Tour de France - Stage 1: Will former world champion Alaphilippe go for yellow?

The favourites around last year's winner Jonas Vingegaard are immediately challenged at the start of the 110th Tour de France. A relaxed roll-in is not possible on the first stage over 182 kilometres with start and finish in Bilbao on Saturday.

A hilly course with crisp climbs awaits the riders. In particular, the Cote de Pike just before the finish with an average gradient of ten per cent over a distance of two kilometres is a real challenge and is somewhat reminiscent of the Huy Wall at the Flèche Wallonne. This is where the sprinters are likely to be left behind ten kilometres before the finish. Classics specialists such as former world champion Julian Alaphilippe or Mathieu van der Poel could reach for the first yellow jersey.

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