On the eve of the Tour

The 103rd Tour de France starts at Mont St Michel on Saturday and The Cycling Podcast team arrived in Normandy to soak up the pre-race atmosphere ahead of the Grand Départ.

In this episode Richard Moore and Lionel Birnie are joined by Seb Piquet, the voice of Radio Tour, who keeps everyone working inside the race abreast of the latest developments in the peloton.

The weather in Normandy has been cool and rainy and, with the route of the opening stage to Utah Beach hugging the coastline so much and the wind forecast to blow, there’s the prospect of a nervous, potentially chaotic race. With the stage win and the yellow jersey up for grabs, the sprinters look to have the upper hand but will the weather dictate otherwise?

Although the battle for the overall race won’t truly heat up until the Pyrenees, the two outstanding favourites, Chris Froome and Nairo Quintana, will want to avoid any mishaps during the opening weekend.

But what else is there to look forward to over the next three weeks? Tune in to find out because the Tour starts here.

The Telegraph Cycling Podcast is supported by Rapha and Eurosport. We will be broadcasting daily episodes every day of the race covering the Tour as it heads south towards the Pyrenees, then across to the Alps before finishing in Paris in three weeks’ time.