Alexander Kristoff wins chaotic opening stage of the 2020 Tour de France

Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) won the first stage of the Tour de France, a 156-km ride around Nice on Saturday.

After a large group crashed inside the final 3km, Kristoff outsprinted world champion Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) and Team Sunweb’s Cees Bol.

Rain made the roads treacherous and led to several crashes, with Pavel Sivakov of Team Ineos twice coming off. Pre-stage favourites Sam Bennett, Caleb Ewan and Giacomo Nizzolo also crashed on slippery roads as rain wreaked havoc during the stage.

“I always dreamt about wearing the yellow jersey and now it’s a dream come true,” the Norwegian said. “You can’t dream of a better start. We have a team of climbers and didn’t think of winning the sprints, at least not so early on but I felt really strong in the final kilometres and going to the line, I saw I’m going to win. It was an amazing feeling. I’m really proud of what I was able to do.”

The multiple incidents had prompted the Jumbo-Visma team to ask the peloton to take it slow in a descent, but Astana refused to take the foot off the gas pedal.

Their decision backfired, however, as their team leader Miguel Angel Lopez aquaplaned head first into a road sign. The Colombian got back on his bike.

In another descent, Primoz Roglic’s team mate George Bennett also crashed, meaning riders from the top two teams – Jumbo Visma and Ineos Grenadiers – were nursing bruises after the first day.

Pinot, who is considered as one of the title contenders behind favourites Roglic and Bernal, sustained bruises on his leg and shoulder.

Tour de France 2020 – stage 1 results (Nice-Nice):