Tour de France stage 1 Live - Race for the first yellow jersey begins ...

2024-06-29T11:27:58.773Z

Abrahamson has Ryan Gibbons on his wheel, and the peloton seems happy to let them go clear.

2024-06-29T11:26:11.338Z

Bike change for Jonas Vingegaard in the peloton - as a result of a mechanical, not a crash. 

2024-06-29T11:25:42.161Z

Uno-X Mobility aren't done yet though - now Abrahamsen tries to get up the road.

2024-06-29T11:24:50.565Z

The work from Lidl-Trek has brought back the Uno-X Mobility duo. 

2024-06-29T11:22:38.896Z

Lidl-Trek riders are now pulling in the peloton. That's an early signal of intent - do they fancy Mads Pedersen to manage to get over the climbs today?

2024-06-29T11:20:30.349Z

Big crowds at the roadside as the riders pass through Dicomano. The Italians have turned out in numbers to greet the Tour.

2024-06-29T11:17:24.221Z

Rasmus Tiller and Odd Christian Eiking are the two Uno-X riders. They're 15 seconds ahead of the peloton, but still 1-20 behind the seven leaders. 

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Instead, they've fired two riders up the road in a counter-attack.

2024-06-29T11:15:03.858Z

They're not committing to leading the peloton, either. The pace is off again.

2024-06-29T11:13:37.043Z

Cort's brought back, and now one of his Uno-X teammates ups the pace in the peloton. It's clear the team are unhappy about missing the break, but they seem in mixed minds as to what to do next. 

2024-06-29T11:12:37.605Z

Magnus Cort jumped out of the peloton, but already seemed to have given up the ghost.

2024-06-29T11:10:59.114Z

52 seconds now between the peloton and the seven leaders. If anyone wants to bridge, they're going to have to go now.

2024-06-29T11:10:33.068Z

There were some riders trying to bridge up to them, Gianni Vermeersch and Jonas Abrahamsen but they’ve been brought back.

2024-06-29T11:09:54.753Z

The group in full:

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It's a strong group, too.  Mohorič, Ion Izagirre and Valentin Madouas are all present. 

2024-06-29T11:07:30.122Z

47 seconds for this 7-man group - this certainly seems like the day's break.

2024-06-29T11:06:47.302Z

The pace has slowed in the peloton - this might be the break of the day.

2024-06-29T11:06:33.194Z

Wout van Aert has his hand up at the back of the peloton.  He's taking things easy for now, but could be a contender for the stage later depending on how well recovered he is from his injury. 

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It seems not - a flurry of counter-attacks from the peloton has seen everything come back together again. 

2024-06-29T11:02:21.598Z

García Pierna now has seven riders with him at the front, and a handful of seconds on the peloton. Could this be the break?

2024-06-29T11:01:50.593Z

Raúl García Pierna has managed to escape and is out in front alone, with a small group behind him chasing.

2024-06-29T10:59:22.343Z

Everything is back together again in the peloton. 

2024-06-29T10:59:02.334Z

Jan Hirt is at the back of the peloton, and already suffering. What an unfortunate start to the Tour for him. 

2024-06-29T10:56:50.601Z

DSM is the best-represented team in the current leading group, with two riders.

2024-06-29T10:55:13.211Z

They’re brought back, and a new group of five try their luck, with a Groupama-FDJ rider involved again.

2024-06-29T10:54:23.998Z

A new group now trying to clear, featuring Paul Lapeira, now very conspicuous in his tricolore jersey as newly crowned French national champion.

2024-06-29T10:51:48.140Z

That move has been brought back.

2024-06-29T10:50:37.149Z

A group of about ten now has the biggest gap we've seen so far, but even that is only a few seconds.

2024-06-29T10:50:16.278Z

Even fortmer podium finisher Romain Bardet is getting involved in the attacks! This is far from the usual suspects of wildcard teams and small names trying to get into the break. 

2024-06-29T10:49:05.214Z

Stefan Küng is also being lively at the front. Groupama-FDJ seem eager to get into the break today, and have their strongest men utilised. 

2024-06-29T10:47:22.082Z

After a pause of a few moments, the attacks begin, led by Groupama-FDJ's Valentin Madouas.

2024-06-29T10:46:44.975Z

2024-06-29T10:44:24.760Z

A terrible start to the Tour for Jan Hirt, even before the unofficial start. The Czech rider crashed on his way back to the team bus after signing on, breaking three of his teeth. Soudal-QuickStep team will need him to recover, as he’s set to be a key domestique in the mountains for Remco Evenepoel.

2024-06-29T10:41:21.755Z

Now just 4km until the official start. Sometimes earlier Grand Tour stages can be characterised by how little riders want to get into the break, but the amount of climbing on the menu today, and the prospect of everything from a Polka-dot jersey and fame on such a big occasion, should mean there’s action once the flag drops soon.

2024-06-29T10:34:37.062Z

2024-06-29T10:31:27.426Z

Still 10km left of the neutralised zone. The Tour de France is making the most of this unique Grand Départ.

2024-06-29T10:25:50.832Z

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Although there are no climbs ranked higher than category two today, there are a lot of them — seven in total, amounting to 3,600m elevation gain in total. It’s been described as one of the hardest starts to a Tour de France, and one that even many puncheurs will find too hard. 

2024-06-29T10:04:57.069Z

Mark Cavendish is in good spirits, waving to the crowd as the peloton sets off from the unofficial start. He’s here riding the fifteenth Tour of his career, and is, as has been much discussed, chasing the record-breaking 35th win.

2024-06-29T10:02:36.213Z

The riders have just set off from the neutralised zone - the Tour is to begin soon! Not just yet, though, as they will spend longer than usual in the zone than usual as they savour the sights of Florence.

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Follow our Instagram for on-the-ground updates in Florence and Rimini on our stories:

2024-06-29T09:40:43.013Z

Make sure to check out CN's mega Grand Départ tech gallery, as shot and put together by our associate editor Josh Croxton, who is on the ground in Italy for the opening 3 stages:

2024-06-29T09:30:22.921Z

Huge reception for World Champion Mathieu van der Poel as he brings the rainbow bands to the Tour de France. 

2024-06-29T09:29:29.573Z

Just 30 minutes until the départ fictif now in Florence. Reminder that it is absolute scorcher today in Tuscany so temperature regulation will be incredibly important.  

2024-06-29T09:16:50.166Z

Here's Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) arriving at the start of stage 1 on his 16th and final Tour de France.

2024-06-29T09:06:05.643Z

Make sure to catch up with this great read on the importance of the Italian Grand Départ, which honours the hometowns and training roads of Italian greats Gino Bartali, Marco Pantani and Fausto Coppi:

2024-06-29T08:59:00.573Z

Wonderful reception for fan-favourite Mark Cavendish on stage in Florence, a place dear to his heart. He's here in search of stage win 35.

2024-06-29T08:53:32.306Z

Reminder that although it is a punchy day, Mathieu van der Poel doesn't see it was an option for himself of Jasper Philipsen:

2024-06-29T08:51:54.270Z

Big crowds welcome the first team on stage, TotalEnergies.

2024-06-29T08:45:44.074Z

Teams have arrived in Florence and are gearing up for sign-on and the team presentation. Here's Visma-Lease a Bike and defending champion Jonas Vingegaard setting off from their team hotel this morning.

2024-06-29T08:38:26.610Z

To get things started, make sure to read our preview of stage 1, written by one of CN's team on the ground at the Grand Départ, Dani Ostanek:

2024-06-29T08:37:29.463Z

It's back, finally! The biggest bike race in the world is about to start and we're getting the build-up started an hour and a half before the riders set off from the neutralised start in beautiful Florence. 

2024-06-20T17:35:09.701Z

Bonjour and welcome to Cyclingnews live coverage of stage 1 of the 111th 2024 Tour de France!