In a spectacular first stage of the 2014 Tour de France starting in Leeds, Marcel Kittel (Giant-Shimano) sprinted to victory on stage 1 after a crash-marred finale in Harrogate.
Fan favourite Jens Voigt (Trek Factory Racing) along French breakaway companions Nicolas Edet (Cofidis) and Benoit Jarrier (Bretagne-Seche Environments) were let go from the beginning, building a lead of roughly three minutes, but only Voigt was left by the time they summited Cote de Buttertubs with the peloton beginning to chase behind. Voigt’s solo ride came to an end with 59km remaining as he crested Grinton Moor where the peloton swallowed him up.
A dramatic finish saw three dominant leadout trains (Omega Pharma-QuickStep, Giant-Shimano and Lotto-Belisol) fighting for position when Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing) came from nowhere to gain a sizeable gap at one kilometre remaining. He momentarily looked like he might be able to hold them off.
At roughly 300m remaining, after Cancellara, was caught and the sprinters were at the front Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) and Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEdge) collided sending both to the ground. Ahead of the crash, Marcel Kittel took the bunch finish at the head of a small group of four riders who stayed clear of the crash. Peter Sagan (Cannondale) crossed the line second while Ramunas Navardauskas (Garmin-Sharp) rounded out the podium.
Click here for a full stage report and results for Stage 1 of the 2014 Tour de France.
- Marcus Burghardt signs in with Sherlock Holmes making a cameo apperance.
- Peter Sagan’s new paintjob on his Cannondale parked at sign-in.
- Prince William, Kate and prince Harry attended the start ceremony in Leeds.
- The 2014 Tour de France spans 3656 kilometers, starting in Leeds, UK and finishing in Paris on July 27.
- On paper, the battle for the overall classification is between Contador and Froome.
- The flat stages will be contested by the likes of Mark Cavendish and Andre Greipel who shake hands before the start.
- The 2014 Tour de France gets underway!
- No sooner had the flag been waved than Jens Voigt (Trek Factory Racing) was off, establishing the day’s early breakaway with Nicolas Edet (Cofidis) and Benoit Jarrier (Bretagne-Seche Environment). The trio worked well together to quickly establish a gap which the peloton kept in control at roughly three minutes. Voigt pressed on solo over the “Cote de Buttertubs” taking the two KOM points on offer while Edet and Jarrier continued their backward slide, separately, towards the peloton.
- Jens Voigt was the last man standing from the three-man breakaway.
- Mark Cavendish and Simon Gerrans collided, sending both to the ground. Cavendish appeared to be leaning on Gerrans with his head, but when Bryan Coquard (Europcar) came up on the other side of Gerrans, he seemed to disrupt the balance of the two jostling riders, sending Gerrans and Cavendish to the ground.
- Marcel Kittel takes stage 1 in Harrogate.
- Marcel Kittel and Roy Curvers celebrate after their win.
- Mark Cavendish had to be pushed on his bike across the finish line but reports say that he hasn’t broken his collarbone and is hopeful to start stage 2 tomorrow.
- Marcel Kittel in yellow after a hectic finish.