Dan Martin begins the day best of the Irish – he's 31st on general classification.
Nicolas Roche begins in 72nd, while Tour debutant Sam Bennett from Carrick on Suir is 177th.
The man who wears yellow today is Roche's Sky team-mate Chris Froome.
The peloton will today begin the 167-kilometre trek from Tarbes before finishing with an haute category climb up the Col de Soudet.
