British cyclist hit by heatstroke and suffered from foot of first climb as Romain Bardet wins and host of big names also struggle
Mark Cavendish struggled badly on the first stage of the Tour and will need to recover quickly to have a chance in the first sprint finish on Monday.Mark Cavendish struggled badly on the first stage of the Tour and will need to recover quickly to have a chance in the first sprint finish on Monday.after suffering from apparent heatstroke and vomiting during the brutal opening stage of the race, from Florence to Rimini.
The highly-regarded Bardet took the stage win and yellow jersey after attacking with dsm-firmenich PostNL team mate, Frank van den Broek, 40 kilometres from Rimini, on the climb of the Cote de Montemaggio. The duo entered the final 20km of racing with a 1min 30sec lead on the chasing peloton, but as the kilometres clicked down, their lead dwindled to a mere handful of seconds as they entered the final 1,000 metres.
Cavendish was not the only one to suffer on a stage in which several pre-race favourites struggled. French hope David Gaudu, leader of the Groupama FDJ team, Tadej Pogacar’s UAE Team Emirates lieutenant, Juan Ayuso, and Irish sprinter Sam Bennett, of Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, were among those to be dropped by the main peloton.
On a route peppered with steep climbs, ridden in furnace conditions and clearly unsuited to his sprinting skills, the 39-year-old Cavendish suffered from the foot of the first climb to the finish line in Rimini, in what was a nightmare start to his campaign to claim a record-breaking 35th Tour stage.
Cavendish must now try to pick up the pieces. He also lost his Italian teammate, Michele Gazzoli, who quit the race after only 120km of the Tour, while the team’s Colombian climber, Harold Tejada, was also dropped by the main contenders in the final hour of racing.Sunday’s second stage from Cesenatico to Bologna has yet more short sharp climbs, but with his eyes firmly on Monday’s first genuine sprint finish in Turin, Cavendish will be praying he can recover.
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