Tour de France 2019 result: Mike Teunissen wins stage one in photo finish over Peter Sagan
The Dutch rider clinched the first stage and will wear yellow on Sunday
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Your support makes all the difference.Dutch rider Mike Teunissen pipped Peter Sagan on the line to win stage one of the 2019 Tour de France in Brussels.
Local favourite Greg van Avermaet made an early impression, racing up the first categorised climb to ensure he will wear the famous polka dot jersey in Sunday's team time-trial.
Teunissen's Jumbo-Visma teammate Dylan Groenewegen crashed just before the final kilometre and looked in some discomfort.
Alexander Kristoff and Peter Sagan could also feature in what will be a fiercely contested stage win and yellow jersey.
For the big GC riders like Geraint Thomas and Egan Bernal (both Team Ineos), Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain–Merida) and Jakob Fugslang (Astana), the priority will simply be to get through the day unscathed.
Here's everything you need to know about stage 1:
When does it start? The race starts at around 11.25am BST (12.25pm local time).
Odds: The favourite for the stage is Groenewegen (6/4) ahead of Viviani (3/1) and Ewan (4/1).
What is the route? A flat an opening stage which begins and ends in the Belgian capital via a loop south to Charleroi and west via Mur de Grammont.
What is it really like to ride the Tour de France? The pain, the pressure, the boredom – we asked Geraint Thomas, Mark Cavendish, Simon Yates exactly that and heard some fascinating answers:
90km to go: The breakaway has slipped down to below two minutes in front of the peloton as riders from Jumba-Visma hit the front and work hard to keep the leading trio close. They want Dylan Groenewegen to have a tilt at the stage win, and George Bennett talked this week about how the team have been given clearly assigned roles so there is not potential for confusion or conflict. Despite his GC potential, Bennett is charged with helping Groenewegen in the opening days and their overall contender Steven Kruijswijk in the mountains, and he is easy to spot here digging in.
Some cobbles coming up for the peloton to navigate. There aren't many cobbles in the Tour de France this year, which will please the traditionalists, but Belgium does hold a few tricky sections.
Elia Viviani has a mechanical and stops to grab a new bike from his team car, and the Quick-Step sprinter is now having to work hard to get back into the fold as Peter Sagan's Bora-Hansgrohe up the pace as they set their sights on the intermediate sprint. He wants that record seventh green jersey. SEVEN!
67km to go: The cobbles has shaken up the peloton a little and those at the front have decided to slow the pace a little and bring the whole group back together again.
Peter Sagan sprints to take the first green jersey points of this Tour, and he will be back in that familiar shade tomorrow – and perhaps for the next three weeks.
40km to go: We're getting towards the business end of this stage, and Stéphane Rossetto, who I have to admit I know absolutely nothing about, has decided to escape up the road on his own. Not sure if he just fancies a moment in the spotlight or genuinely thinks he might be able to go and take this stage down with a solo break. If the latter, it's ballsy.
30km to go: So Stephane Rossetto, riding in his first Tour de France, is leading it right now, out in front by 1min 28sec from the peloton. Lotto-Soudal are the group working hardest at the front of the main group as they look to get Caleb Ewan in position for the sprint finish. Elia Viviani is in there and Peter Sagan is also well-placed near the front. I can only assume Dylan Groenewegen is too, and the Dutchman is my favourite to take this stage having clinched two last year in style.
25km to go: The safest place to be right now is up at the front of the peloton and all the big teams are trying to get themselves in there to avoid getting caught up in any sudden incidents which would now be very costly.
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