Two of the France's big hopes are on the road.

Thibaut Pinot looked pretty relaxed as his Groupama-FDJ squad rolled away from the start while Romain Bardet looked a bit like former Italy footballer Andrea Pirlo doing a warm-up, as his AG2R La Mondiale got under way.

Pirlo once said he hated the warm-up "with every fibre of my being".

It's said that winning a stage of the Tour de France can define a rider's career.

Mike Teunissen has just had a great morning after becoming the first Dutchman to claim the yellow jersey since Erik Breukink in 1989.

Breukink didn't finish the Tour that year but managed a podium finish 12 months later, when he finished third behind Greg LeMond and Claudio Chiappucci.

Teunissen has still got a bit of time to lap things up. His Jumbo-Visma team aren't off until 15:15 BST.

Marc: Can see Adam Yates in yellow tonight. In Luke Durbridge, the Aussie time trial champion, Mitchelton-Scott have a huge engine to drive them forward. Looks good for Yates today.

Matt: I would have stumped for Mitchelton-Scott but holding and keeping the jersey has to be a pretty strong incentive for Jumbo-Visma (plus Tony Martin is a machine), they have my vote today.

Astana are the third team down the start ramp.

I'd imagine their focus today will be looking after Jakob Fuglsang, who took a nasty fall on Saturday.

Speaking before the stage he said: "I’m ok. Not 100% but much better than I thought I was going to be. We will see after the team time trial how it is.

"I was thinking yesterday that I might slow the team down and I would have to sit at the back. But we’ll see once we start racing."

A few ifs, buts or maybes attached to this mind.

Wondering just how all his works.....

Well in the team time trial event, the time of the fourth rider is awarded to the first quartet across the line.

And any riders who are dropped by their team-mates and record a slower time will be awarded the time in which they completed the course.

Straightforward stuff isn't it.

Geraint Thomas is wearing the number one for the Ineos team.

All their riders have been numbered in their team time trial order which could come in useful later when they start getting into the red towards the end of this ride.

Team Ineos are at the top of a lemon ramp outside the Royal Palace in Brussels - eight faces etched with a concentrated, steely look.

They look pretty ready to me.

And away they go.

Image source, Getty Images

Ineos are off very shortly but just how are they going to play this?

“It’s no secret,” Geraint Thomas says of his team’s tactics. “I guess you want that one speed and momentum really.

“Obviously we'll go 100 per cent and try and win the stage. There are a lot of other good teams but we'll see what we can do.”

“The length of turns for each rider is varied but that speed [has to remain] the same. That’s how you ride the quickest time.

Asked about the team time trial, the Welshman added: “BMC [now CCC] have dominated in the past but it’s always been super close. Every one I’ve done with this team we’ve been top three by a matter of seconds.

"We’ve never won though, so it would be nice to turn that around. It’s always a super close one.”

Defending champion Geraint Thomas was a touch fortunate despite crashing on stage one.

Not only was he unhurt, but because the crash happened inside the final 3km on a designated sprint stage, he was credited with the same time as the group he was riding with, so ended up losing no time on his rivals for the overall win.

Right before we get too immersed in events today let's have a quick recap to Saturday's first stage which looked like it was going to be pretty sedate until some late drama.

With defending champion Geraint Thomas, one of the pre-stage favourites Dylan Groenewegen and Jakob Fuglsang all crashing towards the end of a stage which was won by Mike Teunissen.

You can read all about that here.

Image source, Tour de France

Right if you're wondering what's in store today or during the forthcoming days at La Grande Boucle, Britain's Adam Yates takes us through the first 10 of the 21 stages that make up the 2019 Tour de France.

It's well worth a read and has pointers to where the race will be won and lost.

Image source, Getty Images

As I was saying before this stage isn't very long but there are plenty of bumps, lumps and turns on the course to test the riders as they sweep around Brussels.

Team Ineos (well as Team Sky) have never won a team time trial at the Tour but they'll start as one of the favourites despite going off first.

Defending champion, Britain's Geraint Thomas is pretty handy at this discipline, his team co-leader, Colombia's Egan Bernal, less so.

So could that make for an interesting dynamic, as Ineos try to keep both near the front of their train at the finish....?

What else can you expect to see I hear you ask....

Well in 'the race of truth' - that is the race against the clock, expect to see some well-drilled teams and riders, rocking different bikes, helmets and riding positions.

Basically that's equipment and riding styles designed to be more aerodynamic at the cost of comfort.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Welcome to our coverage of the second stage of the Tour our de France. So what can we expect from today?

Well in contrast to the majority of stages at the Tour, which tend to be fairly long road races, we've got a team time trial, which is a short, sharp and up-tempo blast on a 27.6km course from the Royal Palace to the Atomium in Brussels.

Set against the clock, the teams will set off at intervals, five minutes apart with Team Ineos and defending champion Geraint Thomas, getting us under way at 13:30 BST.