In general classification, John Gadret of Movistar Team finished 98th and Kristijan Koren of Cannondale finished 99th to hold down the cusps of the fulcrum after Stage 2 of the 2014 Tour de France.
The withdrawal of Mark Cavendish before race resumed set the stage for an odd number of riders to come home, but Sacha Modolo of Lampre-Merida also abandoned due to a case of flu, leaving the field with 196 finishers on the day.
Lampre-Merida is having its share of difficulties: Ariel Maximiliano Richeze finished 22 minutes behind the leaders on the day and is now the Lanterne Rouge, some 36 minutes and 31 seconds behind the Maillot Jaune of Vincenzo Nibali.
Nibali, leader of Astana, made a daring charge at the end of ragged stage through the steep hills of Yorkshire, holding on at the end against one of the few sprinters to survive the sawtooth course, Peter Sagan of Cannondale.
Month: July 2014
Mate, Roy on Cusp After Stage 1 of Tour de France
All 198 riders came home, albeit a couple of them battered during the run-up to the finish, during Stage 1 of the 2014 Tour de France. As a result the first day ended without a Point d’Appui. Luis Mate of Cofidis and Jérémy Roy of FDJ took 99th and 100th places, respectively to place in Les Cuspides.
Marcel Kittel won the sprint decisively to gain both the stage and the yellow jersey. Hometown favorite Mark Cavendish hit the deck hard during the sprint along with Simon Gerrans. Both limped home, and Cavendish particularly looked as though the crash might put him off the rest of the tour.
The winner of the 2013 Tour de France Point d’Appui, Manuel Quinziato of BMC, rode for the team in the Giro d’Italia but – like Bradley Wiggins and Nairo Quintana – is not back at the Tour de France to defend his title.
However, the winners of the 2011 and 2012 Tour de France Point d’Appui are back.
Markel Irizar of Trek Factory Racing and winner of the 2011 Point d’Appui finished 75th during Stage 1.
Vasili Kiryienka of Team Sky, finished in 104th position, within striking distance of this year’s fulcrum.
Kiryienka was on track to contest for the 2013 Point d’Appui before being dropped from the tour after finishing outside the time limit on Stage 9 last year.
The Lanterne Rouge after Stage 1 is Alessandro Petacchi of Omega Pharma-Quick Step, who finished 14 minutes back of the leaders.
Stage 1, which started in Leeds, Great Britain, and finished at Harrogate, also took a break for members of the tour to meet members of the royal peloton, Prince William, Princess Kate, and Prince Harry.
Point d'Appui 