In the wake of an already successful season during which he won the Paris-Nice and Tour de Suisse week-long races, Bernal has been elevated to a co-leader status after Froome, who also rides for Ineos, was ruled out because of a horrific crash last month.
Despite his lack of experience — he has started only his second Grand Tour — Bernal is showing an impressive maturity.
"I think you have a physical age and a mental age, but when you're ready, you're ready," Ineos team boss Dave Brailsford said. "He's ready."
Many former Tour winners including Eddy Merckx and Alberto Contador have picked Bernal as their favourite to win a race that features several gruelling mountainous stages this year.
They expect the diminutive Colombian climber to grab the spotlight when the Tour reaches the high-altitude summits in the last 10 days of racing.
Before that, there will be many opportunities for the 33 riders making their first Tour appearance to show off their skills and challenge the supremacy of their elders.
"We will see riders who dare to attack, who try their luck, riders who race in an old-fashioned way," said Tour director Christian Prudhomme.
The opening stage featured two short climbs usually taken during the one-day classic Ronde van Vlaanderen and a stretch of cobblestones and also passed through Merckx's childhood home. The day's main difficulties came too early to have a real impact on the final result, though, and the stage was likely to end in a bunch sprint that could award the first yellow jersey to a Tour debutant.
"It is a stage that I can win and I know the team and I really want to win the first stage," said Ewan, Australia's new sprint sensation.
The 24-year-old Ewan, who rides for Belgian outfit Lotto-Soudal, is among an exciting group of competitors who will try to derail three-time world champion Peter Sagan's ambition to claim a record seventh green jersey, which is awarded to the best sprinter.
A colourful character with a spectacular style of racing, Sagan has been the fastest man in the Tour peloton in recent years. Since 2012, he has failed to win the green jersey just once, when he was disqualified following a crash with Cavendish two years ago.
But Sagan has been struggling with form this season, boosting the hopes of younger rivals, including Ewan, who already posted stage wins at the Giro and Spanish Vuelta.
Among others riders ready to surge to the fore, Van Aert is certainly the most promising. A three-time cyclo-cross world champion, the 24-year-old from Belgium is riding his first Grand Tour after claiming two stage wins — a sprint and a time trial — at the prestigious Criterium du Dauphine last month.
"Wout Van Aert is part of a terrific generation," Prudhomme said. "He won back-to-back stages at the Dauphine. He was formidable. I don't know who will be wearing the yellow jersey on July 19, but I have an idea about the favourite of the individual time trial scheduled that day."
Van Aert's versatility and physical skills make him dangerous on all grounds except the high mountains, although his lack of experience should limit his ambitions to a second-fiddle role in support of Jumbo-Visma team leader Dylan Groenewegen, the 26-year-old Dutch rider.
The Deceuninck-Quick-Step team is also bringing a pair of 24-year-old newcomers to the Tour — Mas and Asgreen.
In his first full professional season, Asgreen won the time trial at the Danish Championships and finished runner-up at the Ronde van Vlaanderen. He will ride in a domestique role for Mas, the runner-up at last year's Vuelta.
- AP
