The first road stage heads west out of Herning before turning north along the coast, then east and finally south, back towards the town when it started. It will be a nervous day for team management – if the wind’s up, some big gaps could open, and with the opening days of any Grand Tour being a nervous time in the peloton, that right-hander  500 metres from the line ahead of what should be a bunch sprint looks ominous.

On the last Giro stage outside Italy in the 2010 race, the wind blowing in from the North Sea was a big factor, causing splits in the peloton early on and contributing to a crash that took out most of Team Sky as they chased the leading bunch. You can bet the weather forecast will be scrutinised particularly carefully ahead of today’s stage, and if it’s breezy, the GC contenders as well as the sprinters’ teams will be fighting to stay near the front.

GT: It could be carnage today, depending what the wind does. You could see crosswinds, and the teams that are strong in those and are quite organised – ourselves hopefully, Rabobank, Garmin, Quick Step, GreenEdge – could do well. It will be a sprint of some sort, but it depends how big the group is coming in.

For more on this year's race read our full Giro d'Italia Preview.