Race report
Summary
A fantastic day for Mark Cavendish, unseating overwhelming favourites Kittel and Greipel to take his 27th Tour stage win. He’s just one behind Bernard Hinault now, and must have that on his summer to-do list.
It’s another step in the dramatic rise of Africa’s Dimension Data team too, adding Cavendish’s yellow jersey and another stage win to build on their breakthrough 2015.
Aside from Kittel and Greipel, who will both be left dazed and confused by Cavendish leaving them for dust, it was a tough day for Alberto Contador, who fell hard midway through the race but recovered to finish with the pack.
Thanks for joining me today. Same time tomorrow? Bye!
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Cav speaks!
On finally claiming the yellow jersey: “It’s phenomenal... it’s the third opportunity, the first without bad luck. It was a big goal, we came here with the aim of doing this for Dimension Data. There’s no bigger stage in cycling than the yellow jersey.”
On finally beating Marcel Kittel in a sprint finish: “Regardless of who’s there, to win a stage is incredible. To pull on the yellow jersey is incredible, and what a place to do it [Utah Beach]. I feel a bit emotional”
Result
1. Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data)
2. Marcel Kittel (Etixx-QuickStep)
3. Peter Sagan (Tinkoff)
4. André Greipel (Lotto-Soudal)
5. Edward Theuns (Trek-Segafredo)
That was exceptional from Cavendish, who was hauled into a competitive spot by his team but apparently left with too much to do, with Kittel and Sagan breathing down his neck with 400m to go. Cavendish held his line, and held them off with apparent ease. He’s still got it, you know.
MARK CAVENDISH WINS STAGE ONE!
He’s done it, outlasting Sagan and Kittel for Tour win No27, and for the first time, the yellow jersey. What a performance that was...
Etixx controlling the pace, Cavendish holding on – there’s a heavy crash behind, a Katusha rider clipping a barrier, but the contenders stay out of trouble, with Cavendish, Kittel and Sagan ready to do battle...
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1km to go... Alexander Kristoff’s Katusha take up the reins, with Dimension Data still nicely placed. Cavendish, Coquard, Degenkolb and the usual subjects jostling at the front – and Peter Sagan is on Kittel’s wheel...
Delaplace has bagged the combativity award, and the two leaders are finally swallowed up, poor Alex Howes earning a sum total of nothing for his relentless efforts. 3km to go, Dimension Data, and Ettix-QuickStep in prime positions, Greipel’s Lotto-Soudal team labouring a little...
Kittel, Greipel and Cavendish, who have taken the last stage for the last seven Tours between them – remain the favourites to open this year’s Tour with a win. With 6km to go, Howes and Delaplace, out in front on their own for over an hour, still lead by 18 seconds. They’re going to come painfully close.
The peloton are back within sight of the pesky pair out in front, but there’s still very little urgency with the challengers well placed, and 10km still to go. This is, in a word, cagey.
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So, we move into the home straight with Howes and Delaplace still duking it out. The gap is still 25 seconds, but not for long. There’s not too much in the way of awkward turns or bottlenecks to come, but events will unfurl at a furious pace, helped by that sturdy tailwind.
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Delaplace races away one more time, hoping to bag the combativity award, if not the stage. We’re heading into that 90-degree left-hand turn – and Howes counters Delaplace! These two have had fun out there today. They still lead by 25 seconds.
The two leaders have been riding wheel-to-wheel for the entire race, and still hold a 30-second lead with 20km left, as the peloton ease off a touch, on a straight stretch of road before the big left-hand turn back towards the coast.
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Turning inland, Howes and Delaplace race into a headwind, and have stretched their lead to 24 seconds. A couple of riders topple over at the back of an anxious peloton – Lampre’s Yukiya Arashiro and Trek’s Peter Stetina – but both are able to dust themselves off and continue, although Arashiro has an apparent hand injury. Elsewhere, GC contender Tejay van Garderen has had to replace his bike and rejoin the chasing pack.
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There are two landmarks to come in the final 20km; Sainte Mère-Eglise, the first town liberated by the Allies in World War II, and Utah Beach, infamous scene of the D-Day landings. Before we focus on the finale, I’ll leave this here:
Team Sky domestique Luke Rowe, brought down in that Contador crash, has recovered sufficiently to lead the peloton’s charge, alongside usual suspects Lotto-Soudal and Ettix-QuickStep. They’re in sight of the peloton on a long stretch at the northern edge of Utah Beach.
We’re heading downhill towards the final 30km, which chicanes from Quinéville to Utah Beach via Sainte-Mère-Eglise. The hefty swings in direction will cause headwinds, sidewinds and then a helpful tailwind on the chase to the line. The big sprinting beasts will need to keep their wits about them.
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The weather seems to be brighter and calmer over on the eastern side of the Cotentin peninsula, and the gap is down to 35 seconds. Delaplace at least got to lead the race as it passed just south of Valognes. Howes should be handed the Combative jersey; he doesn’t deserve to finish empty-handed.
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Howes and Delaplace have a minute on the peloton, which has mercilessly swallowed up the other breakaway riders. We’re approaching the aforementioned Montebourg, a town I’ve visited. I recall with fondness its charming central square, its many dimly-lit sports bars, and their stoic refusal to show any sport other than cycling.
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“It is indeed fantastique that Le Tour has started again – July is ALWAYS the best month for sport. Cav in Yellow? No, too many nerves today in the peloton, so I don’t think so” offers Andrew Benton, before bringing up That Thing we’re all trying not to think about.
“French politician Arnaud Montebourg, whose namesake town the race is heading to in a moment, apparently said ‘if the UK were to vote to leave the EU, France will roll out the red carpet to British investors who will flee their country. They will all come to France because companies need Europe.’ Zut alors!”
We’re an hour away from the finish line, with 50km remaining. Anyone prepared to bet against Kittel or Greipel at this stage? Anyone?
Howes and Delaplace – not a Hoxton patisserie, but today’s leading pair – are now 45 seconds clear of the pack. It’s not nearly enough. André Greipel looks a bit miffed at having to haul the peloton along himself, while at the back, French national champion Arthur Vichot is struggling.
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The race is heading into Saint-Sauveur le-Vicomte, a town flanked by a dizzying array of elegant chateaux, if the aerial shots are anything to go by. Anthony Delaplace, now within ten miles of his home town, decides to go it alone, and is joined by Alex Howes. Those two have nothing to show for their efforts yet, so it’s surely worth one more go.
30 seconds between the leaders and chasing pack now. Despite the drama caused by the cross winds, everyone is back in the peloton and nobody’s retired – yet. There’s 60km to go. By the way, if you’re new to the Tour and none of this makes any sense, take a look at our beginners’ guide:
Contador is getting treatment from a medical car, a doctor applying bandages to that sore right shoulder at 30kph. It takes a good while, but Contador, pedals stationary, right arm on the car, doesn’t seem to mind.
A lively sprint to the line in La Haye sees Leigh Howard take the points ahead of Barta and Howes. Not bad for a guy who wasn’t in the IAM team this time last week. Further back, Greipel bests Kittel and Cavendish in a frankly half-hearted chase for minor placings.
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Contador is back in the pack, and doesn’t seem to have picked up any lasting injuries – all that’s required is a change of his right shoe, which he does without stopping. He’s been fortunate if that’s the case – it was a heavy fall.
The leading quartet are 3.5km from the intermediate sprint – that drama has slowed the peloton up, so there’s a chance to take a very early lead in the green jersey race. They won’t be wearing it in Paris, though – Barry Glendenning has run the rule over Sagan, Cavendish and the other contenders:
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Eek, now Geraint Thomas has pulled up with a puncture and with his team car nowhere in sight, has to wait for assistance. The main bunch remain 40 seconds behind the leaders, who are down to four. Paul Voss’s hill climbs have caught up with him. There are a fair few dropped riders, but the peloton is slowly regrouping as the race heads inland.
Alberto Contador is down! The former champion falls hard into a kerb, and is left a long way off the back by the time he remounts. He has a nasty spot of road rash on his right shoulder, too.
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Now it’s Marcel Kittel and Etixx QuickStep’s turn to put the hammer down. The front five have made it into the relative safety of the next village, but the gap is under a minute, and they will do well to stay clear until the intermediate sprint. That opens up the possibility of Peter Sagan getting sewn into the green jersey nice and early.
Bad news for Mark Cavendish – he’s stayed in the main bunch, but several of his team-mates, including Teklehaimanot and Steve Cummings, have fallen off the back. Cav won’t be winning this race without half his lead-out train. The metronomic Tony Martin is now pushing the peloton forward, with the gap to the leaders slashed to 90 seconds.
Signs of anxiety in the peloton now, with Cannondale upping the pace and sending the big hitters scurrying after them. The main contenders are keeping up, Luke Rowe driving Chris Froome forward, while Nairo Quintana, caught out by cross winds last year, is making sure he keeps in touch.
The race reaches an exposed stretch of road, where the wind is really whipping off the Channel. In preparation, Movistar, Team Sky and Tinkoff have taken over the peloton to protect their GC contenders – Nairo Quintana, Chris Froome and Alberto Contador. Any break in the pack could be costly here – but they’re keeping it together so far.
Back to the race, where the chasing pack have trimmed the gap to the front five – Barta, Howes, Howard, Voss and Delaplace – who are passing through a feed zone.
We’re into the flattest section of the route, with no climbs until we reach the day’s intermediate sprint at La Haye, in around 25km.
That replica kit may be a spare, given that two Dimension Data riders have agreeably obscure alternative jerseys on. Edvald Boasson Hagen wears the Norwegian colours, while Daniel Teklehaimanot, star of last year’s Tour, is the Eritrean national champion.
We’re in the middle of a trio of coastal towns – Montmartin, Blainville and Gouville-sur-Mer, with the route snaking around an estuary before returning to the coast. The commentary team are talking about the decline of Norman shipbuilding, which tells you it’s not a barn burner of a race right now.
Meanwhile, if you fancy yourself as the next Mark Cavendish, why not enter this competition to win a Team Dimension Data replica kit – and a couple of cases of wine (please drink responsibly).
As we mentioned earlier, Cofidis sprinter Nacer Bouhanni is out of the Tour after throwing down with a fellow guest at his hotel. It’s far from ideal for his team, who had built their Tour around getting Bouhanni a couple of stage wins. Christophe Laporte is the lead sprinter today, but is in a tentative job share with Geoffrey Soupe.
“I’ve got more reasons than usual to be watching the first two days of this years Tour” says Len Hampson.
“In two weeks I’ll be riding these roads in a 400km D-Day themed Audax. It looks a bit windy but not too many hills...” Best of luck to you, Len.
The peloton are holding firm and jostling for position, with Tinkoff and Astana making their way to the front. But never mind that – in the adjacent fields, farmers have made a giant bicycle out of circling tractors. That’s what the Tour is all about.
The gap is creeping down...
“Technically, that’s illegal” say the commentary team – always a phrase to make you redirect your gaze – as Cavendish gets a new back wheel, then rides in the slipstream of the Dimension Data team car. As they hasten to add, it’s common practice and nobody really minds.
Mark Cavendish has picked up a puncture, his team-mates dropping back to help him out until he finds a spot to change his tyre. It shouldn’t cost him too much at this stage, unless cross winds break open the peloton. The race is just a few feet from the beach now, but so far, there’s no more than a stiff breeze.
Delaplace, who hails from Valognes, a Norman town the race will skirt later today, is leading the front five, who have maintained a three-minute lead. Naturally, he would love to take the stage win out of the sprinters’ hands today.
Back in the peloton, Greipel’s red-shirted Lotto Soudal team-mates continue to set the pace. Greipel himself is in white after winning the German championship last week. He employed some unusual tactics to outfox Kittel, Degenkolb and Max Walscheid.
50km or so down, just over 150km to go, and the gap between the peloton and the leaders is down to three minutes. The riders are entering the day’s first major town – Granville, nicknamed ‘the Monaco of the North’. From the aerial shots, that appears a little generous.
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It’s not cycling-related, but we’re in a part of France scarred by a later conflict, and the Somme is not a million miles away, so may I suggest you take a look at this:
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The five breakaway riders have now assimilated into one group, around four minutes ahead of the peloton, being driven forward by Greipel’s Lotto-Soudal and Kittel’s Etixx-QuickStep. We’re heading for 70km of riding along the Normandy coast, within sight of Jersey.
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Voss is straining every sinew on the second climb, a winding 1.3km hill packed with spectators. He’s worked 10 times harder than anyone else on the road, but he makes it under the arch, and will wear the polka-dot jersey tomorrow. He’s also given a nice bit of exposure to team sponsors Bora, purveyors of innovative kitchen extractor fans.
Howard, the Australian rider in the front five, was only called up to the Tour this week after IAM’s Dries Devenyns pulled out with an illness. A resident of Andorra, he was planning on checking out the Stage 9 finish – the first ever in the tiny principality.
Voss is 5km away from the second climb, the Côte des falaises de Champeaux. The chasing quartet have renewed drive, and have closed to 30 seconds behind. The peloton are some four minutes behind. A reminder of the five men out in front:
Paul Voss (Bora-Argon), Jan Barta (Bora-Argon), Alex Howes (Cannondale), Leigh Howard (IAM), Anthony Delaplace (Fortuneo).
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It’s al rather serene at present, with the front five bound to reunite in order to have a faint hope of staying clear. It won’t be long until the riders will hit cross-winds on the coast, and we’ll see plenty of shuffling around in the peloton to protect the key GC contenders.
On which, here’s Sean Ingle on Froome, Quintana, Contador and many more chasing the yellow jersey this year:
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Voss has kept himself in the lead after that climb, opening a lead of 38 seconds on Barta and Howard, with Howes and Deleplace about to join them in that chasing group. More polka-dot points coming up for the German, with the day’s only other climb coming up imminently. Incidentally, he’s from Rostock, also the birthplace of Jan Ullrich and André Greipel.
Paul Voss powers up the first climb, the 5% gradient Côte d’Avranches, to grab a single King of the Mountains point, and (obviously) the lead in the race for the polka-dot jersey.
Rosa, a useful lieutenant for Vincenzo Nibali and Fabio Aru in the Astana team, has recovered and rejoined the peloton. Up front, the leading trio have pulled a minute clear of the counter-attacking pair, and four minutes ahead of the field.
Time to fetch the ‘what does the breakaway sound like?’ riff out of the attic. I’d venture that Howard, Barta and Voss sound like a solicitors’ firm you could never afford.
Today’s stage is unusual, starting and finishing at spots some distance from the nearest town or village. The pack have just passed through Pontaubault, and over the Sélune river. From here, it’s a turn north, along the exposed western edge of the Cotentin peninsula. A couple of Category 4 bumps coming up before we get back to the coast.
The pack look a little out of sync so far, setting off at a slow pace and locking wheels all over the place - Astana’s Diego Rosa has already come off his bike, after 15 minutes of racing. Diego!
The other two riders attempting to escape the clutches of the peloton are Cannondale’s Alex Howes and local boy Anthony Delaplace of Fortuneo. They’re fifteen seconds adrift of the front three, who have opened a two-minute lead over the main field.
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Christian Prudhomme honks the starting horn, to end the neutralised start and begin the race proper. Five riders immediately launch into a breakaway attempt, with a leading trio pulling clear – Leigh Howard of IAM, and Bora-Argon team-mates Jan Barta and Paul Voss. If those team names mean nothing to you, take a look at our guide:
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The peloton have passed up and down the long promontory that connects Mont-Saint-Michel with the coastline. Anyone who’s been on a day trip will know all kinds of weather are possible right there.
TV has a quick chat with Geraint Thomas, Chris Froome’s new right-hand man for Team Sky. He’s “super excited – it’s my seventh Tour and feels like my first”. He then predicts Wales will beat France on penalties in the Euro 2016 final.
Stranger things have happened – which, coincidentally, is what former Sky man Richie Porte said about his GC chances. Porte has moved to BMC, where he starts second-in-command to Tejay van Garderen; but for my money, he’s a dark horse for a podium place.
We’ll have more on the GC contenders as we roll towards Utah Beach, but let’s focus on the thoroughbred sprinters chasing the yellow jersey today. Cavendish and Sagan have to overpower the returning favourite, Marcel Kittel, and compatriot André Greipel, who won four stages last year.
In perhaps the strongest sprint field ever assembled for a Tour, don’t bet against Alexander Kristoff, Bryan Coquard or Elia Viviani causing an upset. John Degenkolb is still recovering from an awful training crash in January, while Nacer Bouhanni is absent because he, uh, punched a drunk guest in a hotel last week.
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As discussed, this is a big day for Mark Cavendish. Cav has won 26 Tour de France stages – beaten in the all-time charts only by Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault. The fact that he’s never worn the yellow jersey is a fine example of the Tour’s complexities; there are so many subplots within what is essentially one big race.
Cavendish has won the points classification in all three Grand Tours, including the green jersey here in 2011. This year, he’s claimed it’s as good as impossible to stop Peter Sagan, who has won it every year since. With Rio on the horizon, this might turn out to be the biggest day of the Manx man’s Tour.
We're off
The flag drops, and the riders begin the ceremonial stint of today’s race, rolling towards Mont-Saint-Michel. It’s half an hour until the race officially begins, but make no mistake, the 2016 Tour has begun.
Météo
It’s a pleasant day on the Normandy coast – 16 degrees and sunny at Mont-Saint-Michel, where the race begins. More troubling to the peloton is the stiff breeze blowing in from the English channel – crosswinds will be a constant danger.
Preamble
It’s time for the 103rd edition of what might just be the toughest race on Earth. Even in a summer jam-packed with sporting distractions, the Tour de France is always worth your time.
Over 23 days, the peloton will travel a route that swoops and swirls across three countries and 2,000 miles of road, from the edge of the English Channel to the heart of Paris. This year, the war of attrition looks set to be between Chris Froome and Nairo Quintana, with the Colombian challenger closer than ever to dethroning the champ.
For now, the brutal mountain stages are just a flicker on the horizon, with the race starting on the flat, forgiving terrain of Normandy. That’s not to say the start won’t have any bearing on the finish; Quintana in particular must beware the crosswinds that blighted his start last year, and ultimately cost him the yellow jersey.
The year’s first man in yellow will surely be a sprinter – it would complete Mark Cavendish’s collection of baubles, but the smart money is on Marcel Kittel and André Greipel, who have dominated sprint finishes in recent years. The limelight could belong to either man for the first few stages as the race creeps towards the Pyrénées.
Even if you don’t care for marginal gains, echelons and leadout trains, there’s still plenty to enjoy. Today’s route connects two historic sites on either side of the Manche peninsula: the spectral Mont-Saint-Michel and Utah Beach, D-Day landing site. The windswept miles in between offer nostalgic highs for anyone who’s ever braved a ferry to Cherbourg.
The race begins at around 11.50am BST, 12.50pm local; more build-up and news to follow.
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