Stage 1

The road

At the start

Grand Départ in the Vendée

The 105th Tour begins on the Île de Noirmoutier: 199 kilometres down the Vendée coast to Fontenay-le-Comte, flat on paper but with more than half of it exposed to the Atlantic wind, on narrow lanes that turn constantly. The first yellow jersey of the race is at the end of it. The last time the Tour started here, in 2011, Alberto Contador lost a minute on roads exactly like these.

How it was won

1. 15 km to go

   Froome hits the deck

   With 5km to run the defending champion Chris Froome tumbles onto the grass verge on the outside of a corner, and moments later Quintana is distanced too — GC drama on what looked a routine opener.

2. 2At the line

   Gaviria wins the Grand Départ

   In a drama-filled sprint in Fontenay-le-Comte, Fernando Gaviria beats Sagan and Kittel to take his first Tour stage and the first yellow jersey of the race.

The result