But as the peloton arrived in Bastia nearly five hours later the race became unglued. A team bus stuck at the finish line threatened the stage s conclusion and then an enormous crash involving overall race contenders like Alberto Contador spoiled a much anticipated sprint finish.
Out of the chaos an up and coming sprinter named Marcel Kittel became the surprise winner on Stage One of the centennial Tour.
Sprinters were supposed to be showcased on a a mostly flat 132.3 mile ride from Porto Vecchio to Bastia but most expected the final yards to feature the first of many battles this Tour between Peter Sagan of Cannondale last year s green jersey winner as the best sprinter and Mark Cavendish of Omega Pharma Quick Step.
But they and a third rival Andr Greipel of Lotto Belisol were caught in a crash about two and a half miles from the finish leaving Kittel a German and his Argos Shimano teammates to take control.
I looked around for Cavendish Sagan Greipel and they weren t there anymore Kittel said. We decided to go now and do a lead out even if it is too early. It worked well.
Kittel 25 had high hopes for sprint wins in his first Tour de France last year but a stomach virus forced him to withdraw in the first week. This year he progressed steadily toward the Tour winning three stages at the Tour of Turkey in April then an overall win at the Tour de Picardie in May. But nothing had prepared him for putting on the yellow jersey Saturday.
It s unbelievable he said. I feel like I have gold on my shoulders.
He might have had Teflon on them during the stage though. The crash that caught his rivals also took down a number of general classification contenders including the young American star Tejay van Garderen of BMC Racing and Alberto Contador.
Contador and his SaxoBank team were seen soft pedaling to the finish but he reassured reporters after the stage that he would continue the race.
I feel O.K. but we ll see he said. The Tour is the Tour you never know what s going to happen.
Others were not as fortunate. Tony Martin Cavendish s teammate sustained a concussion and bruised a lung among other injuries and was seen being taken off by stretcher from his team bus after the stage. Afterward riders and team management attributed the crash to an incident involving the Orica GreenEdge team bus which became stuck at the finish line with riders less than six miles from downtown Bastia. Moments after hitting the metal frame above the line and wedging the bus on the road the team s bus driver was seen holding his head in his hands.
He had to stop and demand authorization to lift the portico said Jean Louis Pag s the Tour s site director who oversees the start and finish of each stage. Clearly he didn t do it.
Race organizers scrambled for a solution to accommodate the charging peloton telling teams that the finish would take place at the banner a little less than two miles from the original line. As they relayed the message though the bus managed to work itself free. Plan A went back into place.
But teams had communicated the new finish line over race radio ear buds that allow riders to hear real time coaching and the bunch had started to organize the final sprint. Brakes were grabbed quickly an Omega Pharma Quick Step rider went down and like dominoes others followed.
What caused the problems was the change to the finish said Cavendish who had hoped to wear the yellow jersey for the first time in his career. We were hearing in the radios with five kilometers to go that the finish was two kilometers away. Then a kilometer later it s at the finish. It was carnage.
The rough finish to the day s stage overshadowed celebrations of the Tour s start in Corsica. Although the Tour owner Amaury Sport Organization holds a three stage race here each March the Crit rium International its flagship event had never before been to the island.
The Tour organizers are doing their best to maximize geographic coverage during the three stages here riders almost traversed the island s entirety Saturday from south to north. On Sunday the Tour s Corsican adventure will take the peloton from northeast to southwest a 96.9 mile stage from Bastia to Ajaccio.
The crowds on Saturday were sparser than on first stages in recent years perhaps due more to the remote location than to lack of intrigue. The stage finish was five hours by ferry from Nice but Corsican fans treated the Tour to their own brand of hospitality.
Finally welcome to our home read one of many banners along the course. The French tricolor was seldom found instead the stark black and white Corsican flag a black moor s head stamped in the center flapped in the wind. Riders sped past cactuses bougainvillea and yacht filled ports not sunflower and wheat fields. As the race got under way just before noon spectators at a roadside bar near Porto Vecchio were not enjoying Kronenbourg but Pietra the Corsican dark lager brewed from chestnut flour.
By the end of the day though only one person Kittel the stage winner seemed to be in a good mood.
I m speechless I m so happy he said. It s by far the biggest victory of my career.
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