- Australian Rohan Dennis won the first time trial stage
- Hundreds of thousands of visitors on the opening stage in Utrecht
- German Andre Greipel won the second stage and Swiss Fabian Cancellara took the yellow jersey
- Heavy rain and strong winds made the second stage extremely demanding
Stage 1
Utrecht, 13,8 km (individual time trial)
The first stage of the Tour took place in the Netherlands. The race started and stayed in Utrecht for the opening individual time trial stage of 13,8 km length. It was a great opening in the city of 328 000 inhabitants visited by almost half a million spectators.
Australian Rohan Dennis won the opening time trial of the 2015 Tour de France in Utrecht to wear the coveted Yellow Jersey of race leader. Dennis’s time could not be beaten by Tony Martin and Fabian Cancellara, and the Australian established a new record for a Tour time trial average speed.
All overall favorites stayed behind. Vincenzo Nibali placed ahead of overall stars Chris Froome, Alberto Contador and Nairo Quintana.
Stage 2
Utrecht – Zeeland, 166 km
The stage headed out of Utrecht to the peninsulas and islands of Zeeland. Most of the roads of the stage were under the sea level. It was the last day on the Dutch soil. Heavy rain, strong wind and weather changes prepared very hard conditions for the peloton.
”German Gorilla” André Greipel from Rostock (7th stage win in career, first in 2011) won, followed by Slovak Peter Sagan and Fabien Cancellara. Marc Cavendish didn’t have enough power in the end to make it on the podium. Chris Froome on the seventh place gained significant time on his Tour de France rivals Alberto Contador in 13th and one minute 28 seconds ahead of Vincenzo Nibali and Nairo Quintana.
Third stage leads into Belgium before entering France for the first time on the stage four.
Have you ever wondered how such a big event as TdF is organised? We’ve prepared a little overview – Tour de France organization by numbers.
