World champion Julian Alaphilippe won the crash-marred opening stage of the Tour de France to snatch the race leader’s yellow jersey on Saturday.
Alaphilippe surged ahead of the main pack in the final steep climb leading to the finish in Landerneau.
The worst Tour de France crash I’ve ever seen <a href=”https://t.co/1jngQE1pYg”>pic.twitter.com/1jngQE1pYg</a>
—@cyclingreporter
The Tour got underway from the western port city of Brest, returning to its traditional slot in the calendar after last year’s edition was pushed back to September because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Two big crashes marred the opening stage in the western Brittany region. The first one was caused by a fan who brandished a cardboard sign and leaned into the path of veteran rider Tony Martin, who fell off his bike and took many others down in his slipstream.
Tour de France is back, baby!<br><br>Spectator causes a massive crash, day one. I hope everyone is okay. A speedy recovery to those who aren’t. <a href=”https://t.co/6DJpfM3zPX”>pic.twitter.com/6DJpfM3zPX</a>
—@afoolsgambit
The second pileup involved dozens of competitors riding at full speed near the finish.
The first stage from the port city of Brest to Landerneau was a 198-kilometre trek.
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