And in the end, the Germans win...

With 43 French riders and ten Germans, no wonder that the Village buzz in the morning was as much about football than cycling. And German riders were in high spirits after their national team's 1-0 victory over France in the quarterfinals of the World Cup. The evening before in the Leeds Arena, the German stars of the peloton had picked the right winner if not the right score. For Andre Greipel, clad in his German champion jersey, his country would win “after the penalty shoot-out”. More confident, Marcel Kittel saw Joachim Loew's men win 2-0 and was hoping for a “good game” which was hardly the case. Their forecast was eventually rather comfortable since football, as everybody knows, is a game played by 11 players and Germany win in the end. And what about cycling? First answer at the end of stage 1!