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United States | Midwest | Ohio >> Mark Cavendish Wins Stage 1 of the 2016 Tour De France

Mark Cavendish Wins Stage 1 of the 2016 Tour De France and takes his First Yellow Jersey

Mark Cavendish, Team Dimension Data jumped out from behind the Sprinter favorites to beat Kittel, Sagan and Greipel.

Tour de France 2016 Stage 1 results for July 1, 2016 today have just concluded, and winning TDF2016 Stage 1 today was Mark Cavendish. We have our first yellow jersey of the Tour de France and our first TDF Standings for the General Classification. Your TDF2016 Stage 1 winner is Mark Cavendish. Second place was Marcel Kittel followed by Peter Sagan and Andre Griepel.

Tour de France 2015 Standings seemed up for grabs with 20 km to go today. The peloton was back roughly 12 seconds during the final 44 km of the race. The leaders for much the final hour of today’s stage were Anthony Delaplace and Alex Howes.

Katusha team director Jose Azevedo, meantime, told TDF2016 before stage 1 that he was certain Norway’s Alexander Kristoff could dominate this stage. “The list of riders who can win today is a long one. We have Kittel, Greipel, Cavendish, Coquard. We respect all of them but we’re convinced Alex has a great chance today. He has worked very hard to be on this Tour de France and he’s extremely motivated.” And what is Azevedo’s mindset for Sunday? “Tomorrow’s second stage is too hard for a sprinter so today is an exceptional opportunity to win a stage and take the yellow jersey. Everybody knows it and it adds extra motivation for Alex and the others. We might not have a train like some of the other teams but this is an objective and we’re going to work hard to help Alex win this stage."

Meantime Marcel Kittel was seeking the yellow jersey in today’s stage. But he admitted that Stage 1 would be difficult due to the number of sprints. He told Le Tour “It’s really exciting to have a chance to get the yellow jersey again but I don’t want to take all the pressure on me now. It’s a special situation to have the bonus of leading the race in addition to winning a stage. I’m really looking forward to the first bunch sprint of the Tour but I’m also trying to stay relaxed. It’s my life as a sprinter to deal with pressure but I can rely on a very strong team. We have a lot of confidence.” Kittel added “The finale is very simple. That will put a lot of stress into the bunch. I expect André Greipel and Mark Cavendish to be my biggest rivals.” 

Stage 2 on Sunday 3rd July is a north-south race down the Cotentin, from Cherbourg to the local capital Saint Lo. Stage two ends with a kick up the Cote de la Glaciene that will suit puncheurs like Sagan and Cavendish for the sprint.

Cavendish now leads the race with a four-second advantage over Kittel. He won’t have much of a chance to defend his jersey as the riders face the first climbing tomorrow. A lumpy start with three category 4 climbs leads to a flat middle section before the terrain again gets hillier. In the final 10km, the riders first face an uncategorized climb and the category 3 Cote de La Glacerie (1.9km, 6.5%) whose top comes just 1.5km from the finish. Then the road levels out until the road tamps up at 5.7% for 700m.

 

Tour de France Stage 1 Results Top 20

1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Dimension Data 4:14:05 
2 Marcel Kittel (Ger) Etixx - Quick-Step   
3 Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff Team   
4 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal   
5 Edward Theuns (Bel) Trek-Segafredo   
6 Christophe Laporte (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits   
7 Bryan Coquard (Fra) Direct Energie   
8 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha   
9 Daniel Mclay (GBr) Fortuneo - Vital Concept   
10 Greg Henderson (NZl) Lotto Soudal 0:00:03 
10 Sondre Holst Enger (Nor) IAM Cycling   
12 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo   
13 Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Giant-Alpecin   
14 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Etixx - Quick-Step   
15 John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin   
16 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Dimension Data 0:00:08 
17 Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:00:10 
18 Grégory Rast (Swi) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:11 
19 Albert Timmer (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin   
20 Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) Etixx - Quick-Step  

Mark Cavendish Wins Stage 1 of the 2016 Tour De France