Alex Edmondson ditched the time trial ceremony for a running start on stage 16 of the Tour de France, straddled his bike in a fluid motion, and began the final week of the race.

Blink and you'll miss Edmondson (whom the TV crew mistakenly called his dsm-firmenich teammate Sam Welsford). Edmondson skipped the traditional standing start with a countdown at Passy and went for a hasty maneuver that Welsford repeated shortly thereafter.

The confusion did not stop there, as dsm-Filmenig's teammate John Degenkolb suffered abrasions to his leg in a crash in the first corner that would later cause Nils Eekhoff to also crash.

Edmondson tried to recover some time after his mistake on the start line and arrived at the finish in Combrue drenched in sweat from the effort, the 22.4 km of hills, and the heat. He finished 112th, 6:59 slower than the winning time of Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo Visma).

"I wanted to run red-hot, but it's a pretty hilly place," Edmondson said.

A few minutes later, Welsford, who finished 105th, seven seconds ahead of his teammate, lined up beside him, and the two, speaking with endearing humility, held court in front of a crowd of reporters, trying to determine what had happened at the start and the condition of their fallen teammate.

"Oh, what was that? Welsford asked Edmondson.

"Mate, I don't know. I'm pretty sure I was 11 minutes past and you were 12 minutes past," Edmondson said of the scheduled departure time.

The 29-year-old was correct, but after a second day of rest, the organized chaos of the Tour - people coming and going, cars, bikes, vans, and a team bus parked about 2 km away - meant they were late.

"I think they [officials] were early," Welsford continued. 'I don't know. I had my ice vest off and I was curled up and they were like, 'Go, go.'" [It was like cyclocross. I had to do a running start."

"I literally took off my ice vest and it was go time. Running and jumping. That's not something you want to do in the Tour de France.

"But it wasn't on purpose. Hopefully they could get the time. Of course they did.

For the two Olympic medalists on the track, but making their debut in this event, the Tour was a learning experience.

Welsford was aiming for a sprint stage, and with French climber Romain Bardet having abandoned the Tour last week, the team will focus on sprint stages.

For Edmondson, 29, competing in the Tour is the realization of a long-term goal.

"I've always been so close, but now I'm finally here," he said. I've always been so close, but now I'm finally here," he said.

"It's clear that here at dsm-Filmenig we haven't had the results we wanted. The other day Romain had the misfortune of retiring from the race after a bad crash.

"But the special thing we have done is that we now have a great group. The team atmosphere is something we've worked very hard on. There are still six more days to go.

"So it's about trying to finish as far as we can.

The sentiment wasn't even lip service, as Edmondson pedaled over to Degenkolb at the finish line to make sure the German, who had a bloody knee, was okay.

Degenkolb, a former Paris-Roubaix champion, is a Tour veteran, but even he was confused Tuesday morning, not knowing how he had crashed.

"Honestly, I really don't know. I didn't start off crazy or enthusiastic. I guess there's a first time for everything, and this was the first time I crashed in the TT," Degenkolb said.

"On a day like this, that's the last thing you want. It was a real shame, and the track surface was rough

"I got on top of a white mark on the tarmac, but that's not usually a problem. I couldn't even correct it, so my front wheel slipped and I went straight off the track."

Welsford will face tough competition in the three remaining sprints that could take place this week after Wednesday's queen stage, which includes the Col de la Rose.

Edmondson, who won a silver medal alongside Welsford in the men's team pursuit at the Rio Olympics, is confident in his compatriot's speed and the team is eager to lead out throughout the Tour.

"It's hard to do well in the finals," he said. But at the same time we know he has the speed." Ultimately it's about getting lucky and putting everything we know we can use, the horsepower, in the right place."

Edmondson and the rest of the peloton must first clear the Col de la Rose before they get another chance to sprint on Thursday.

"Tomorrow is a big day with over 5000m of climbing and it's all about getting help from the big guys.

"We have a pretty big gruppetto. Some want to push more, some don't want to take care of everyone.

"We have a little time. There's the stress of running out of time, some people panic, some people don't. But we've always worked with Nils, John, and myself and Sammy. It's kind of fun. Sometimes it feels a little weird. When you get to the finish line and you still have the energy to laugh and joke and then you see other people dying.