Stage 1

The road

At the start

Froome for a third, at Mont-Saint-Michel

The Tour begins under Mont-Saint-Michel with Chris Froome chasing a third title that would put him level with Greg LeMond — and with the reminder that nobody has defended the race since Armstrong and Indurain. Nairo Quintana skipped the Dauphiné again and remains the most dangerous man in the field. Today, though, is 188 flat kilometres along the Channel to Utah Beach, and the wind will decide it.

How it was won

1. 194 km to go

   The wind shifts out of the feed zone

   A change in the westerly blowing off the Channel brings a sudden injection of pace at the front. Riders are shelled off the back of the peloton, though every favourite reads it in time.

2. 2At the line

   Cavendish, at last, in yellow

   Sagan launches an audacious lone bid inside the last kilometre but Mark Cavendish flies past him on the Utah Beach straight for his 27th Tour stage — and the first yellow jersey of his career. Behind, Mørkøv clips a barrier and catapults into the chasing sprinters, taking down Bennett, Boasson Hagen and Geraint Thomas.

The result