Tour de France LIVE start times today, TV channel information and latest updates from stage 1

While there are hopes that Tour de Suisse winner Geraint Thomas less than two weeks ago is in shape to challenge for yellow, in Cavendish’s absence, the main draw for British fans will be Tom Pidcock’s debut in the Tour de Suisse. be French. Only 22, the Olympic mountain bike and cyclocross world champion has the cycling world at his feet. Pidcock is in no rush to focus solely on the grand tours, but having raced last year’s Vuelta a Espana for experience, it will be fascinating to see how he tackles a second three-week race, and where and when he would may decide to have an excavation.

On Monday, the Bahrain-Victorious team announced that a number of riders and staff had their homes searched by police before heading to Copenhagen. It comes after police raided the team’s hotel during the Tour last year, with the team saying the latest searches are a continuation of the same anti-doping investigation, although few details are known. Whether more will come to light in the next three weeks remains to be seen.

It has long been QuickStep-Alpha Vinyl’s plan that Fabio Jakobsen and not Mark Cavendish was set to be their man for the sprints this summer, but the confirmation of a Cav-less eight-man squad was still disappointed. Cavendish lightened up last year’s Tour with his remarkable run of four wins, a stunning comeback when he equaled Eddy Merckx’ record of 34 stage wins in the Tour, but the Manxman won’t add to that as the ruthless Patrick Lefevere favors the younger man this time. After Cavendish’s stellar performance in last weekend’s British national road race, Jakobsen – who has fought back after a life-threatening crash at the 2020 Tour of Poland – must certainly feel the pressure to prove his boss’s decision was the right one. .

The most obvious factor that could disrupt this Tour is the rise of Covid-19 cases across the continent. The Tour de Suisse, a major warm-up race, was hit hard when nearly 30 riders withdrew, either because they had contracted the virus, were considered close contact, or because their teams withdrew en masse due to cases in their camp. QuickStep-Alpha Vinyl has already been forced to make a change, with key figure Tim Declerq testing positive just days before the Tour, and there is a real fear there will be more cases in the coming days. The UCI has tightened its Covid rules in response, but will that be enough to keep the pack safe?

A lot has happened in the world since 2019, and Egan Bernal’s victory in that summer’s Tour certainly seems like a long, long time ago. Tadej Pogacar has won two Tours since then and that is his dominance in stage races as it already seems the natural order of things. The only man who was able to challenge him was a fellow Slovenian Primoz Roglici, who seemed to be in control of the 2020 Tour until the time trial on the penultimate day. The two start as odd-on favorites and most likely challengers. A cover can be made for example Geraint ThomasDani Martinez and Aleksandr Vlasov, but can any of them really challenge unless the top two get in trouble?

The Danish police carried out a house search on Thursday at the request of the French authorities in the hotel of the Bahrain Victorious cycling team. Tour de France Grand departure.

Authorities searched all team vehicles and the rooms of staff and riders at 5:30 a.m. local time in Brondby. The homes of riders and staff were also searched by the police on Monday before their departure for the Tour.

French prosecutors have opened a preliminary investigation into doping allegations against Bahrain Victorious after police searched the team’s hotel late last year.

“At the request of the French police, we conducted a search of a hotel in Brondby as part of an ongoing investigation in France,” Chief Inspector Dannie Rise said.

This long stage could prove crucial as the peloton follows the north coast of Denmark where crosswinds can split the back and leave a serious dent in the hopes of those on the wrong side. Three categorized climbs in the middle of the stage for what will be a spectacular finale over the Great Belt Bridge

The Tour normally starts on Saturday, but the transfer of the first three stages of this year in Copenhagen to northern France means an early rest day and a start on Friday. A flat time trial through the streets of Copenhagen opens up the show with lots of intricate tight turns, but as it’s only over 13km there shouldn’t be huge time gaps between the leaders. Still, the pure climbers will be aware of this to minimize losses.

The strength and depth of the Dutch team stands in his way Jumbo Vismawho poses multiple threats, including Pogacar .’s national teammate Primoz Roglici and last year’s Tour runner-up, Jonas Vingegaard. Ineos Grenadiers is without their guiding light Egan Bernal, the 2019 champion who is still recovering from injury, but they do have the in shape Geraint Thomas fresh from winning the Tour de Suisse, as well as potential stage winners Adam Yates and Tom Pidcock .

Here’s a step-by-step overview of this year’s route.

Geraint Thomas was happy to hear his prospects for yellow this year Tour de France talked to by “Grandpa Brad” Wiggins, but insisted that he take things as they come for the next three weeks.

Thomas will enter Friday’s opening stage in Copenhagen after winning the Tour de Suisse two weeks ago. However, he is one of the three leaders of the Ineos Grenadiers – alongside Dani Martinez and Adam Yates – while they want to compete against defending champions Tadej Pogacar and Primoz Roglic.

Wiggins told a Eurosport podcast last week that the 36-year-old Welshman may be an underdog this summer, but warned to “fire Geraint Thomas at your own risk” while backing him for a podium finish.

“It’s always nice to hear Grandpa Brad say things like that about you,” Thomas said of the man with whom he won Olympic gold in 2008.

“I feel good. Suisse showed I was in good shape, so we’ll see how it goes here. We have a super strong team. The important thing is that we ride together, we are aggressive together and we drive away from each other, what we have been doing all year.”