Tour de France gets under way in rain-lashed Copenhagen

The 176 riders will hit speeds of up to 60kph as they ride past sights including the Little Mermaid statue, the harbour-front Blox building and the Amalienborg palace.

"What a gift to me from my team," said Jeremy Lecroq, who went first.

The starting gate was a hub of activity, with many of the poncho-clad fans outside the Tivoli theme park, next to Copenhagen's eye-catching central train station, enjoying hot dogs and beers in a festive atmosphere.

The showpiece opener is a showdown between cycling's top time-trial specialists, Italian Filippo Ganna of Ineos Grenadiers and Belgian superstar Wout van Aert of Jumbo-Visma.

The pair left the starter ramp consecutively at 5:04pm (1504 GMT) and 5:05pm local time.

Riders compete on specialised bikes for the time trial and wear tailored aerodynamic outfits that cost up to and above €4,000.

Van Aert, winner of a time trial, a sprint and a mountain stage at the 2021 Tour, was excited after two editions impacted by Covid-19.

"I was surprised by the amount of people on the roadsides. After two years, we can finally have a Grand Départ with huge crowds," he said.

Ganna accepted his tag as the favourite to win the first stage and don the overall race leader's yellow jersey.

"It would be nice to wear the yellow jersey, nothing is easy but I want to try and put that in my museum," he said.

Overall race favourite and two-time defending champion Tadej Pogacar was impressed by the rapturous reception the Tour received on Wednesday.

"I'm ready personally and my team is ready too, and you can only be happy with the kind of reception we have had here," said the UAE Team Emirates leader.

Around a dozen riders scheduled to race have tested positive for Covid and been replaced, although none of