Tour de France: First Day, First Victory & First Yellow Jersey For Gaviria

It was his first taste of the Tour de France – his debut start, first stage, and his maiden victory. Fernando Gaviria of Quick Step became the first Colombian to win a bunch sprint of the Tour de France and the second Colombian to take the yellow jersey as he outclassed second-placed Peter Sagan and third rider home Marcel Kittel in Fontenay-le-Comte overnight.

The finish and indeed whole stage were raced faster than expected and not without damage for the favourites including Chris Froome, Richie Porte, Adam Yates and Nairo Quintana – who all lost a significant amount of time in crashes and mechanicals.

https://youtu.be/t2gQLU9AM7Y

Froome, Porte, Yates and Quintana with a deficit

The stage was filled with the type of drama the Tour is famous for. Arnaud Démare (Groupama-FDJ) and Robert Craddock (Education First) and there were more to come in the final 5km. Porte was held up behind a crash but remained upright, and managed to remount and finish the stage without serious injuries. Nairo Quintana (Movistar) had a mechanical with 3.4km to go and lost more than a minute. 

Describing the feeling on the road as “pretty nervous out there”, Porte said the sketchy start was “not ideal”.

“I think Quintana has probably lost more [than me],” he said. “Froome was there, and Yates was there. That’s the Tour. I was pretty close to coming down. It’s the first day of the Tour and it’s not ideal. But there’s a long way [to go] and it’s just nice to finally start the race. Guys took time today but who’s to say the same doesn’t happen to them tomorrow.”

https://youtu.be/E_8DdadGw20

2018 Tour de France Top 10, Stage 1