half an hour until things start. Are you ready????
On this short course, all the riders will go off at one-minute intervals.
You will probably not be greatly surprised to learn that it is still very wet in Düsseldorf.
Interestingly enough, German TV broadcaster ARD says there are three riders who might win the race: Chris Froome, Nairo Quintana and Richie Porte. No Alberto Contador......
Promptly in time for the first rider, the rain has stopped!
Our first rider is underway! And yes, it is raining again.
Gesbert is not only the first rider off, and the youngest rider in the field, but is also celebrating his 22d birthday today. What a day!
I am handing off to Steve Farrand, who will bring you all around this time trial course safely until we have our winner!
As Gesbert carefully tkes the wet corners, Nacer Bouhanni stats his ride.
There huge crowds along the14km TT route but they are also getting wet today as they cheer the riders.
Bouhanni is not taking any risks out on the course. He takes a central line and avoids the water in the road.
There is an 8.1km intermediate time point which wil give a good indication of who is fastest.
Bouhanni is losing a lot of time on the corners. He slowed considerably to go through a double corner.
Cyclingnews Edior in Chief and reporters Barry Ryan and Sadhbh O'Shea are at the start/finish area in Dusseldorf, chasing news and interviews.
Elie Gesbert (Team Fortuneo - Oscaro) was the first to start and the first to finish.
Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain-Merida) is faster and stops the clock in 16:36.
Luke Rowe is the first rider off for Team Sky. The Welshman will give vital indications to his teammates on the conditions afterwards.
Here comes Dutch veteran Laurens ten Dam. The Team Sunweb rider sets 17:07.
But here is Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal). He sets 16:36 too.
Thanks to the hundredths of seconds, Colbrelli is slightly faster and so remains the fastest so far.
Nate Brown (Cannondale-Drapac) is the first US rider in action. He set a time of 17:10.
Here comes Grivko. He's fast!
The Astana riders sets a time of 15:43 after taking lots of risks in the wet.
Race judges have corrected Grivko's time. His correct time is 16:21. He remains the fastest.
Crash!
Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNl-Jumbo) goes down and slides in the rain after losing his front wheel.
He quickly gets up and is okay but his pride has taken a blow.
39 riders are making their Tour de France debut. They will no doubt be excited and nervous today.
Next off is Daniele Bennati, one of the 18 Italians in action this year. He will be the road captain for Movistar and play a key role for Nairo Quintana.
At the Bora bus, Peter Sagan is on the rollers for his warm-up. Will he take some risks and try and set a fast time and stay within shot of the yellow jersey?
Niklas Arndt (Sunweb) is the new fastest time in 16:20.
Riders are coming thick and fast after starting at one-minute intervals.
DEspite the rain and the dangers of crashing, Grivko rode at an average speed of 51.376 km/h. That's pretty fast!
Bora has opted to send off Rafa Majka early, perhaps hoping to take advantage of the weather before the expected heavy rain.
De Marchi (BMC) sets 16:43. Prett fast for the Italian domestique. He's fifth so far.
Here comes Bennati. He sets a solid but risk-free 17:00.
Here's Sagan. He's off in 10 minutes or so.
Bora have the music blasting out from the team. Sagan's favourite warm-up tune seems to be Eye of the Tiger by Survivor.
Vasil Kiryienka of Team Sky is a former world TT champion and is an outsider today.
Here's Pinot before his ride. He looks a little nervous, probably due to the wet conditions.
As Pierre Rollands starts the rain is pouring down. The riders are getting soaked in the heavy rain.
Here comes Majka. He sets 16: 53. Pretty good from the Pole.
Here comes Pinot. He sets 16:54. That's pretty fast from the Frenchman.
Here's Sagz. He's on the start ramp!
He's off! Will Sagan take risks on the wet roads? With his bike skills he could gain a chunk of time on his rivals and so have a better chance of pulling on the yellow jersey tomorrow in the expected sprint in Liege.
After 80 riders have started, Nikias Arndt (Sunweb) remains fastest with a time of 16:20.
To read more about Peter Sagan and his hopes of winning a sixth green jersey, click here for our special TDF countdown feature.
During this year's Tour de France we will have special and exclusive podcast content.
Kiryienka is off and underway in the rain. He's silky smooth and fast.
Sagan is on a ride, setting 9:31 after 8.1km but Matteo Trentin is faster in 9:24.
Here comes Sagan. He's 1km from the finish.
Sagan goes deep at the finish, setting a time of 16:29. That puts him in 3rd place so far.
Here comes Trentin. He is very fast and catches his 2 minute man Zabel.
Trentin managed to find six seconds on Arndt. That's impressive on 14km of wet, twisting roads.
Trentin will take over from Arndt in the hot seat as fastest rider.
The umbrellas are out due to the rain but riders continue to take risks on the corners.
Kiwi TT champion Jack Bauer is off but his wheel slips as he kicks away. That was a nervous start.
Here's Kiri! He's fast! He sets 16:11.
Kiryienka took a few risks on the corners but it was worth it. He was 3 seconds faster than Trentin and so now tops the leader board.
We're hearing that several riders have crashed including Britain's Scott Thwaites and Germany's Rik Zabel.
Next off in former world road race champion and current Polish TT champion Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky).
For the full start list and running order, click here.
This is the current top ten in the TT.
To see the fastest time, check out or Situation on the right of the page.
Allez Thomas! Thomas Voeckler starts his final Tour de France. The veteran Frenchman plans to retire on the Champs Elysees in Paris in three weeks time.
Andrew Talansky (Cannondale-Drapac) is also out on the course. The twisting course could suit his ability to kick hard and be aggressive out of corners.
Here comes John Degenkolb. He gets a big cheer from the German crowd and stops the clock in 16:53.
Kwiatkowski confirms Team Sky's strength in depth setting 16:19. That is third fastest behind his teammate Kiryienka.
Chris Froome followed Kwiatkowski in the Team Sky to study how his teammate rode the course and took the corners in the rain.
Trentin has explained that the course is very technical, with the need to kick out of all the corners in the second half. He warned that riders need to save something for the tough finale if they want to set a fast time.
The riders are especially scared of the white lines in the city centre. They are slippy when wet and today they are very wet.
We have the first images from our photographers out on the course.
This is a close up of early leader Nikias Arndt (Sunweb).
Darryl Impey (Orica) finishes fast and set a time of 16:23, that's the sixth best time so far.
Vasil Kiryienka of Team Sky is still the fastest with a time of 16:11.
The overall contenders will soon be off. Romain Bardet (AG2R) will be one of the first down the ramp.
Rigoberto Uran (Cannondale-Drapac) is off just after them.
Next up is Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data).
Crash ! George Bennett slips out on the same corner as his teammate earlier.
Jonathan Castroviejo (Movistar) sets 16:24 but he lost a chink of time in the final 5km. He is only 7th fastest despite being European TT champion.
Another GD contender is up: Jakob Fuglsang (Astana).
That's a GC contender. The Dane won the Criterium du Dauphine last month.
Big favourite Tony Martin (Katusha) is now warming-up. He's under pressure but has the pedigree to win and take the first yellow jersey.
Bardet is off. He will be hoping to avoid any crashes, spills and big time losses.
This is a great close up shot of Team Sky's Christian Knees.
Every rider does a special warm-up programme before their ride. Many listen to music to isolate them from the people around them and find some extra motivation.
Britain's Adam Yates is out on the course. He will be hoping to limit hos losses to Froome and the better time trialists.
Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) is on the rollers, warming up for his ride.
Gilbert is fast but not quite fast enough. He sets a time of 16:34.
After his early crash, George Bennett sets 17:41.
Goldren Greg van Avermaet is out on the course.
Fuglsang finishes in 16:58. Not bad but not fast from the Dane.
Crash! Tony Gallopin goes down at speed.
The French gets up and sets off again but he's stunned.
Romain Bardet (AG2R) makes it to the finish without any problems and sets a time of 16:55
Boom! Thomas finishes just behind and sets the new fastest time.
There was no sign of Thomas on live TV but he was super fast, setting a time of 16:04.
Here we go! It's time for Richie Porte to start.
The Australian dances on the pedals and then quickly settles into his aero position.
Next up is Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo).
Here comes Rigoberto Uran. He sets 17:07. He's 1:03 slower than Thomas after just 14km.
Porte slows for a tight corner but quickly gets his bike back up to speed on the bridge over the Rhine in downtown Dusseldorf.
Froome is on the rollers warming up. He is off last today, in 20 minutes or so.
There are just 18 riders left to start. Things are getting very serious for the stage victory and amongst the overall contenders.
Crash! Valverde went down hard.
Valverde lost control of his bike on a fast corner and went down hard into the barriers.
It's unclear if he will be able to finish the time trial.
Race on! Tony Martin starts his ride, knowing he has to beat Geraint Thomas' time of 16:04.
Martin wears the TT world champion's rainbow jersey.
Here comes Richie. He sets a time of 16:51. He's only 37th fastst so far. That's a little off the pace even if he's gained a few seconds on the pure climbers.
Phinney is out on the course and is riding well. He is only 3 seconds of the best time at the 8.1km point.
Porte avoided any risks but lost 47 seconds to Thomas. That's a significant gap in just 14km.
Roglic is out on the course. He is a big threat to Martin today but there are reports he crashed too, like several of his teammates.
Here comes Phinney. He sets 16:21. He just runs out of power and speed in the finale of the TT.
There are reports that Valverde is out of the Tour due to his crash. He hit the barriers hard.
Movistar has confirmed that Valverde is out of the Tour after his crash.
Here comes Martin. It's going to be close.
Martin sets a time of 16:12. That's not enough to beat Thomas!
16:12 is only good enough for third place so far.
Vasil Kiriyenko (Team Sky) is second fastest at 7 seconds.
Quintana is riding but has thrown off his visor/glasses due to the rain.
Here comes Kittel! He sets 16:18 He's got a shot at taking yellow in the days to come. Not on Sunday but next week perhaps.
Froome is out on the course, tucked low on his bike. He hesitates on a corner but is quickly back up to speed.
After 8.1km Aru, Quintana and Contaor are all about 15km down on Thomas.
Stefan Kung is the big threat to Thomas now. The BMC rider is fast.
Froome is also fast at the 8.1km point. He was only 9 seconds slower than Martin at that point. He could gain 40/50 seconds on some of his rivals today.
Froome stomps on the pedals to accelerate after two corners.
Here is Aru. He sets 16: 57. He's gonig to lose time today.
King sets 16:09 but that's not enough to beat Thomas, who lets out a big sigh in the hot seat.
Contador sets 16:58. That's pretty slow for the Spaniard.
Quintana sets 16:52. That's faster than Contador but still slow compared to Froome's expected time.
Here comes Froome!
Froome is slower than Thomas, who wins the stage, but Fromoe gains a chunk of time on all his GC rivals.
What a day! The wet conditions made for a nervous 14km time trial and caused some of the GC riders to lose significant time to Froome.
This is the provisional top ten:
To check out our fearly report and photo gallery, click here.
There have been numerous crashes in the rain today. Most riders only slid out and got up again but Valverde is out of the race after hitting the barriers hard.
There are reports than Ion Izagirre also crashed out in the TT. He was Bahrain-Merida's hope for the GC and mountain stage victories.
Thomas climbs on the podium and waves him arms in celebration. It's a big day for the Welshman.
Thomas used his track pursuit speed and bike skills to conquer the rain and 14km course.
He pulls on the jersey and holds up the yellow lion.
Geraint Thomas let out a cheer and hugged his soigneur immediately after realising he had won the stage.
Thomas added:
Stefan Kng split the Team Sky riders to finish second. He was five seconds slower than Thomas but two faster than Kiryienka.
Team Sky had four riders in the top 10, with froome sixth and Kwiatkowski 7th.
Numerous riders crashes, including Luke Durbridge (Orica-Scott). He finished 195th at 3:01 after struggling to finish.
We'll have a full medical update later on all the riders who crashed. With Valverde and Izagirre out, the race has already lost two top 10 contenders.
Here's the first image of Geraint Thomas in the race leader's yellow jersey.
All the riders faced some tough conditions because of the rain. This great shot is of Luis Angel Mate of Cofidis at full speed.
As per tradition, Thomas had to autograph a series of yellow jersey after pulling on one himself.
Stay with us on our live feed as we bring you more race quotes, info and photos from the opening time trial stage in Dusseldorf.
Taylor Phinney spoke to US television channel NBC after his ride for 12th place on his Tour de France debut.
Geraint Thomas is now in the mixed zone behind the podium area, giving interviews to the many TV channels from around the world.
Chris Froome spoke just after crossing the finish line. He was happy with his ride and that of teammate Thomas.
Fabio Aru also spoke briefly at the finish.
Romain Bardet lost time to Froome but limited his losses to the other GC contender. Considering the tough conditions, that's a successful day for the skinny Frenchman.
According to reports from Spanish radio, Alejandro Valverde has been diagnosed with a fractured knee cap.
A representative from the Movistar tspoke to NBC television briefly sfter the crash.
This close-up shot is of Thomas as he hits the line. Most other image are in the dark rain that covered Dusseldorf all day.
This is Thomas at speed in the near dark conditions.
To understand how bad the weather was today, check out this image from Team Sky.
That was Matteo Trentin after he finished fifth in the TT, just two seconds slower than Tony Martin.
Team Sky will no doubt be celebrating tonight.
A quick calculation of the times gained and lost between Froome and the overall contenders gives this virtually classification:
Today's time trial will give us plenty to consider and influence the next few day's racing.
To understand all that happened during the time trial, click here for our full report and photo gallery page.
Join us tomorrow for full live coverage of stage 2 of the Tour de France. We'll be live with all the news before the stage start and long after the stage finish in Liege.
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