2014 Tour de France Stage 1 Live Coverage
Welcome to our live coverage of Stage 1 of the 2014 Tour de France! Our live profile and commentary are below, followed by a preview of the technical aspects of the route.
Course Preview
The Tour de France peloton will land on British shores for only the fourth time in the race’s history, previously visiting in 2007, 1994 and 1974. With Britain winning the last two Tours and the sport enjoying a resurgence, the return is particularly timely.
For the second consecutive year, the race begins with an open stage, giving the sprinters a chance to wear yellow for a few days. Marcel Kittel will be looking to spoil the British party. He was last year’s undisputed king of the sprints and the pressure will be on for him to do it again. However, Mark Cavendish wants to win this day as his mother is from the finishing town, Harrogate. He will also want to get revenge on Kittel for taking ‘his’ yellow jersey in Corsica.
Yorkshire might not be the Pyrenees but the tight roads and steep climbs could end anyone’s general classification challenge before it even begins. The unpredictable Great British weather is likely to have its say at some point too.
The three climbs will be hard but short, so the sprinters should be able to hang onto the peloton easily. Provided we don’t have an accident like last year, this stage will most likely end\nup as a battle of the world’s best sprinters.
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