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Mark Cavendish crashes as Marcel Kittel wins Tour de France’s stage one Mark Cavendish crashes as Marcel Kittel wins Tour de France’s stage one
(about 1 hour later)
Mark Cavendish’s dream of winning stage one of the Tour de France and wearing the yellow jersey ended in disaster when he crashed 300 metres from the finish line as the German Marcel Kittel sped to victory in a repeat of his win in the opener in 2013 in Corsica. Cavendish lost control of his front wheel as he attempted to emerge from the pack in the final 400 metres, and he was left nursing an injury to his right shoulder. It was unclear whether he would continue the race on Sunday. After Andy Murray’s exit at Wimbledon and England’s premature departure from the World Cup, Britain’s unhappy summer of sport continued as Mark Cavendish’s dream of winning stage one of the Tour de France and wearing the yellow jersey ended in disaster. The Manx sprinter lost control of his front wheel as he tried to emerge from the pack and crashed 250 metres from the finish line while the German Marcel Kittel sped to victory in a repeat of his win in the opener in 2013 in Corsica.
With David Cameron and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge looking on – and with the Duchess wearing a green dress which was more than appropriate for a stage expected to end in a sprint finish – Cavendish was cheered across the line by a sympathetic crowd as he pedalled painfully in holding his wrist at an awkward angle that suggested a broken collarbone. It was a bitter repeat of his accident on his debut Tour, when he fell on the run-in to the stage in Canterbury. The 25-times Tour de France stage winner was taken to hospital with an injury to his right shoulder but his Omega-Pharma-Quickstep team manager, Patrick Lefevre, said he would be at the stage start on Sunday in Sheffield. “Of course he was very impatient,” said Lefevre of his leader’s crash. “He wanted to win. He has already done this sprint 100 times in his head.”
The Manx sprinter had been using his head and shoulders in a desperate attempt to push Australia’s Simon Gerrans to the left so that he could have a clear run to the line, but lost his balance and fell heavily on his right shoulder. Gerrans, a stage winner and yellow jersey wearer last year, also hit the deck. The chaos left only four of the 198 riders in with a chance of the win, and they were led in by Kittel from Peter Sagan, last year’s points winner, with the Lithuanian Ramunas Navardauskas in third. With David Cameron and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge looking on – and with the Duchess wearing a green dress which was more than appropriate for a stage expected to end in a sprint finish – Cavendish was cheered by a massive crowd when he crossed the line, but it was sympathetic applause as he had spent several minutes on the tarmac being tended by the race doctor, in a bitter repeat of his accident on his debut Tour, when he fell on the run-in to the stage in Canterbury.
Cavendish’s Omega-Pharma-Quickstep team had hit the front of the race with four kilometres remaining, lining out the peloton with their leader in their slipstream, but Kittel’s Giant Shimano squad came alongside them in the last two kilometres, and by the time the peloton hit the final rise up Parliament Street to Betty’s tea shop, with the finish line 200 metres beyond, no team was in control. Cavendish is believed to have spent seven seasons as a professional without breaking a bone in competition – he has always tended to slide rather than bouncing – but 3min 35sec after Kittel had arrived, he pedalled painfully in holding his wrist across his body at the awkward angle that always suggests a broken collarbone. Fortunately, according to Lefevre, no fracture was diagnosed.
At the foot of the slope, spectators had begun writing Go Cav in vast letters of green chalk in the morning; throughout the stage, the scenes were familiar from the Grand Depart in London in 2007 and Le Tour en Angleterre in 1994, but set against the sumptuous backdrop of the Dales, and with spectator numbers even larger. The toughest section over the Cray, Buttertubs and Grinton Moor climbs was livened up by a solo escape from the oldest rider in the race, the German Jens Voigt, who was on the first day of his 17th Tour at the age of 42. The crash happened as the front of the peloton overtook lone escapee Fabian Cancellara on the brief pull up Parliament Street to Bettys tea shop, where Cavendish had been a visitor only the day before. Having failed to get the inside line on the left-hand curve, with his Omega-Pharma team out of the picture, the Manx sprinter was pushing with his head and shoulders in a desperate attempt to move Australia’s Simon Gerrans to the left.
Voigt attacked in the opening metres after the lengthy run-out from the centre of Leeds, together with the Frenchmen Benoît Jarrier and Nicolas Edet, but left his companions behind shortly before the day’s intermediate sprint at Newbiggin with 48 miles covered, to forge a lead that reached four minutes before the sprinters’ teams reacted, and brought him to heel. By this time, however, he had taken an early lead in the King of the Mountains standings, although after Sunday’s stage to Sheffield, with its nine categorised climbs, he is unlikely to remain in the polka-dot jersey. He wanted to get a clear run to the line, but Gerrans did not yield because the Frenchman Bryan Coquard was to his left. Cavendish lost control of his front wheel and fell heavily on his right shoulder, with Gerrans, a stage winner and yellow jersey wearer last year, hitting the deck simultaneously. The chaos left only four of the 198 riders in with a chance of the win, and they were led in by Kittel in front of last year’s points winner Peter Sagan with the Lithuanian Ramunas Navardauskas taking third from Coquard. The defending Tour winner Chris Froome does not usually get involved in sprint finishes, but he rode around the prone bodies to finish a strong and unexpected sixth.
Cavendish’s Omega-Pharma-Quickstep team had hit the front of the race with 4km remaining, lining out the peloton with their leader in their slipstream; Kittel’s Giant squad came alongside in the last 2km – they have a habit of leaving their effort until the very last moment, but by the time the peloton hit Parliament Street, no team was in control.
At the foot of the slope, optimistic fans had begun writing Go Cav in vast letters of green chalk in the morning; throughout the stage, the scenes were familiar from the Grand Depart in London in 2007 and Le Tour en Angleterre in 1994, but set against the sumptuous backdrop of the Dales, and with spectator numbers even larger. Sleepy villages and quiet market towns such as Bainbridge, Hawes, Reeth and Muker had begun their fete weeks before – with sheep netting and posts to keep spectators back from the road ready to go – and were lined three deep with spectators.
The throng had begun assembling early, some in club jerseys from the four corners of the UK – Abergavenny, Hampshire and Houghton-le-Spring were among those spotted – while local clubs such as Harrogate Nova had filed up the route in neat crocodiles. Picnic tables had been brought out first thing in the morning, and car parks several miles off route were jammed, with lines of spectators trudging up roads leading to the route. Hay fields were full of tents, pubs offered car parking for a fiver and as at the London Olympics, the union jack was flying with pride, but this time alongside the tricolour. Welsh dragons were much in evidence in honour of Geraint Thomas.
The toughest section of the 190km loop north from Leeds over the Cray, Buttertubs and Grinton Moor climbs and back to Harrogate was livened up by a solo escape from the oldest rider in the race, the German Jens Voigt, who was on the first day of his 17th Tour at the age of 42, equalling the record held by the Australian Stuart O’Grady and George Hincapie of the US.
He had attacked in the opening metres after the lengthy run-out from the centre of Leeds together with the Frenchmen Benoît Jarrier and Nicolas Edet. Edet and Jarrier fought out the first King of the Mountains climb at Cray, after which the peloton plunged deep into the Dales.
Buttertubs, the longest and steepest ascent of the day’s triptych, was a sea of colour, a solid crowd 40 or 50 deep in the natural amphitheatre on the toughest part; it was Voigt who led over the moorland summit with the two Frenchmen well adrift, forging a lead that reached 4min before the sprinters’ teams reacted, and brought him to heel.
By this time, however, he had taken an early lead in the King of the Mountains standings, although after Sunday’s stage to Sheffield with its nine categorised climbs, he is unlikely to remain in the polka-dot jersey, and there is every chance that Kittel – who makes no bones about his lack of climbing ability – will relinquish the yellow.
This article has been updated to add the news that Cavendish hasn’t suffered a fractured collarbone, as initially feared