Italy's Vincenzo Nibali may not appear to have had the best preparation - he finished 24th in the Tour warm-up race the Criterium du Dauphine - but you can't completely write off the 33-year-old Bahrain-Merida rider.

He will enjoy the punchier climbs early in the race but can he keep up with the other favourites in the high mountains?

He could well see the cobbles on stage nine as a chance to pick up time, having gained two minutes over his rivals on a similar route on his way to Tour victory in 2014.

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The peloton zips through Saint-Hilaire past a group of fans, including a woman wearing a 'Miss Venezuela' sash.

A quick Google of who the current Miss Venezuela is shows that it isn't that roadside fan. A former holder perhaps? There are no Venezuelan riders in this year's Tour. I'm confused.

Anyway, the French trio of Cousin, Ledanois and Offredo have a lead of around 2'24'' for now.

Colombia's Rigoberto Uran was second last year - a slightly surprising result despite having finished second two years in a row at the Giro.

A talented climber and a decent time trial rider, could the 31-year-old make it back-to-back podiums or even go one better?

His Education First team director Jonathan Vaughters certainly thinks so, claiming this route is "more suited" to Uran than last year.

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Cousin, Ledanois and Offredo keep on rolling through, with a lead of 2'19'' over the peloton.

Sunweb's Tom Dumoulin was Simon Yates' nearest rival for victory in this year's Giro d'Italia - until Chris Froome blitzed into the race lead on stage 19. The Dutchman then tried valiantly to dislodge Froome and defend his Giro title but fell short.

Will he be affected by that effort? You can bet he'll be strong in the team and individual time trials as the current world champion against the clock.

Can he stick with the likes of Froome and Quintana on the toughest climbs?

He'll at least hope to improve on his highest Tour finish - 33rd in 2014.

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One of Mark Cavendish's main threats to winning today's stage is prodigious Colombian talent Fernardo Gaviria. In fact, Cavendish has picked the Quick-Step Floors rider to win a couple of stages in this year's Tour - just not this one - in his stage-by-stage guide for the BBC Sport website!

Gaviria, 23, came to prominence in 2015, beating Cavendish in a couple of sprints at the Tour de San Luis.

He said: "All sprints are different. You never know what will happen. Max Richeze is my lead-out man and he is good. He takes the decision before me and it works perfectly."

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Jerome Cousin, Kevin Ledanois and Yoann Offredo have a lead of around two and a half minutes over the peloton.

Ledanois is a former Under-23 World Champion, having won the road race at Richmond in 2015.

Marc Selby: Well, three weeks of routine and tranquility starts now. Cycling, scenery, mountains, ego, drama, debate and total 100% effort from these men. Let’s start by seeing Cav win!

Australian Richie Porte is having his eighth crack at the race but is yet to win a stage and has a best finish of fifth in 2016.

The 33-year-old was well-placed last year before a horrible crash on stage nine that saw him fracture his shoulder and pelvis.

The former Team Sky rider, now at BMC, has always threatened but also always tends to have one bad day where he cracks and fades from contention.

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Mark Cavendish is off the back of the race at the moment, signalling for his team car.

He has a Dimension Data team-mate back with him and plenty of time to fix any problem.

Out front, the lead of Jerome Cousin, Kevin Ledanois and Yoann Offredo is now down under three minutes.

Movistar have probably the strongest squad to go up against Team Sky in the race, with three GC threats.

Nairo Quintana has won the Giro and the Vuelta but a Tour win still evades the 28-year-old Colombian, who finished second in 2013 and 2015 and third in 2016. He attempted the Giro-Tour double last year but faded to finish 12th in France. An explosive climber, he will need to make time there as his time trialling is comparably weaker.

Spain's Mikel Landa, also 28, helped Froome win the 2016 and 2017 titles, also finishing fourth last year, while his best Grand Tour result is third in the 2015 Giro. Can he step up and become a challenger?

And then there is Alejandro Valverde. Now aged 38, the divisive Spaniard (he served a two-year doping ban from 2010-2012) continues to be a canny, attacking rider. He won't be going for overall victory but can stir things up for Quintana and Landa.

Or will he? Movistar has gone into Tours before with multiple options and failed to make the most of them, never quite landing that big one-two punch on Froome and Sky. Can they finally get it right this year?

Image source, Getty Images

Gareth Rhys Owen
BBC reporter, in France

Whatever that tweak was, it hasn't worked. Greg van Avermaet has to pull over to change his bike before zipping off to rejoin the peloton.

The gap to the breakaway of Jerome Cousin, Kevin Ledanois and Yoann Offredo has come down to 3'22'' as the race swings through 150km to go.

A BMC mechanic is leaning out of the team car, tweaking Greg van Avermaet's electronic gear shifter as the Belgian cruises along.

Home hopes rest on AG2R La Mondiale's Romain Bardet.

The 27-year-old has won a stage in each of the past three editions of the race, finished second in 2016 and third last year.

He would've finished second last year too, but his time trialling let him down, surrendering that place to Rigoberto Uran on the penultimate stage in Marseille.

His ability against the clock is likely to be his biggest weakness in this race too, but can he more than make up for that on the climbs?

He has a decent team around him, although Tony Gallopin is riding with a broken rib, which could hamper their chances in stage three's team time trial.

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Tom Fordyce
BBC Radio 5 live commentator, in France

And you can listen to our Bespoke Tour de France preview podcast here.

Mark Cavendish enters the 2018 Tour de France just four stage wins away from drawing level with the record 34 won by Eddy Merckx.

The Manx Missile stated before the race began that he was "looking at getting closer to that record of Eddy Merckx" and today looks like the perfect opportunity for him to get to 31.

Of course, long-term rivals Marcel Kittel and Andre Greipel may have something to say about that, while the new boys coming through - Dylan Groenewegen (he won on the Champs-Elysees last year) and Fernando Gaviria - will also be chasing today's stage win and the yellow jersey that comes with it.

Will Cav end the day in yellow? #bbccycing for your thoughts

The three French riders in the breakaway keep rolling through, taking their turns.

The peloton have decided to give them at most a four-minute lead.

So if not Chris Froome, then how about another Briton winning the yellow jersey?

Adam Yates is the leader of the Mitchelton-Scott team and the 25-year-old is looking to build on his 2016 showing, where he finished fourth and became the first Briton to win the best young rider jersey.

Recognise the surname? You'll recognise the face too then, given his identical twin brother Simon took the Giro by storm this year and looked on course to win it, only to crack in the last week. Can his brother take the next step?

"Simon did a really good race at the Giro - not just him but the whole team," said Adam.

"We sent a full team of climbers to a Grand Tour for the first time and focused solely on the GC. They held the lead for pretty much two weeks and were winning stages left, right and centre, so why can't we take that confidence and replicate it at the Tour?"

Image source, Getty Images

Gareth Rhys Owen
BBC reporter, in France