Friends Life Tour of Britain – Stage 1

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Marcel Kittel claimed his fourth win in five races in the UK this year when he took flight under the Liver Birds down the Strand in Liverpool for victory in the opening stage of the Friends Life Tour of Britain.

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Friends Life Tour of Britain – Stage 1

STAGE 1  | STAGE 2  | STAGE 3  | STAGE 4  | STAGE 5  | STAGE 6  | STAGE 7  | STAGE 8

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(thanks to Graham Harper for getting me into the right places to get these images)

Friends Life Tour of Britain – Stage 1

Marcel Kittel claimed his fourth win in five races in the UK this year when he took flight under the Liver Birds down the Strand in Liverpool for victory in the opening stage of the Friends Life Tour of Britain.

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Kittel was all smiles on the podium after winning in Britain again … 

The German outsprinted Nicola Ruffoni and Mark Cavendish in Liverpool, to win the stage and take the race lead and the first Friends Life Yellow Jersey of 2014.

The powerful Giant Shimano rider, making his debut in the race, has now tasted success in Belfast at the Giro d’Italia and took two of the three stages held in Britain during the Tour de France Depart as well as this latest win in Liverpool.

Kittel outsprinted Ruffoni and Cavendish, although it was Adam Blythe who had led the initial dash for the line, but the NFTO rider faded to finish well down the order.

Although finishing third, for Mark Cavendish it was another painful day on British roads in a season where ill fortune has increasingly dogged him. Having already experienced a bizarre delay with a cleat problem on lap three of the 13.8km circuit, he then crashed three laps from the end after he and lead-out man Mark Renshaw were hurrying back to the peloton following a comfort break. Riding in the shadows on a blindingly sunny afternoon they went into the back of a team car and both fell to earth.

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Mark McNally sets the ball rolling less than a kilometre after the start

Both remounted and rode hard to regain contact with the peloton who slowed slightly to ease that process but Renshaw indicated he wouldn’t be able to help at the finish so Cavendish was alone at the death, narrowly beating Garmin Sharp’s Tyler Farrar for fourth.

Kittel meanwhile enjoyed a relatively drama free race although his team’s decision to hug the right hand barriers down the finishing straight was perhaps fortuitous thereby missing the disruption down the left caused by Ian Stannard’s spectacular crash, in the closing kilometre.

“It was pretty messy but luckily we took the decision to stay right,” said Marcel Kittel following the stage. “To start with I thought perhaps it was the wrong decision – we had made it earlier in the race – because there were not too many gaps but then there was a crash on the left and that allowed us to move up to the front.

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An early formation of the break but after the peloton came back at them and it got messy, four riders survived including McNally who started it all.

“Tom Veelers did a really good job keeping me out of the wind so I could save myself for the sprint and that made it possible. I don’t know how badly Mark [Cavendish] was hurt in the crash I didn’t see it but he still tried to sprint at the end.

“It is hard work with just six man teams. We saw that today When Mark crashed and the bunch stopped riding for a while – so we then had to work hard to get the breakaway back, luckily Sky helped us.”

Kittel clearly loves the British roads, while if you include his second Giro stage win in Dublin that is now five wins in six races in the UK and Ireland.

“I am really happy to see all the fans here and to get a warm welcome, it’s been pretty successful here for me. Maintaining the form has been hard. The season is long, I started at the Tour Down Under in January and here I am at Tour of Britain nine months later. And I will be riding in the Team Time Trial at the World Championships and a couple of races after that.

“I have definitely had ups and down. It’s really about keeping fresh and enjoying the time – sometimes I go mountain biking and just having some fun with the team and not to be too serious.”

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Giant-Shimano with help of other teams led the chase.

The large Liverpool crowds also had some home success to cheer, with An Post Chain Reaction’s Mark McNally in the day’s break, collecting the SKODA King of the Mountains jersey.

“It was a nice day out – I probably had too many friends and relatives out there to count – my girlfriend, the whole gang. The plan was for one of us in the team in the team to go for the breakaway. That always has to be the aim on the first stage. The first time I let the other guys in the break fight it out for the Sprints and it worked out quite nicely for me in the KOM. It’s local roads for me in Stage Two as well so I will be up for the breakaway again buts it’s a long week. We will see how it goes”

McNally was joined in the break by fellow North West rider Richard Handley, of Rapha Condor JLT andNFTO Pro Cycling’s Jon Mould, plus Bardiani CSF’s Sonny Colbrelli who initiated the break, earning the day’s Rouleur Combativity Award, and the first YodelDirect Sprint Jersey of the week.

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Speaking afterwards to his Omega Pharma Quick-Step team, Mark Cavendish said; “I was coming back after and I was behind a car. Someone had to stop for a puncture so the car slammed on its brakes, and there was an island in the road. If I went right, I would hit a traffic island, so I went left and I whacked another car. I hit it with my left leg and I was down on the road. I felt immediately a lot of pain on my quadriceps”.

“It took me a lap to come back even because our team car couldn’t assist me immediately because it was on the front. At that point I wasn’t planning to sprint either, it was painful. But after a couple of laps we decided to just try anyway, but sprint seated because I was in pain. I still got third, but it’s a shame because I really wanted to try and win in front of the British public. But accidents like this are a part of cycling and it’s just a matter of bad luck. I really hope that the luck turns in the next days…”

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The four riders in the break including three Brits, Handley, Mould and McNally

Stage Two sees the Friends Life Tour of Britain remain on Merseyside with Knowsley hosting the start of the second day of racing. Riders will then tackle a 200-kilometre day through North
Wales, finishing on Llandudno seafront after a challenging finale, which includes a SKODA King of the Mountains climb on the Great Orme.

Highlights of Stage One are on ITV4 at 2100 on Sunday 7 September, with live coverage resuming from 1300 on Monday on ITV4, for Stage Two from Knowsley to Llandudno. Full details of the television coverage of the Friends Life Tour of Britain, including British Eurosport’s live coverage, can be found here.

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Sir Brad signs on last before the stage

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Kittel in Yellow again, this time in the Tour of Britain

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A jersey for Macca! KoM after stage 1 in his home city for Mark McNally

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Marcel Kittel happy to talk to the press at the conference afterwards

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The start rolls out with Brad, Alex Dowsett and Cav on the front row

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Twice second overall, Steve Cummings, another local boy at the back of the peloton having a chat with Kristian House. 

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Tour mascot Tobi with two great British riders, Ben Swift and Ian Stannard

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Cav, Alex and Brad at the front for the start of stage 1

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Great back drops for the Tour in Liverpool

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Brad getting down low for the turn after the finish

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Past the Albert Docks goes the peloton led by Giant Shimano and Quickstep

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Yanto Barker signs Autographs at the start

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Sonny Colbrelli in the Sprints jersey

Stage winner: Marcel Kittel
Beat Team: Belkin
Combativity: Sonny Colbrelli
Yellow Jersey: Marcel Kittel
Sprints Jersey: Sonny Colbrelli
Points: Marcel Kittel
KoM: Mark McNally

STAGE 1
1 KITTEL Marcel GIA 02:16:35
2 RUFFONI Nicola BAR @ st
3 CAVENDISH Mark OPQ @ st
4 FARRAR Tyler GRS @ st
5 SWIFT Ben SKY @ st
6 MARKUS Barry BEL @ st
7 MCLAY Daniel GBR @ st
8 HAUSSLER Heinrich IAM @ st
9 TRUSOV Nikolay TCS @ st
10 SANZ UNZUE Enrique MOV @ st
11 PETERS Alex MGT @ st
12 BENNETT Sam TNE @ st
13 LANDER Sebastian BMC @ st
14 ZABEL Rick BMC @ st
15 BARKER Yanto RAL @ st
16 BLYTHE Adam NPC @ st
17 KNEISKY Morgan RAL @ st
18 BOL Jetse BEL @ st
19 VEELERS Tom GIA @ st
20 OPIE Chris RCS @ st
21 DOWSETT Alex MOV @ st
22 PLANET Charles TNN @ st
23 PINEAU Jérôme IAM @ st
24 DOULL Owain SKT @ st
25 WILKINSON Ian RAL @ st
26 TERPSTRA Niki OPQ @ st
27 TANKINK Bram BEL @ st
28 LOWSLEY WILLIAMS James NPC @ st
29 VERSCHOOR Martijn TNN @ st
30 BOULO Matthieu RAL @ st
31 @ st AUFF Andreas MTN @ st
32 KWIATKOWSKI Michal OPQ @ st
33 BRANDLE Matthias IAM @ st
34 RENSHAW Mark OPQ @ st
35 EISEL Bernhard SKY @ st
36 BURTON Germain GBR @ st
37 @ st EWART Thomas MGT @ st
38 LAWLESS Christopher GBR @ st
39 DE BACKER Bert GIA @ st
40 TIMMER Albert GIA @ st
41 CHAVANEL Sylvain IAM @ st
42 KOHLER Martin BMC @ st
43 HOUSE Kristian RCS @ st
44 PARTRIDGE Robert VGR @ st
45 SUTHERLAND Rory TCS @ st
46 CARTHY Hugh RCS @ st
47 HENAO GOMEZ Sebastian SKY @ st
48 IZAGUIRRE INSAUSTI Jon MOV @ st
49 BATTAGLIN Enrico BAR @ st
50 ATKINS George RAL @ st
51 VAN BAARLE Dylan GRS @ st
52 DEKKER Thomas GRS @ st
53 KONOVALOVAS Ignatas MTN @ st
54 BONGIORNO Francesco Manuel BAR @ st
55 ZARDINI Edoardo BAR @ st
56 GOLAS Michal OPQ @ st
57 VAN NIEKERK Dennis MTN @ st
58 LATHAM Christopher GBR @ st
59 REICHENBACH Sébastien IAM @ st
60 COLBRELLI Sonny BAR @ st
61 TEUNS Dylan BMC @ st
62 MOSES Thomas RCS @ st
63 GULDHAMMER Rasmus TCS @ st
64 KÖNIG Leopold TNE @ st
65 LASTRAS GARCIA Pablo MOV @ st
66 SCULLY Thomas MGT @ st
67 WILSON Jack SKT @ st
68 WYNANTS Maarten BEL @ st
69 APPLEBY Dale NPC @ st
70 BARTA Jan TNE @ st
71 THWAITES Scott TNE @ st
72 BIBBY Ian MGT @ st
73 VOSS Paul TNE @ st
74 WIGGINS Bradley SKY @ st
75 NORDHAUG Lars-Petter BEL @ st
76 BOARO Manuele TCS @ st
77 VISCONTI Giovanni MOV @ st
78 MORGAN Bradley VGR @ st
79 HNIK Karel MTN @ st
80 VELITS Peter BMC @ st
81 HUNT Joshua NPC @ st
82 GERDEMANN Linus MTN @ st
83 ISTA Kevin IAM @ st
84 MOULD Jonathan NPC @ st
85 LOPEZ GARCIA David SKY @ st
86 LOZANO RIBA David TNN @ st
87 MULLEN Ryan SKT @ st
88 HANDLEY Richard RCS @ st
89 CUMING Michael RCS @ st
90 MCNALLY Mark SKT @ st
91 VERMOTE Julien OPQ @ st
92 GIRDLESTONE Dylan GRS @ st
93 CHRISTIAN Mark RAL @ st
94 JIM Songezo MTN @ st
95 MOSS James VGR @ st
96 LAMPIER Steve VGR @ st
97 FLENS Rick BEL @ st
98 HENTTALA Joonas TNN @ st
99 HARRISON Samuel NPC @ st
100 HOLOHAN Liam MGT @ st
101 PEARSON Daniel GBR @ st
102 GEOGHEGAN HART Tao GBR @ st
103 CUMMINGS Stephen BMC @ st
104 ROCHE Nicolas TCS @ st
105 @ st AMSNIJDER Tom GIA @ st
106 SZMYD Sylvester MOV @ st
107 EDMONDSON Nathan VGR @ st
108 NORTHEY Michael James MGT @ st
109 BIALOBLOCKI Marcin VGR @ st
110 O’SHEA Glen SKT @ st
111 MEGIAS LEAL Javier TNN @ st
112 PIECHELE Andrea BAR @ st
113 HANSEN Lasse Norman GRS @ st
114 BAUER Jack GRS @ st
115 ARCHBOLD Shane SKT @ st
116 JUUL JENSEN Christopher TCS @ st
117 SCHORN Daniel TNE @ st
118 @ st ANNARD Ian SKY @ st
119 BULGAC Brian GIA 05:01
120 PERON Andrea TNN 0

OVERALL
1 KITTEL Marcel GIA 02:16:25
2 COLBRELLI Sonny BAR 1
3 RUFFONI Nicola BAR 4
4 MOULD Jonathan NPC @ st
5 CAVENDISH Mark OPQ 6
6 HANDLEY Richard RCS 7
7 FARRAR Tyler GRS 10
8 SWIFT Ben SKY @ st
9 MARKUS Barry BEL @ st
10 MCLAY Daniel GBR @ st
11 HAUSSLER Heinrich IAM @ st
12 TRUSOV Nikolay TCS @ st
13 SANZ UNZUE Enrique MOV @ st
14 PETERS Alex MGT @ st
15 BENNETT Sam TNE @ st
16 LANDER Sebastian BMC @ st
17 ZABEL Rick BMC @ st
18 BARKER Yanto RAL @ st
19 BLYTHE Adam NPC @ st
20 KNEISKY Morgan RAL @ st
21 BOL Jetse BEL @ st
22 VEELERS Tom GIA @ st
23 OPIE Chris RCS @ st
24 DOWSETT Alex MOV @ st
25 PLANET Charles TNN @ st
26 PINEAU Jérôme IAM @ st
27 DOULL Owain SKT @ st
28 WILKINSON Ian RAL @ st
29 TERPSTRA Niki OPQ @ st
30 TANKINK Bram BEL @ st
31 LOWSLEY WILLIAMS James NPC @ st
32 VERSCHOOR Martijn TNN @ st
33 BOULO Matthieu RAL @ st
34 @ st AUFF Andreas MTN @ st
35 KWIATKOWSKI Michal OPQ @ st
36 BRANDLE Matthias IAM @ st
37 RENSHAW Mark OPQ @ st
38 EISEL Bernhard SKY @ st
39 BURTON Germain GBR @ st
40 @ st EWART Thomas MGT @ st
41 LAWLESS Christopher GBR @ st
42 DE BACKER Bert GIA @ st
43 TIMMER Albert GIA @ st
44 CHAVANEL Sylvain IAM @ st
45 KOHLER Martin BMC @ st
46 HOUSE Kristian RCS @ st
47 PARTRIDGE Robert VGR @ st
48 SUTHERLAND Rory TCS @ st
49 CARTHY Hugh RCS @ st
50 HENAO GOMEZ Sebastian SKY @ st
51 IZAGUIRRE INSAUSTI Jon MOV @ st
52 BATTAGLIN Enrico BAR @ st
53 ATKINS George RAL @ st
54 VAN BAARLE Dylan GRS @ st
55 DEKKER Thomas GRS @ st
56 KONOVALOVAS Ignatas MTN @ st
57 BONGIORNO Francesco Manuel BAR @ st
58 ZARDINI Edoardo BAR @ st
59 GOLAS Michal OPQ @ st
60 VAN NIEKERK Dennis MTN @ st
61 LATHAM Christopher GBR @ st
62 REICHENBACH Sébastien IAM @ st
63 TEUNS Dylan BMC @ st
64 MOSES Thomas RCS @ st
65 GULDHAMMER Rasmus TCS @ st
66 KÖNIG Leopold TNE @ st
67 LASTRAS GARCIA Pablo MOV @ st
68 SCULLY Thomas MGT @ st
69 WILSON Jack SKT @ st
70 WYNANTS Maarten BEL @ st
71 APPLEBY Dale NPC @ st
72 BARTA Jan TNE @ st
73 THWAITES Scott TNE @ st
74 BIBBY Ian MGT @ st
75 VOSS Paul TNE @ st
76 WIGGINS Bradley SKY @ st
77 NORDHAUG Lars-Petter BEL @ st
78 BOARO Manuele TCS @ st
79 VISCONTI Giovanni MOV @ st
80 MORGAN Bradley VGR @ st
81 HNIK Karel MTN @ st
82 VELITS Peter BMC @ st
83 HUNT Joshua NPC @ st
84 GERDEMANN Linus MTN @ st
85 ISTA Kevin IAM @ st
86 LOPEZ GARCIA David SKY @ st
87 LOZANO RIBA David TNN @ st
88 MULLEN Ryan SKT @ st
89 CUMING Michael RCS @ st
90 MCNALLY Mark SKT @ st
91 VERMOTE Julien OPQ @ st
92 GIRDLESTONE Dylan GRS @ st
93 CHRISTIAN Mark RAL @ st
94 JIM Songezo MTN @ st
95 MOSS James VGR @ st
96 LAMPIER Steve VGR @ st
97 FLENS Rick BEL @ st
98 HENTTALA Joonas TNN @ st
99 HARRISON Samuel NPC @ st
100 HOLOHAN Liam MGT @ st
101 PEARSON Daniel GBR @ st
102 GEOGHEGAN HART Tao GBR @ st
103 CUMMINGS Stephen BMC @ st
104 ROCHE Nicolas TCS @ st
105 @ st AMSNIJDER Tom GIA @ st
106 SZMYD Sylvester MOV @ st
107 EDMONDSON Nathan VGR @ st
108 NORTHEY Michael James MGT @ st
109 BIALOBLOCKI Marcin VGR @ st
110 O’SHEA Glen SKT @ st
111 MEGIAS LEAL Javier TNN @ st
112 PIECHELE Andrea BAR @ st
113 HANSEN Lasse Norman GRS @ st
114 BAUER Jack GRS @ st
115 ARCHBOLD Shane SKT @ st
116 JUUL JENSEN Christopher TCS @ st
117 SCHORN Daniel TNE @ st
118 @ st ANNARD Ian SKY @ st
119 PERON Andrea TNN @ st
120 BULGAC Brian GIA 05:11

 

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