Welcome to our live coverage of the 2013 Tour de France! The action gets under way at 11:15 UK time as the riders take on a 213km from Porto Vecchia to Bastia in Le Tour's first ever visit to Corsica.

The peloton passes through the feed zone, trailing the five escapees by 1:15.

Jerome Cousin and Juan Jose Lobato – the two men who battled for the solitary polka dot jersey point - are the only Tour debutants in this group. Cyril Lemoine, 30, and Lars Boomm 27, are racing their third Tours, while grizzled veteran Juan Jose Fletcha is riding his 10th Grande Boucle.

It's clouding up a bit here on the east coast of Corsica. The outlook is pretty bleak for the escapees: they have three minutes but are merely being held out by the pack, which will pounce when it matters. The only thing that will stop a mass bunch sprint is a pile-up towards the finish...

A lone rider from Lotto pulls the peloton, but his team-mates are sitting behind the whole of the Omega Pharma squad who are doing most of the pace-setting. There’s one Argos man in there too, sitting just behind Cavendish, but there’s no Orica Green Edge or Cannondale riders in the mix at the moment. The leaders have 3:20 over the pack.

The pace has dropped significantly in the peloton with the five leaders – whose gap was as low as 35 seconds at one stage – now enjoying a buffer of 3:30 and sharing out duties on the front.

After a period of fast riding by OPQS, the pace in the peloton has slowed – just as 2011 champion Cadel Evans stops to change his bike and answer a call of nature. It’s bunched up at the front, with numerous riders taking the chance to have something to eat, including Frenchman Pierre Rolland, 8th last year, who is nibbling on something and chatting to a Europcar team-mate. The gap has grown again to 2:10.

It looks like the break has sat up, with only Flecha willing to keep up the pretence of pace setting on the front. The gap has tumbled further and is now just 50 seconds as the riders near the coast that they will hug until the conclusion of this opening stage in Bastia.

Cavendish readjusts his bib shorts as he sits on the back of his Omega Pharma-Quick Step train on the front of the peloton, which trails the five leaders by just 1:30 now. The break formed from the outset of today’s opening stage and includes Frenchmen Jerome Cousin (Europcar) and Cyril Lemoine (Sojasun), Spaniards Juan Antonio Flecha (Vacansoleil-DCM) and Juan Jose Lobato (Euskaltel), and Dutchman Lars Boom (Belkin).

Offset the diary head-rush with some slices of 'figatelli' - a little pig liver sausage marinated in wine, pepper and garlic, described by one Corsican culinary connoisseur as "simple and rustic in appearance as a Corsican mountain". Push the boat out and grill the sausage with chestnut paste and serve in a fresh baguette.

So, what are the spectators on the side of the road eating in their picnics? Well, one favourite cheese of south Corsica is 'sartinese' - a pressed goat's or ewe's cheese with a dry crust that is usually kept over the winter long enough for it to decay into a tangy, gooey mass whose texture is 'whipped' by live maggots. Needless to say, you won't find this one in the shops...

The gap is back up to 2:35 so perhaps the peloton has taken its foot off the gas – after all, it’s in no one’s interest for the break to be reeled in so soon. A second attack would feature men with fresher legs and would be more of a threat for the teams who want this opening stage to come down to a bunch sprint in Bastia.

Now that the first and only climb is out the way, it looks like the breakaways are going to throw in the towel. It’s a tough call – they certainly can’t kill the chances of a bunch sprint today, but their team sponsors would be happy with some TV time on the front, especially with the whole world watching on the 100th Tour’s opening day. They seem to be a bit hesitant, with the gap now 1:55.

One of the reasons why the Tour has not previously visited Corsica is the lack of infrastructure for such a large race: the roads are very narrow and are not of the best quality – and that much is evident from the live images. It is beautiful, but the riders will be looking less at the scenery and more on the roads – because a peloton of 198 riders on winding, narrow roads at a time when everyone is nervous at the start of a demanding three-week race, well, there’s ample scope for disaster.

Confirmation of the top three over the summit just then: 1. Juan Jose Lobato (Euskaltel), 2. Jerome Cousin (Europcar), 3. Lars Boom (Belkin). Just the one point was up for grabs on the fourth category climb and that went to the Spaniard Lobato, who will wear the race’s first polka dot jersey. That’s a good start for Euskaltel, who have performed badly in most races this year and will be looking to find new sponsors later in the season.

The peloton cross the summit of the Cote de Sotta just over three minutes down on the five leaders, with race favourites Chris Froome and Alberto Contador surrounded by their respective Sky and Saxo team-mates and keeping near the front and out of trouble.

Jerome Cousin makes the first move for the mountain points, but it comes back together as Cyril Lemoine launches a counter attack from the back. Flecha is instantly dropped, but the other four will fight it out… and Cousin goes again, veers right and almost takes out Juan Jose Lobato, but the Spaniard takes evasive action and then comes round the outside to take the solitary point over the top and secure the race’s first polka dot jersey.

The leaders approaching the Cat.4 Cote de Sotta – 1.1km at 5.9%. /// For those of you asking in the comment section, regular Eurosport TV commentator David Harmon will not be working during this year’s Tour but he hopes to be back in time for the Vuelta a Espana from 24th August.

Peter Sagan is another rider near the back of the pack. In fact, his Cannondale team are not helping out in the chase - they know that their man is better suited to the finishes in stages two and three.

The peloton is really strung out with several small gaps forming. Nothing serious for now, but the riders will be aware of the possibility of echelons forming later in the stage, with the pace higher and the wind coming off the coast. Joaquim Rodriguez, for instance, is right on the rear – not an ideal place for the Katusha leader to be.

The gap is back to three minutes after coming down to the 2:40 mark for a while. Lotto, Argos and OPQS are sharing out the pace setting duties in the pack. Of the escapees, Juan Antonio Flecha is the only rider to have won a stage previously in the Tour – the Spaniard having picked up a victory in stage 11 of the 2003 Tour. Can he repeat the feat 10 years on? Perhaps, but certainly not today.

Mark Cavendish is wearing the British national champions jersey for the very first time. Later he’ll be hoping to don a maiden maillot jaune. But the Manxman will face stiff opposition from the likes of Andre Greipel, Marcel Kittel, Matt Goss, Nacer Bouhanni and, of course, last year’s green jersey, Peter Sagan.