Tour de France 2019: Stage Two betting preview, tip, predictions and analysis

TV: Eurosport 1 & ITV4, 1.30pm Sunday

Stage two of the 2019 Tour de France marks the first chance for the yellow-jersey contenders to gain some ground on their rivals in a team time-trial around the streets of Brussels.

The wide-open boulevards of the Belgian capital and a relatively straightforward course should see the big teams go all out in the hunt for valuable seconds over the 27.2km stage.

Four sloping sections provide the main challenges but none are too long - the longest is only 800m - and all are only around four per cent in gradient, so seismic gaps between the GC rivals aren't anticipated.

This could be a great opportunity for Britain's Adam Yates to gain some valuable seconds on his rivals with his Mitchelton-Scott team looking one of the likeliest winners of the stage.

The Australian team won the best team time-trial of the year at Tirreno-Adriatico, beating Jumbo-Visma second by seven seconds. Team Sunweb were third, 22 seconds behind the winners, and Geraint Thomas's Ineos (formerly Sky) outfit fifth, 47 seconds adrift of Mitchelton-Scott.

Three of that successful Mitchelton squad, including Yates and team pursuit specialist Luke Durbridge, line up again in Brussels. And Durbridge's fellow Aussies Michael Hepburn, a three-time team pursuit world champion on the track, and Jack Haig, a strong time-triallist in his own right, add further quality to their squad.

Ineos could provide them with most to think about with six of their eight riders having won national time-trial crowns in their careers.

Recommendation
Mitchelton-Scott
2pts each-way 12-1 Betway

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