Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates): stage win & yellow jersey

"It was my dream to wear the yellow jersey. I couldn't have asked for a better start. We are a team of climbers and I didn't expect to win the sprint, at least not in the beginning. It was a great feeling. I'm really proud of what I was able to do. The riders protected me during the stage, but in the last few kilometers it was just me. I still managed to find a good wheel

"I sat on top of [Peter] Sagan for a long time. Then I got surrounded, but I saw Seth Bol starting on the right side and tried to follow him. I saw him fade away, but I still had my legs, so I went with him. It was a great moment for me

"My early races into this Tour have not been great. I crashed and hit my head at the Euro Championships. But that didn't affect me today. Winning the yellow jersey means a lot for my career and [this] stage win means that even though I am 33 years old and have four kids, I can still be on par with the best riders in the world. (ASO)

Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) - 5th in the stage

"The last kilometer was crazy. It was a headwind the whole way. I started sprinting with 200m to go and I was very nervous.

"In the end it was a big mess. Sprinting into a headwind like this is a bit like playing the lottery. You need a little more luck." (Beulah Hansgrohe)

Mats Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) - 2nd in stage, white jersey

"Today the peloton was united and took it easy on the descents. When you ride downhill, you can see how much oil was on the road surface. So it was good to see the peloton start the race as one."

"It was really good to finish second, it was really good to finish second, it was really good to finish second. But I would have liked to win if the race was this close. But I'm happy with second place. I'm really happy to start the Tour like this in the white jersey. I'm happy with the way the riders led out today."

Cees Bol (Team Sunweb) - 3rd in the stage

"Looking back, maybe I was a little too fast. But I really could have sprinted on full acceleration and Christophe was faster. Overall, I'm really happy to be in the bunch and this has given me a lot of confidence."

"I'm not too disappointed with third place, but it's a bit mixed. It's my first race in a long time and my first podium in the Tour de France. I think I can do better from now on and I think the sprints from now on will be much closer." (Team Sunweb)

Luca Medjeck (Mitchelton-Scott) - 14th on stage 1

"The downhill into town was pretty sketchy. The corners were slippery and I think it was because it hadn't rained for a while.

"We had a big split on the last climb and everyone got ahead, but then I decided to keep the race neutral until we hit the flats. I just tried to do my thing. There were a lot of sprinters there, so I knew it was going to be chaos at the end."

"With 500 meters to go, I was left behind the leaders. Jack Bauer put me there. (Mitchelton Scott)

Wout Van Aert (Jumbo Visma) - 35th in stage

"Tom (Dumoulin) and Primoz (Roglic) stayed out of trouble, so in the end it was a positive day on balance.

"It was really crazy. It probably hadn't rained here for a long time and the track surface was soapy. I crashed at 40 kilometers an hour. I knew I shouldn't brake, but in the end I had to brake. Luckily I wasn't hurt."

"In some places I could see oil spots, in other places I could see soapy water. As an organization, we can't do anything with this. This is pure bad luck, but hopefully it will clear up again tomorrow." (Sporza)

Tom Dumoulin (Jumbo Visma)-43rd on stage

"It was a tricky first stage. But I think we went over the limit."

"I don't think it rained here for four months. In the end, it was the right decision to neutralize it. The jury can't feel how smooth it is. They have to judge for themselves."(AD.nl (open in new tab))