Welcome to the first day of the 2015 Tour de France, which rolls out in the Dutch city of Utrecht after last year's colourful and wildly successful opening stages back in the UK. The field commence their gruelling three-week race with the only individual time trial around a 13.8km course that could well play into the hands of TT expert Tony Martin. His main rivals, though, will be anxious to put down their marker in what is sure to be a thrilling opening day ahead of the mountains and the expected four-way battle between reigning champ Vincenzo Nibali, Chris Froome, Alberto Contador and Nairo Quintana!

Tour de France

Stage 1 | Flat | Men | 04.07.2015

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UtrechtUtrecht

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Live Updates

ByThe Editorial Team

Updated 04/07/2015 at 15:46 GMT

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Highlights

16:45

Dutchman Robert Gesink, Frenchman Thibaut Pinot and reigning champion Vincenzo Nibali will be most pleased out of the GC contenders after finishing 11th, 18th and 22nd respectively however it is very early days. Let's applaud that effort from Dennis instead. Chapeau!

16:41

Dennis finishes first in the opening stage of the 2015 Tour de France with a quite brilliant time of 14 minutes 56 seconds. Tony Martin has to make do with second for a change, leaving veteran powerhouse Fabian Cancellara third on the podium.

16:39

Well, well, well, it is Rohan Dennis who is finally rewarded for that record-breaking time earlier as Martin, Cancellara, Dumoulin and the GC contenders fall short. Fantastic effort from the young Australian, who will cherish this yellow jersey forever and a day.

16:18

Wow! Cancellara had every chance in that final kilometre but comes up agonisingly short at the line by six seconds to go third behind Dennis and Martin.

16:17

Reigning champ Nibali rolls down the ramp to conclude the action at the start of the course. Can any of the GC contenders give Dennis a run for his money?

16:12

Thomas faded badly in the second half of his TT, but Cancellara has dug in to provide a stiffer test of Dennis' time with both Froome and Contador now on the road too.

16:04

Thomas and Cancellara now on the road as we reach the business end of the stage with the Welshman six seconds down on the halfway split. Getting very exciting finally!

15:59

Martin was four seconds off the best halfway split, but he's cranked up the power down the back stretch. He rounds the final corner superbly, nevertheless he finishes five seconds off Dennis' amazing time. Titanic display from Der Panzerwagen!

15:51

Check out how close Dumoulin and Machado were at the finish!

15:47

TT favourite Tony Martin is now on the road for Etixx-Quick Step and he will need to go some to pip Dennis to the Stage 1 victory here. Green jersey contenders Kristoff and Matthews follow him off the ramp too as the last 30 odd riders wait for their turn.

15:42

Tom Dumoulin was tipped very heavily to impress in front of his fellow Dutch people today and he's given it one hell of a crack. After going through the 7.1km split two seconds behind Van Emden's best time, the Giant-Alpecin rider nearly collided with his predecessor on the road Tiago Machado on the final corner before finishing eight seconds down on Dennis at the line. What an effort.

15:17

The first big yellow jersey contender had this to say about his TT ride...

15:13

Pinot edges into the top 10 with a respectable time of 15m 37s, just behind Uran, as the last third of the field begin their descent off the starting ramp.

14:59

Thirty years of hurt for French cycling fans now when it comes to the ultimate GC prize in Paris with Ag2r-La Mondiale's Romain Bardet also tipped to shine along with Pinot and mountain man Pierre Rolland.

14:51

If you believe that this year's Tour is anything but a four-way battle between Froome, Quintana, Contador and Nibali then Thibaut Pinot could be the man to end the French drought when it comes to le maillot jaune. The FDJ rider is undoubtedly a class act and, if he can come through the ropey roads in the first week and the Pyrenees, then he'll have a great shout. Now he's off the ramp today, he'll want to post a decent time to show everyone he's in good nick.

14:47

André Greipel is a firm fan favourite, especially amongst sprint connoisseurs, and the big German will be keen to take on Peter Sagan, Cavendish and Alexander Kristoff when the flatter stages kick in. Outside of those four, in the absence of injured star Marcel Kittel, expect John Degenkolb, Nacer Bouhanni and Michael Matthews to be in the mix as well.

14:39

We are now halfway through the riders off the ramp for this opening stage of the 2015 Tour de France. Nibali will be the final rider to go after winning last year's race, so expect the tension to mount now round this short but hot Utrecht city course as the TT specialists look to pip Dennis' brilliant time of 14m 56s!

14:26

Roman Kreuziger, fifth overall in 2013, is now on the course for Tinkoff-Saxo. He possesses a great deal of promise, nevertheless like many of his generation, he has struggled to break through to the top table alongside Contador, Valverde and the like.

14:23

Quintana finishes one minute and one second down on Dennis, whose quite superb display has bagged him the fastest ever average speed in Tour de France history for an individual time trial. The Colombian will not be massively concerned, though, what with his playground of the Pyrenees and Alps coming up over the next few weeks.

14:00

One of the pre-race favourites Nairo Quintana has launched his Tour tilt off the ramp in a discipline he is not exactly known for! Show him a mountain and he will fly up without a second glance, but this short, sharp TT stage could leave him a fair few seconds off some of his main rivals like Contador and Froome.