Tearful Kittel takes honours

SCARE: TITLE CONTENDERS RECOVER AFTER CRASH

Thomas holds onto yellow jersey after escaping unscathed from a collision 30km before the finish.

Liege

German Marcel Kittel broke down in tears after winning his 10th Tour de France yesterday. Reigning champion Chris Froome suffered a scare on the 203.5km second stage from Duesseldorf, crashing 30km from the end, but he got up to finish safely in the peloton, alongside race leader Geraint Thomas.

Frenchman Arnaud Demare was second and German Andre Greipel third in the bunch sprint, with Briton Mark Cavendish fourth.

“I don’t know what to say ... It was an incredible start in Germany with so many people,” said an emotional Kittel.

“Great! I’m super happy, super proud because it was for me a very special win today after we had the Grand Depart in Germany.”

But the main drama happened 30km from the finish as the peloton chased down a four-man breakaway.

A rider from the Katusha team trying to set up Alexander Kristoff for the finish slipped on a wet bend and crashed, taking down around 15 to 20 riders.

Froome and yellow jersey wearer Thomas were among them, with the champion suffering cuts to his lower back and seeing his shorts shredded.

He got back on his bicycle to chase the peloton, but was forced into a bike change before finally latching back onto the pack with 20km left.

Thomas seemed unscathed and maintained his five-second lead over Swiss Stefan Kung, although Kittel, who hit 69km/h in the sprint finish according to official Tour data, is now up to third overall at six seconds after taking a 10-second time bonus on the line.

“It’s all good, it’s a nice bonus to keep the jersey for another day,” said Thomas.

Australian contender Richie Porte was another to crash, but he said he escaped the worst of it.

The third stage today is a lumpy one of more than 210km with a short climb to the finish which will favour punchy riders rather than pure sprinters. – AFP