2018 Tour de France Stage 1 Results & Recap
Stage 1 of the 2018 Tour de France is in the books. The final results and standings are below, followed by our recap of how the race unfolded.
Race Recap
Gaviria wins dramatic Tour de France opener\nby Clara Beard
The first Colombian to win a bunch sprint at the Tour de France, Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step Floors) shot to victory and the yellow jersey after a hectic finale on the first stage of the biggest race of the year. Gaviria capped off a stellar lead out from his Quick Step Floors team to win ahead of world champion Peter Sagan and Marcel Kittel, who finished second and third respectively.
“It’s an incredible day for me and for our team,” Gaviria said after the stage. “It’s amazing for everybody on the team. We were ready for it, ready for the sprint. The yellow jersey is one that everyone dreams of wearing and to get it on the first day is amazing. I’m so happy to wear it and we’ll try to keep it as long as we can. The last kilometre was very tricky and we knew some big riders were caught up behind us. But we were in front and out of trouble. We had a clear plan and we’re happy because we pulled it off.”
The race really came alive in the closing 10 kilometres, when a series of crashes and mechanicals complicated some key GC contenders’ chances in the coming weeks. Chris Froome (Team Sky), Richie Porte and Adam Yates lost a devastating 51 seconds, while Nairo Quintana and Egan Bernal came across the line a further 1 minute and 12 second down on GC.
“I saw a lot of crashes out there today,” Froome said to Team Sky media after the race. “It’s just one of those things. We always knew the first few days were going to be tricky and going to be sketchy. It’s part of the game unfortunately.\n \n“We were right at the front part of the peloton in the top third. There wasn’t too much more the guys could have done. It was getting quite chaotic with some of the sprinters there, but that’s bike racing. I’m just grateful I’m not injured in any way and there’s a lot of road to cover before Paris obviously.”
It was a long, flat day in the saddle for the 176 starters of the 2018 edition of the Tour de France. At the gun in Noirmoutier-en-l'ĂŽle, Frenchmen KĂ©vin Ledanois (Fortuneo-Samsic), Yoann Offredo (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) and JĂ©rĂ´me Cousin (Direct Energie) pulled away immediately, keen to make it a French affair on the first day.
Of course, the opening stages of the Tour de France are designed to be for the sprinters, and today’s stage was no exception. The trio built up a slight lead of no more than three minutes over the course of the 201 kilometre stage, and were caught with 10 kilometres to go after Lednois scooped up the only KOM climb points and the polka dot jersey.
From there, Bora-hansgrohe and Quick-Step Floors took over, setting pace while behind, the peloton split into several groups after some nervous crashes thwarted some GC contenders hopes of getting through the first day unscathed.
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