The 109th Tour de France begins with a pan flat 13.2km time trial on a scenic course showcasing the Little Mermaid, the royal palace of Amalieborg and the city hall of Copenhagen. Ten riders will wear a distinctive jersey: world champion Filippo Ganna who is also once again the Italian champion after a one-year hiatus, European champion Stefan Küng and national champions Felix Grossschartner (Austria), Dani Martinez (Colombia), Jan Tratnik (Slovenia), Lennard Kämna (Germany), Bauke Mollema (The Netherlands), Toms Skujins (Latvia), Bob Jungels (Luxemburg) and Maciej Bodnar (Poland). It looks tailor made for Ganna who has previously enjoyed wearing the pink jersey of the Giro d’Italia the past two years throughout an opening time trial. He expects a fierce competition from Wout van Aert but also the likes of Stefan Bissegger, Geraint Thomas who is the last winner of an inaugural time trial at the Tour de France (in Düsseldorf, 2017) and home favourites Kasper Asgreen, Mads Pedersen, Mikkel Bjerg and Magnus Cort whereas GC contenders Tadej Pogacar and Primoz Roglic will begin their three-week long duel in a specialty they are both very good at. Pogacar won the first time trial of the Tour de France last year and Roglic is the Olympic champion.
