Tour de France 2022 Stage 1 - Yves Lampaert in yellow after beating Wout van Aert in opening time trial

The Italian world champion rode the second half of that course like a train and he's come over the line three seconds quicker than Van der Poel to end the Dutchman's time at the top.

The Frenchman says he's not riding for GC and that's just as well for he's 1'08" down on Van der Poel's target time at the finish. It's no doubt all part of his ploy to lose time before the mountains so he can put in a push for the polka dot jersey and the odd stage win.

Wout van Aert goes through the intermediate check just one second down on Van der Poel and Mollema - so, the knee injury that kept him out of the Belgian national championships ain't so bad then, eh? Ganna, in turn, came through two seconds down and so things are really hotting up. As for Pogacar, he won't be pushing things too much given he's more concerned about being in yellow in Paris rather than in Copenhagen. The Slovenian is six seconds down.

Meanwhile, Mathieu van der Poel watches on as his rivals for the win today do battle...

That's some trio to go one after the other! You have to feel for Frenchman Aurelien Paret-Peintre, who precedes the holy trinity of world champion Filippo Ganna, Belgian superstar Wout van Aert and double Tour champion Tadej Pogacar. Ganna, on paper, is the outright favourite for today - but it's far wetter now than when Mathieu van der Poel rode his TT and so that will act against the Italian debutant...

A superb TT from the Dane sees him come home in third place, two seconds down on Van der Poel and, perhaps crucially, one second quicker than his Jumbo Visma teammate Roglic. Things are teeing themselves up nicely for a superb GC battle in this Tour. Aleksandr Vlasov also shows that his legs are good by crossing the line 18 seconds down to limit his losses in the rain.

The Welshman was 18 seconds down at the intermediate check but finished strongly to come home 12 seconds down on Van der Poel for provisional ninth place. The Ineos Grenadier co-leader will be pleased with that effort - he didn't crash and he didn't concede too much time to Roglic. He's followed shortly after by teammate Dani Martinez, who is 31 seconds down on the top.

The 2019 world champion delights the home crowd as he crosses the line just two seconds down on Mathieu van der Poel - so he'll be in second place for now, and above Roglic. A very impressive effort for the Trek rider, who could ride himself into yellow on home soil over the next two days if things go his way...

Meanwhile, Jonas Vingegaard seems to be taking some risks on this wet course - and he's being cheered with every pedal stroke by the partisan local crowd. We now flip to Romain Bardet of Team DSM, who comes home 32 seconds down for provisional 10th place. The Frenchman says he's not riding for GC so the most important thing was for him to come through this test unscathed.

Three of the GC favourites have got their races under way. Vlasov, the Russian at Bora-Hansgrohe, is sporting a snood around his neck, which is quite an odd sartorial choice. It's wet but not that cold - but perhaps he doesn't want to take any chances. He caught Covid during the Tour de Suisse and so it remains to be seen how he performs here at the Tour. Thomas seems to be taking things very gingerly - aware, perhaps, that there's no point messing up his chances with an early crash. Sensible.

It's not often you see the Colombian catch his minute-man in a time trial but Nairo Quintana has done just that - albeit the rider he's just passed is Caleb Ewan, the Australian sprinter who will be thinking more about the next two sprint stages in Denmark than setting a good time today.

Swiss specialist Stefan Kung has gone down the ramp to get his race under way. He should be one of the big favourites today. Kung's Groupama-FDJ teammate David Gaudu has already come home 37 seconds down on Van der Poel - time the French climber will have to make up in the mountains. Kung will have his eyes on Wednesday's cobbles stage but he will want to put in a good shift today, too.

The Slovenian crosses the line three seconds down on leader Van der Poel to cap a fine ride. He kept out of trouble and will put time into many of his rivals with that accomplished effort.

The Dutch superstar caught his minute-man Christopher Hamilton of Team DSM on the home straight before crossing the line four second quicker than his compatriot Mollema. That's the new target time: 15'30". Roglic, meanwhile, goes through the intermediate check just one second behind both Mollema and Van der Poel.

The Dutch veteran won the national TT championships recently and that's why: he's powered into the lead with a time of 15'34". That's 59 seconds quicker than poor Bisseger, who will need to pick himself up mentally just as he picked himself up physically twice from the floor during his TT.

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) is halfway through his ride as the Slovenian Roglic rolls down the ramp to get his push for yellow under way. Roglic is sporting Jumbo Visma's new kit colour scheme, which is a bit of a mess and supposedly evokes the paintings of the Dutch Masters. Runner-up two years ago before losing out to his compatriot Pogacar on the penultimate day's TT, Roglic has opted to go early in this TT in a bid, perhaps, to put pressure on his rivals.

First down the ramp, Jeremy Lecroq is first to cross the finish. The French debutant sets the target time of 16'19". It won't last long but at least he's come through unscathed - which is more to say than Stefan Bisseger, who has just crashed for a second time! What a torrid opening TT for the specialist, whose equipment choices in these wet conditions have clearly backfired.

Bringing a 64-tooth chain ring to the opening time trial is fine if you can handle it but looks a bit silly if you crash out after a few corners... The Swiss, who already had a close shave early on, loses his back wheel on another of the tight bend and he becomes the first rider to hit the deck in this Tour. With it his chances of the first yellow jersey go up in smoke.

The Swiss time trial specialist is not only sporting EF's new loud and zany kit, he's riding with a 64-11 which is enough to give most of us amateur cyclists and armchair enthusiast a cold sweat. Oh, and it's drama from the outset as Bisseger makes a meal of an early corner and sees his back wheel lock up and skid. He rides it out but that's a reminder of the potential perils of this wet course.

After Lecroq we've had Jack Bauer, Guillaume Bauvin, Edvald Boasson Hagen, Bauke Mollema and Tim Wellens... They're leaving at one-minute intervals and we're about to have our first favourite: Stefan Bisseger of EF Education-EasyPost. Four riders after the Swiss specialist we will see a chap called Mathieu van der Poel, who you may have heard about...

Debutant Jeremy Lecroq of B&B Hotels-KTM gets the 109th Tour under way by rolling down the ramp to start his 13.2km time trial. The roads are wet and the corners (of which there are many) will be very treacherous. But the crowds are out in their masses and the atmosphere is incredible.

From Tivoli to Rivoli, the 2022 Tour includes forays in Denmark, Switzerland and Belgium as well as France and features an 18km sea bridge, 20km over the cobbles, six summit finishes, two time trials, up to six potential bunch sprints, and numerous opportunities for the escape artists and puncheurs alike. And it's all about to start...

Hello and welcome to live coverage of the 109th edition of the Tour de France with me, Felix Lowe. The wait is over and the Danish grand depart is now upon us. Not the weather that the locals would have wanted - it looks like it's going to be a wet race against the clock for everyone this afternoon - but that won't put a dampener on proceedings as the Tour's most northerly start gets going in Copenhagen, Europe's capital of cycling.