Well that weekend couldn’t have gone any better. Millions from Yorkshire turned up to soak up the atmosphere, blag free goodies from the caravane and to support (shout at) the cycling machines.
The event kicked off at The Town Hall in Leeds City Centre, with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry giving a royal send-off to the 190km (118-mile) first stage.
(image courtesy of @BIGYH)
The 198 Cyclists and 22 teams then made there way through Leeds City Centre and up Scott Hall Road on the way to Otley and Beyond. Below is a video clip from one our team on Scott Hall Road, over in a flash but well worth the effort!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGmQPNIzmmw
Trek Factory Racing’s Jens Voigt, the oldest man in the tour at 42, was in the three-man breakaway over the second categorised climb, the Cote de Buttertubs, where crowds were comparable with the Tour’s regular Alpine and Pyrenean haunts.
(image courtesy of @RichieWear13)
Unfortunately, Mark Cavendish, one of Britain’s hopefuls for a Yellow Jersey, crashed out toward the end of Stage 1 with a broken collarbone. This allowed Marcel Kittel from team Giant-Shimano to win the opening stage and yellow jersey
(image courtesy of The Guardian)
A great summary of the initial stage and feedback from the big cheeses can be found on the Guardian article here.