Riders who stand to gain a lot today are Phinney, whose team Grieg - Maersk enters the stage as top favorites, as well as Sicard - who looks poised to take the yellow jersey - and the likes of Alarcon and Velits, who might try to lay the groundwork for a Top 10 campaign (or more, at least for the Venezuelan).
In contrast, we can expect the T-Mobile duo of Henao Montoya and Guldhammer to lose quite a bit today, but Lopez could be hit even worse. Evonik is on paper possibly the worst team time trialing squad here, so it seems likely that we see a new man in the white jersey at the end of the day, possibly Repsol’s Ndayisenga. On the other hand, they are a very close-knit group who already finishes close to each other yesterday, surely in preparation for today, so they might actually be pretty tough to beat. We will also have a new yellow jersey, because Team Puma - SAP also ranks among the worst teams today.
A quick reminder of the teams we expect to do especially well today, and then we head into the race:
Top 3
Top 5
Top 7
Grieg - Maersk
80
79
77
Podium Ambition
79
79
75
Generali
78
78
77
Repsol - Netflix
79
77
75
Aegon - Lavazza
78
77
76
Podium Ambition have a very firm grip on the last place in the teams competition and they failed to register any decent results in the previous stages, but with no less than five very strong time trialists, they could have, well, podium ambitions for today. They will set the first times at all time checks and hope that there won’t be many teams to beat those.
Led by time trialist extraordinaire Vlatos, Festina - OAKA carry the GC hopes of Lecuisinier through the course today. But at the first time check, they trail Podium Ambition by 27 seconds already.
Evonik - ELKO give us a first impression of the time gaps we might see today. They are 47 seconds slower than PA after the first 12 of 33 kilometers.
Trying to support the ambitions of team leader Dombrowski, eBuddy set a high pace. They’re closest to PA so far, 11 seconds off at the first time check.
As mentioned before, Air France - KLM hope to have the yellow jersey in their team at the end of the day. They do well in the first sector, just six seconds behind the lead.
We have a new best time! With the polkadots jersey at the helm, Generali take the lead at the first time check by three seconds!
With the first 10 teams through, here’s a look at the leaderboard. Aegon - Lavazza is also in the mix for a good position, the gaps are still pretty small in the Top 5.
Meanwhile, the first teams already pass the second time check. Festina seems to be able to limit their losses, adding only 8 more seconds to their initial deficit of 27 to Podium Ambition.
As I’ve mentioned above, T-Mobile aren’t expected to do well today. And indeed, they trail Generali by 43 seconds at the first time check.
Aegon - Lavazza have a very strong second sector! They take the lead after 26 kilometers, three seconds ahead of PA!
Speaking of: Podium Ambition is the first team at the finish line. They set the time to beat at
1.
Podium Ambition
38’11
The first team with a contender, Festina - OAKA finish 42 seconds behind them. They really lost the bulk of their time in the first sector only. Did they get that much better, or did Podium Ambition fade? An important question for both Lecuisinier and his GC chances as well as PA and their result today.
1.
Podium Ambition
38’11
2.
Festina - OAKA
38’53
Evonik - ELKO’s main goal today was to limit the time losses of Lopez, and maybe not finish last. We’ll see if they can achieve at least one of those goal as they finish more than two minutes behind the lead at the moment.
1.
Podium Ambition
38’11
2.
Festina - OAKA
38’53
3.
Evonik - ELKO
40’17
Team Tinkoff did not have any ambitions for today as they were neither favored here nor do they have a true GC contender. They slot in behind Festina, closer than we might have expected.
1.
Podium Ambition
38’11
2.
Festina - OAKA
38’53
3.
Team Tinkoff
39’00
4.
Evonik - ELKO
40’17
Repsol - Netflix has a few very strong time trialists, but not a lot of depth. Still, they have high hopes for today. At the first time check, they are provisionally fifth, 13 seconds behind Generali at this point.
Having been down 32 seconds at the second time check, eBuddy recovers with a very strong final sector to finish just 16 seconds behind PA. That looks like a decent result for Dombrowski.
1.
Podium Ambition
38’11
2.
eBuddy
38’27
3.
Festina - OAKA
38’53
Generali continue their strong performance with a new best time at the second time check, now 11 seconds ahead of Podium Ambition.
Almost catching poor Aru, Aegon - Lavazza come to the finish line. And they set the new best time!
1.
Aegon - Lavazza
38’06
2.
Podium Ambition
38’11
3.
eBuddy
38’27
The favorites are on the road, and they act like it: New best time by five seconds at the first time check for Grieg - Maersk. If they were hoping to get Phinney into yellow though, this won’t do. They gain just 14 seconds on Sicard, who is more than a minute ahead in the GC.
While we’re at it: Air France - KLM strengthens Sicard’s case for the overall lead with a good ride. They finish on a provisional third place, and the French gains additional time on the likes of Dombrowski and Lecuisinier.
1.
Aegon - Lavazza
38’06
2.
Podium Ambition
38’11
3.
Air France - KLM
38’20
4.
eBuddy
38’27
As Isostar - LimeBike, a team without any particular goals for today, come through the second checkpoint, here’s an overview of the first ten squads at that point.
Bennelong - Mitchelton have Lachlan Morton as a GC hopeful. As anticipated, their time is nothing special, but not bad either. They’re 23 seconds behind Grieg at the first time check, in the vicinity of eBuddy.
Generali have consistently increased their advance on Aegon and Podium Ambition throughout the course. Consequently, they set the new best time - the first team to come in below 38 minutes.
1.
Generali
37’50
2.
Aegon - Lavazza
38’06
3.
Podium Ambition
38’11
SPAR - Siam Cement have been fairly average at the first two checkpoints so far and continue that way though to the finish. They come in between eBuddy and Festina, an okay result for team leader Denifl and his GC ambitions.
1.
Generali
37’50
…
5.
eBuddy
38’27
6.
SPAR - Siam Cement
38’37
7.
Festina - OAKA
38’53
Isostar - LimeBike’s highlight so far has been a fourth place by Van der Sanden on stage one. Today won’t add anything to that. But they probably didn’t expect anything else.
1.
Generali
37’50
…
8.
Team Tinkoff
39’00
9.
Isostar - LimeBike
39’42
10.
Evonik - ELKO
40’17
The Top 10 currently at the finish line.
As they pass the second checkpoint, Andorra Cycling Project don’t look very well. They’re already 1’45 behind the best time …
… which is again set by Grieg - Maersk. They extend their lead over Generali to 13 seconds.
Gazelle, and with them GC top favorite Madrazo, come to the first checkpoint. They have a very well-rounded TT squad here and it shows. Provisional fifth place, on par with Air France and Sicard.
With all but two teams (EA and Puma) through at the first time check, here’s the leaderboard. Aker - MOT and Farfetch Pro Cycling for Galta and Monsalve are in the back half, Moser - Sygic for Barguil a little ahead. Festina - OAKA’s time continues to look not great.
T-Mobile never really stood a chance today. All things considered, this time might be decent for them at a bit more than 1’30 behind the lead, but they’re still third-to-last at the moment.
1.
Generali
37’50
…
8.
Team Tinkoff
39’00
9.
T-Mobile
39’25
10.
Isostar - LimeBike
39’42
But not for long, and even Evonik can breathe a sigh of relief as we have a new last place! And we almost have an overtaking! Indosat Ooredoo - ANZ, with only six riders at the start, finish more than half a minute behind Evonik, easily the worst time of the day. Fablok - Bank BGZ on the other hand serve their leader Wellens decently well and limit their losses.
1.
Generali
37’50
…
6.
SPAR - Siam Cement
38’37
7.
Fablok - Bank BGZ
38’40
8.
Festina - OAKA
38’53
…
12.
Evonik - ELKO
40’17
13.
Indosat Ooredoo - ANZ
40’54
EA Vesuvio are here with Andy Schleck as their GC leader. They hold up well so far, only two seconds behind Gazelle and Air France at the first checkpoint, provisional seventh place.
The final team through there is the one of the yellow jersey. But as I said, Demare will have to give that up today. Only Indosaat is worse here, and Sicard slips into the virtual GC lead now already.
Bennelong - Mitchelton have a strong second sector, moving past eBuddy to a provisional seventh place.
Repsol - Netflix not only want to help Alarcon in his GC quest, but also have an eye on the white jersey for Ndayisenga. They do well, although it’s a bit unfortunate that neither is among the first five riders.
1.
Generali
37’50
...
3.
Podium Ambition
38’11
4.
Repsol - Netflix
38’12
5.
Air France - KLM
38’20
Farfetch Pro Cycling come through the second time check, but things don’t look better for Monsalve. They’re 1’18 behind Grieg already.
Another almost-overtaking as both Andorra Cycling Project and Grieg - Maersk come to the line. The latter seem to lock up the stage win and give Phinney a nice boost for the GC, as he comes within 22 seconds of Sicard’s overall lead, the former meanwhile take a big hit to Machado’s already shaky ambitions.
1.
Grieg - Maersk
37’31
2.
Generali
37’50
3.
Aegon - Lavazza
38’06
…
13.
Isostar - LimeBike
39’42
14.
Andorra Cycling Project
39’43
15.
Evonik - ELKO
40’17
Gazelle continue to do well on the second sector. They gain additional time on Air France, for instance, as they’re provisional fifth, 28 seconds behind Grieg.
Farfetch Pro Cycling weren’t expected to do a whole lot today, but this still isn’t a great time for them and Monsalve as they lose 1’44 to Grieg - Maersk and more than half a minute to the likes of SPAR or Fablok.
1.
Grieg - Maersk
37’31
…
11.
Team Tinkoff
39’00
12.
Farfetch Pro Cycling
39’15
13.
T-Mobile
39’25
EA Vesuvio is the final team with a contender through the second checkpoint, so let’s have a quick look at the standings. No bigger gaps between places three and ten, with many of the top contenders and their teams in that range.
Bennelong - Mitchelton come to the line after a decent final sector. They’re just six seconds behind Air France and one ahead of eBuddy.
1.
Grieg - Maersk
37’31
…
6.
Air France - KLM
38’20
7.
Bennelong - Mitchelton
38’26
8.
eBuddy
38’27
Next up is Aker - MOT. They finish in the range of Festina, six seconds ahead of them, but more than a minute behind Grieg, which is about what was expected.
1.
Grieg - Maersk
37’31
…
10.
Fablok - Bank BGZ
38’40
11.
Aker - MOT
38’46
12.
Festina - OAKA
38’53
Moser - Sygic are just two seconds slower, keeping Galta and Barguil close together in the GC.
1.
Grieg - Maersk
37’31
…
11.
Aker - MOT
38’46
12.
Moser - Sygic
38’48
13.
Festina - OAKA
38’53
Gazelle were fifth at both time checks, but they increased their pace on the final stretch to finish third at this point, even jumping past Aegon! Very good result for them and Madrazo, who ends today in third place overall.
1.
Grieg - Maersk
37’31
2.
Generali
37’50
3.
Gazelle
38’06
4.
Aegon - Lavazza
38’06
EA Vesuvio on the other hand lost a bit more in the third sector. They drop one place to finish eigth, just behind Air France. They do move into the lead of the teams classification though, by a mere second ahead of Gazelle.
1.
Grieg - Maersk
37’31
…
7.
Air France - KLM
38’20
8.
EA Vesuvio
38’23
9.
Bennelong - Mitchelton
38’26
Team Puma - SAP conclude the day and they finish where they were expected to: as a bottom three team. Barring a miracle, this was the last day they have the yellow jersey among them, but they will certainly have enjoyed their time with it.
1.
Grieg - Maersk
37’31
…
20.
Andorra Cycling Project
39’43
21.
Team Puma - SAP
40’03
22.
Evonik - ELKO
40’17
The top favorite wins today, the yellow jersey changes - so far, so predictable. Possibly the biggest positive surprise today were Gazelle in third place, and Bennelong - Mitchelton as well as Fablok - Bank BGZ slightly overperformed, too.
Repsol - Netflix and Air France - KLM maybe hoped for a bit more than sixth and seventh, but they are rewarded with the white and yellow jersey, respectively. Festina - OAKA also won’t be too happy with their time and on the even lower end, Farfetch Pro Cycling, T-Mobile and especially Andorra Cycling Project are among the teams whose contenders were hit the worst.
Speaking of contenders, here is an overview of the main ones and their gaps after today:
1
Romain Sicard
Air France - KLM
20h40'38
2
Taylor Phinney
Grieg - Maersk
+ 22
3
Angel Madrazo
Gazelle
+ 40
5
Peter Velits
Aegon - Lavazza
+ 1'01
6
Joseph Dombrowski
eBuddy
+ 1'02
11
Jose Alarcon
Repsol - Netflix
+ 1'12
13
Andy Schleck
EA Vesuvio
+ 1’18
14
Lachlan Morton
Bennelong - Mitchelton
+ 1'21
16
Stefan Denifl
SPAR - Siam Cement
+ 1'32
17
Tim Wellens
Fablok - Bank BGZ
+ 1'35
20
Fredrik Strand Galta
Aker - MOT
+ 1'42
22
Pierre-Henri Lecuisinier
Festina - OAKA
+ 1'48
24
Warren Barguil
Moser - Sygic
+ 1'50
30
Rasmus Guldhammer
T-Mobile
+ 2'04
33
Yonathan Monsalve
Farfetch Pro Cycling
+ 2'12
39
Sergio Luis Henao Montoya
T-Mobile
+ 2'20
50
Tiago Machado
Andorra Cycling Project
+ 2'38
59
Miguel Angel Lopez
Evonik - ELKO
+ 2'52
61
Nikias Arndt
Team Puma - SAP
+ 3'00
77
Gregory Brenes
Indosat Ooredoo - ANZ
+ 4'29
But this is only snapshot ahead of the first mountain top finish tomorrow and we can expect the climb up to La Planche des Belles Filles to shake things up once again. See you then!
Tour de France 
