Tour de France 2018 Stage 3 live stream: Watch online

The team time trial returns to the Tour de France after a three-year absence. Here’s how to catch the action live from Cholet on Monday.

After two straight years without a group test against the clock, the team time trial returns to the Tour de France. The discipline regains a spot in the race course for the first time since 2015. At nearly 22 miles in length, this year’s team time trial is especially lengthy compared to previous editions at the Tour.

The course runs along a counterclockwise loop to the west of Cholet. Each team will leave the line and head first north and then westward before arcing south and back toward the finish line in Cholet. It is an undulating course that will test how well each team can maintain a consistent pace and stay together.

The team’s time comes down to the fifth rider across the line, making it imperative that teams stay together and avoid large splits. Any major separations can prove costly. Especially for the teams of the top yellow jersey contenders, a strong placing in the team time trial will be critical.

Team Sky won the team time trial at the Critérium du Dauphiné, making them the favorites. Three years ago, BMC Racing Team upset Team Sky by a single second as Tejay van Garderen came within 12 seconds of taking the yellow jersey from Chris Froome. This year, both of those teams will be in contention for the stage victory once again.

Another team to look out for in the team time trial is Movistar. The Spanish squad features a trio of potential Tour contenders in Nairo Quintana, Alejandro Valverde, and Mikel Landa. Watch out as well for current world time-trial Tom Dumoulin, reigning Tour green jersey winner Michael Matthews, and the rest of the Sunweb team.

How to watch the stage

Here is how to catch Stage 3 at the Tour de France live on July 9. The action from the team time trial beginning and ending in Cholet will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network. Live streaming of the action is available on NBC Sports Gold or FuboTV.

• Date: Monday, July 9, 2018
• Start time: 9:00 a.m. ET
• Start: Cholet, France
• Finish: Cholet, France (team time trial)
• TV Info: NBC Sports Network
• Live Stream: NBC Sports Gold, Fubo.TV

Another warm day will greet riders when they make the loop outside Cholet and back. Temperatures should top out in the high 80s on Monday afternoon. Sustained winds above 10 miles per hour will greet each team sweeping southwesterly from the northeast.

Next: Tour de France 2018 route breakdown and highlights

Team Sky has been relatively unbeatable in team time trials in recent years. Their one-second defeat to BMC in the 2015 Tour de France was a shock, and it would be a shock this year to see any other team come out victorious on this course. BMC and Sunweb seem like the teams best composed to give Sky a threat, but the British squad should come out on top.