The GC riders dealt each other the first blows in today's team time trial and will now hide in the peloton during the next three days as they head towards the Pyrenees. Meanwhile, the sprinters lick their lips in anticipation but they won't have it all their way in tomorrow's long stage into Marseille. Numerous smaller climbs make for a difficult run-in to the finish and it is certainly not a given thing that all the sprinters will be present for the expected bunch kick on the seafront. Starting at 14.00, you can follow the exciting stage on CyclingQuotes.com/live.

The first road stage on the European mainland is a long one and takes the riders in a Westerly direction as they start their journey towards the Pyrenees. Marseille has hosted stage finishes on numerous occasions and has seen both breakaway wins and bunch kicks with the attackers prevailing in the two most recent stages.

It would be a mistake just to describe the route as a flat one as it is up or down most of the day, the stage offering four categorized climbs along the way. The top of the last one, the category 4 Cote des Bastides (5,7km, 3,1%), is located 30,5km from the finish and its descent is followed by the uncategorized Col de la Gileste. That climb is not to be underestimated as the first two kilometres have an average gradient of 6,3% before 4 almost flat kilometres give way to the final 1,4km kick towards the top which has a gradient of just below 5%.

From the top, 12,5km of downhill remain and a couple of nasty corners will test the riders' technical abilities. The sprinters will have to negotiate a technical finale with two 90-degree left-hand turns inside the final 2,5km and the last of those is located only 500m from the line.

It will all be about staying safe for the GC riders but stages finishing in Marseille can be rather tricky due to the Mistral wind that can cause havoc on the peloton. However, we should see no crosswinds action tomorrow as there will only be a light wind that will be against the peloton for most of the day. The sprint should play out in a cross-headwind, thus making timing and positioning crucial. The heat which saw many riders struggle during the Corsican stages, should be no problem tomorrow with the temperatures expected to hover around the 20-degree mark on a mostly cloudy day.

When the Tour last had a stage finish in Marseille, the run-in to the Mediterranean city was the same, taking in both the Cote des Bastides and the Col de la Gileste. On that occasion, Cedric Vasseur won a sprint from a breakaway group to take another Tour stage win but the escapees won't have many chances of repeating the Frenchman's feat this year. There are simply too many dedicated sprint teams in this race to allow an early breakaway to get anywhere.

We will of course see an escape take off early and the hilly nature of the route should inspire the opportunists to try their hand. Unfortunately, there won't be a mountains jersey up for grabs as the four categorized climbs will not be enough to relegate Pierre Rolland from his current number 1 spot.

Gaps have started to open up on GC and so Orica-GreenEdge is in no desperate need to chase down the early beak if it has the right composition. On the other hand, the hilly stage should be a perfect one for Matthew Goss and the team should also be eager to honour the jersey. Hence, we expect the Australian team to do its fair share of work on the front of the peloton.

Their main ally should be Lotto-Belisol. Andre Greipel is evidently in splendid condition at the moment and he will be eager to capitalize on his good early form and Mark Cavendish's health problems. The Manxman suffers from bronchitis which explains his poor showing in the Corsican hills, and Greipel will be keen to get off the mark before his arch rival is up to full speed.

On numerous occasions,  Omega Pharma-Quick Step has shown that they chase down the breaks if Cavendish has just the slightest chance of winning and the team is certainly eager to put its many disappointments behind them. As Argos-Shimano - another dedicated sprint team - is also eager to show John Degenkolb some trust, there are simply too many chasers to allow an early breakaway any success.

We could very well see Cannondale try to up the tempo on the late climbs to tire out Peter Sagan's rivals but that should do nothing to put Greipel into difficulty and the German stands out as the biggest favourite. The Lotto-Belisol sprinter is a solid climber who has won far harder stages in the Tour of Turkey and the Eneco Tour in the past, and at his current fitness level there is very little chance that he will be troubled by the late climbs.

Greipel is usually also supported by the world's best lead-out train and as positioning will play a crucial role in the technical finale, he should have a perfect chance of winning the sprint. His final lead-out man Greg Henderson could be dropped on the climbs but Marcel Sieberg and Jürgen Roelandts should be able to overcome the challenges - despite the latter's disappointing performance in Corsica.

His biggest rival will of course be Cavendish but the Brit's current health condition makes his performance level uncertain. At his best, he should have no problems surviving the climbs and lead-out riders like Niki Terpstra, Michal Kwiatkowski, Tony Martin and Matteo Trentin should all do the same. If he is back to his best, that kind of team support and a Lotto train that could be hampered by the possible absence of Henderson should give him a solid chance.

Another rider with a very strong lead-out is Goss. Daryl Impey showed that he is one of the very best riders in the discipline of setting up a sprinter when he put Gerrans in a position to beat Peter Sagan. More was expected from Goss on the Corsican climbs but he performed well in today's team time trial. If his team can put him into a good position going into the final corner, he could make it three in a row for his Australian team.

Alexander Kristoff got his debut Tour off to a perfect start in stage 1 when he finished second behind Marcel Kittel and like Goss, he should be favoured by the harder course. Kristoff has proved in a number of classics that he is really fast at the end of a hard day in the saddle but he lacks the top speed of Greipel and Cavendish. Furthermore, the Norwegian is left to fend for himself and that costs some extra energy in the hectic run-in to the line.

It was a shame for Marcel Kittel that Greipel and Cavendish were taken out of contention as he had no chance to prove that he is fully capable of beating them in a head-to-head battle. The German is usually one of the first to get dropped on the climbs and so his team is more likely to back John Degenkolb tomorrow. The two German sprinters have targeted different stages and tomorrow should be one for Degenkolb. If Kittel survives the climbs, they could, however, make a last-minute adjustment to the plans.

Degenkolb will enjoy solid support from Argos-Shimano's world-famous lead-our train but he has had big troubles staying in the wheel of his final lead-out man so far this season. If he overcomes those problems and his team makes him enter the corner in good position, he could perform well.

Naturally, Sagan should also be mentioned but the Slovakian is not fast enough to beat Greipel and Cavendish in a sprint like today's. Furthermore, he is clearly hampered by his injuries sustained in stage one and so it will be mostly about limiting his losses in the battle for the green jersey.

Finally, it should be mentioned that the yellow jersey could actually change hands. Simon Gerrans only leads teammate Daryl Impey on count back and if the latter finishes 10 spots ahead of his Australian teammate in the rankings, he will take over the lead. As Impey is the final lead-out man for Goss, that is not unlikely to happen.

CyclingQuotes' stage winner picks: Andre Greipel, Mark Cavendish, Matthew Goss

Outsiders: Alexander Kristoff, Marcel Kittel, John Degenkolb