AND WE ARE OFF!

Cavendish thrives in the rough and tumble environment of the sprint finish. And his team-mates will be looking to ride in a train in front of him during the closing kilometres of the stage, trying to set him up to win the sprint to the line.

Cavendish will face the likes of German sprint specialists Marcel Kittel and Andre Greipel when the race hits Harrogate.

Should Cav win, he will get to wear the fabled yellow jersey as the leader of the race. He has never done that before so this is a huge day for the Manxman - he has geared his whole season around this day.

However, you are not likely to see much of Froome, Contador and Nibali today. The relatively flat profile of the opening stage is designed to finish in a sprint finish.

So, Team Sky's squad of domestiques will be riding around Froome, making sure he doesn't crash, while fetching and carrying food and drink for him.

Sprint finishes are notoriously chaotic, so overall race favourites generally stay clear of them to avoid crashing and injuring themselves.

Mark Cavendish on the other hand...

If you are new to the Tour de France, let me try and sum it up in a nutshell.

There are 22 teams of nine riders, who will tackle 21 stages, which are made up of flat, hilly and mountainous terrain. Each team has a leader - a rider who the other eight are trying to help either win the overall race, or individual stages.

There are only a handful of riders in with a realistic chance of winning the overall race. Britain's Chris Froome is the favourite and his main challengers are likely to be Alberto Contador of Spain and Italy's Vincenzo Nibali.

Before the race starts, can I point you in the direction of BBC 6 Music. Gideon Coe is presenting his show from the start in Leeds and will have interviews with the likes of British cycling greats Victoria Pendleton and Dame Sarah Storey. He is playing a selection of tracks with a cycling theme.

When you are on your turbo trainer, which tracks get you going? Text us on 81111 or tweet #bbccycling

Image source, Holly Ackroyd

Holly Ackroyd, external in Addingham, W Yorks, made sure last night's tea underlined where her loyalties lie.

Wiggins is not riding in this year's race - a decision his Team Sky boss Sir Dave Brailsford said "kept him awake at night".

He added: "It was a horrible, horrible place to find myself. Contrary to popular opinion, I've got some emotions and it was a very difficult decision.

"But you look at the logic and you figure out what it's going to take to win. I've done that for a long time now and it has stood us in very good stead."

Image source, Lana Knitting

Lana Knitting has been busy with the er...knitting needles. Got anything better to show me? Texts to 81111 or tweets to #bbccycling, external

Image source, Getty Images

The first British winner was, of course, Sir Bradley Wiggins, in 2012. And this recent British domination of the race led to Tour de France race director Christian Prudhomme declaring: "In 2007, the first Grand Depart ever in the UK was unforgettable, but at that time you had champions on the track, not on the road. Now you have champions on the road.

"After London in 2007, we thought we would be back in 10 years. But, after we had the first win of a British rider, we thought we needed to be back as soon as possible."

Defending champion Chris Froome will probably be more watchful than most in the neutral zone - last year, the race started on the island of Corsica and Froome crashed before the peloton had reached the start line. It would prove to be his only spill of the three-week race though - one he dominated to become the second British winner.

Image source, PA

At the moment, the Tour Caravanne - the hour-long promotional procession that precedes the riders, is making its way out of Leeds. The 22 teams and 198 riders will be following at around 11:10 BST.

They will ride at a pedestrian pace out of the city, taking around 50 minutes to reach Harewood House, where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry will be waiting to officially start the race.

Britain's Mark Cavendish, who is among the favourites to win today's stage, is perhaps, understandably, not quite so calm, tweeting:, external Arrived in Leeds for the start of @letour. Seems like my stomach is an aviary, there's so much flapping going on! Let's go.

Team Sky's defending champion Chris Froome appears to be feeling relaxed, tweeting:, external Quite a view from our bus this morning.

Image source, Chris Froome

Matt Slater
BBC Yorkshire Tour de France correspondent

It's about 6 deep on Headrow now, both sides. Any experts want to estimate the crowd for 1st km of Tour's warm-up?

Between now and then we've got a little bit of time to kill, so let's make a pact. If you are out on the streets of Yorkshire waiting for the race today, I need you to text and tweet me with pictures of where you are and what you are doing to celebrate the Tour coming through Yorkshire.

In return, I will be your eyes and keep you posted with how the race is progressing. Text me on 81111 - please remember to put CYCLING at the beginning of your text and include your name, otherwise I can't use it. If Twitter is more of your thing, send your messages and pics to #bbccycling., external

Image source, PA

The finish line is a touch over 118 miles away in Harrogate and cycling fans are already claiming their places on the finishing straight. The vast majority will be wanting to see British sprinter Mark Cavendish cross the line first. If he does, he will get to wear the fabled race leader's yellow jersey for the first time. They've got a bit of a wait though - the race is scheduled to end between 16:00-16:30.

Image source, PA

This was the scene in the centre of Leeds a short while ago. It's teeming with people keen to catch a glimpse of this most iconic of races. At around 11:00 BST the 198 riders will make their way out of the city and head off to Harewood House where the official start line is.

Hello and welcome to the Grand Depart of the 2014 Tour de France and as a proud Yorkshireman I don't mind admitting there's a tear in my eye this morning.

There are already thousands upon thousands of fans lining the streets and roads of Yorkshire - Gary Verity was estimating there would be two million people watching the race over the weekend. The pictures I'm seeing suggest there may be that many in Leeds alone! I've never seen the Headrow so rammed at this time on a Saturday morning.

Image source, Getty Images

"It is a huge weekend of sport and a huge day of sport but the biggest thing that is happening by far, in the UK, is the Tour de France starting in Leeds and going through Yorkshire," Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire and the man responsible for bringing the Tour de France to the county, told BBC Sport a little earlier this morning.