The first of the former Tour winners to start today's stage will be Marco Pantani who departs at 6.07pm. He is immediately followed by Jan Ullrich at 6.08pm and Lance Armstrong at 6.14pm. The wait for the Tour de France 2000 is almost over. The final rider to take tackle the time trial course today is the defending champion, Lance Armstrong. The US Postal rider is scheduled to begin his test against the clock at 6.14pm Irish time - one hour and 59 minutes after the first rider.
Racers start at one-minute intervals.
This is because today's time trial is now referred to as 'Stage One' and not 'Prologue'. There is a breeze of about 15km blowing in from the north - offering riders a fast tailwind with assisted surge across the finishline. There are 25 nations represeted in this year's Tour.