Leading view
Cavendish in yellow for first time as race begins
SAINTE-MARIE-DUMONT, France — Minutes after pulling on the yellow jersey for the first time in his award-filled career, Mark Cavendish walked over to the Utah Beach Peace Monument and placed a white rose to commemorate the Allied landings in Normandy that took place there more than 70 years ago.
It was a memorable moment that crowned a day full of emotions for the British cyclist, who won a sprint at the end of Saturday’s crash-affected opening stage of the Tour de France to take the overall lead.
It was Cavendish’s 27th stage win in the French classic — third on the all-time list behind Eddy Merckx (34) and Bernard Hinault (28) — but he had never won the opening leg, which is often a time trial. Cavendish has already worn the leader’s jerseys at the Giro d’Italia and the Spanish Vuelta.
“It’s going be a special day tomorrow to ride a stage in yellow,” Cavendish said. “There was no better place to achieve this than Utah Beach, where soldiers died for us. It’s an incredible opportunity to remember and respect not just those that fought and died on D-Day but fought and died across all the wars and brought freedom to the Western world.”
After the stage, Cavendish joined a specially invited group of American, Belgian, Canadian, French and German riders for a ceremony at the Peace Monument.
German rival Marcel Kittel and Slovakia’s Peter Sagan finished second and third, respectively, in the picturesque 188-kilometer (117-mile) stage, which began at Mont-SaintMichel, a World Heritage Benedictine abbey perched on a rock off the Normandy coast.
Two years ago, Cavendish was the overwhelming favorite to win the opening stage and take yellow when the Tour opened on his home roads in England. But he crashed during the sprint, separated his right shoulder and had to withdraw from the race.
Once dominant, Cavendish also has struggled to keep up with rivals like Kittel and Andre Greipel in recent years. The 31-yearold joined South African team Dimension Data for this season after shoulder surgery in September.
“Ever since 2008 it’s been the end of me. I guess that’s just how it is — something to talk about,” Cavendish said. “I would stay home if I didn’t think I could win.”
Pushed by a strong tail wind of up to 70 kph (43 mph), the leaders required slightly more than four hours to reach the finish. Cavendish was behind Sagan and Kittel entering the final 150 meters, but Kittel went around Sagan on the left and Cavendish slipped by on the right and easily surged in front.
Two-time Tour winner Alberto Contador crashed midway through the stage and several riders were involved in an ugly highspeed crash on the final straight. Contador hit a traffic curb while coming around a right turn. The Spaniard came away with some serious abrasions and had his jersey ripped on his back and right shoulder, but he was quickly helped back to the peloton by his Tinkoff teammates.
Defending champion Chris Froome and the other overall favorites finished safely in the main pack.