Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) might have expected to finish second in the opening time trial of the Tour de France. Van Aert was not disappointed, as he had been made to cringe on more than one occasion by world champion Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers).

However, Van Aert was five seconds ahead of Ganna in Copenhagen on Friday. He was two seconds faster than two-time Tour champion Tadej Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates). He was also eight seconds faster than his old rival Mathieu van der Pol (Alpecin Deceuninck) and about 10 seconds faster than his own team leaders Primoš Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard.

Normally, that would be enough to take the win and the yellow jersey, but no one expected that from Yves Lampert (Quick Step - Alpha Vinyl).

VanArt's expression on the hot seat suggested that he shared in the surprise as the world watched, but he insisted that he never thought he would be home dry.

"I wasn't surprised, actually," he said. 'Eve is a specialist. Yves is a specialist. Especially in the shorter TTs, he's the one to beat. I knew he was one of the last specialists. Sure, I was waiting for everyone to finish, but I didn't stay that long (in the hot seat). He must have been fast."

Van Aat had no regrets about his run and could not think of where he might have left five seconds on the wet Copenhagen surface.

He was on track at the same time as Ganna and Pogachar while many big names opted for an earlier start to avoid the rain forecast. Van Aert, however, refused to entertain the idea of differing conditions.

"I don't know. It's dry now, but the track surface was wet all the time for all the racers. I don't know if that was the difference. I don't want to think that way either." [A five-second difference in a time trial of only 13 km is not a big difference, but at the same time it is a serious difference. I think he was very strong. I think he was very strong. He balanced well between risk and smoothness. I have no regrets about my run."

The frustration will linger all night, but Van Aat will be buoyed by the fact that he "felt no pain" in the knee he hurt in the Tour preliminaries and predicted might cause problems after Friday.

The second stage will be a nervous one, with wind and narrow roads to the west to Naivoort, where the pack could split at any moment.

On this stage, Van Aert will start off with a shot at the green jersey for points, but a win, or even a small finish, could earn him the yellow if he is awarded bonus seconds.

"I focused on this time trial first. Right now I'm disappointed to finish second, but it's important to change my morale right away," Van Aert said.

"The stages in Denmark are really interesting. The weather is unpredictable and everything depends on the forecast. It's going to be a really nervous and tough day for sure. It's definitely the first day to take points and try to sprint in a group."