Elia Viviani wins Tour of Britain stage one in photo finish with Mark Cavendish
Opening stage of the 2015 Tour of Britain concludes with a close sprint between Elia Viviani, Mark Cavendish and André Greipel - Viviani takes early race lead
Italian Elia Viviani (Sky) narrowly beat Mark Cavendish (Etixx-QuickStep) to claim stage one of the Tour of Britain in Wrexham on Sunday.
After his Sky team had ridden on the front of the peloton for almost the entire duration of the stage, Viviani repaid their efforts with a victory after a twisting run-in to the finish line.
Going into the final 50 metres, it looked like a straight-up fight between sprint powerhouses André Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) and Cavendish. As the two riders marked each other, Viviani zipped up the left-hand side of the road to pinch the victory by a tyre's width. Greipel had to settle for third, with British rider Owain Doull (Team Wiggins) in fourth.
It's Viviani's second stage win in the Tour of Britain, after he won the opening stage of the race in 2013 while riding for Cannondale.
>>> Wiggins, Cavendish, Dowsett join stars for Tour of Britain team presentation
The day's break consisted of Conor Dunne (An Post-Chain Reaction), Tom Stewart (Madison-Genesis), Tour of Britain veteran Kristian House (JLT Condor) and Pete Williams (One Pro Cycling). The quartet navigated the testing, undulating route through the Welsh scenery working well together - and were only caught in the dying kilometres to set up a bunch finish.
Dunne took the points classification lead, House the King of the Mountains and Williams the combativity award for their day-long efforts.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Viviani will wear the yellow jersey of race leader going into the race's second stage from Clitheroe to Colne, another hilly day that features an almost relentless selection of climbs, including the first category climbs of Nick O'Pendle and Bleara Moor, and the second category Pendle Big End. An uphill kick to the line with provide a testing finale.
The 2015 Tour of Britain concludes on Sunday, September 13 in London.
Results
Tour of Britain 2015, stage one: Beaumaris, Anglesey to Wrexham, 177km
1. Elia Viviani (Ita) Team Sky in 4-26-29
2. Mark Cavendish (GBr) Etixx-QuickStep
3. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Soudal
4. Owain Doull (GBr) Team Wiggins
5. Juan Jose Lobato (Spa) Movistar
6. Pim Ligthart (Ned) Lotto-Soudal
7. Mark Renshaw (Aus) Etixx-QuickStep
8. Tyler Farrar (USA) MTN-Qhubeka
9. Alberto Bettiol (Ita) Cannondale-Garmin
10. Graham Briggs (GBr) JLT Condor all same time
Overall classification after stage one
1. Elia Viviani (Ita) Team Sky in 4-26-19
2. Mark Cavendish (GBr) Etixx-QuickStep at 4 secs
3. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto-Soudal at 6 secs
4. Owain Doull (GBr) Team Wiggins at 10 secs
5. Juan Jose Lobato (Spa) Movistar
6. Pim Ligthart (Ned) Lotto-Soudal
7. Mark Renshaw (Aus) Etixx-QuickStep
8. Tyler Farrar (USA) MTN-Qhubeka
9. Alberto Bettiol (Ita) Cannondale-Garmin
10. Graham Briggs (GBr) JLT Condor all same time
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Nigel Wynn worked as associate editor on CyclingWeekly.com, he worked almost single-handedly on the Cycling Weekly website in its early days. His passion for cycling, his writing and his creativity, as well as his hard work and dedication, were the original driving force behind the website’s success. Without him, CyclingWeekly.com would certainly not exist on the size and scale that it enjoys today. Nigel sadly passed away, following a brave battle with a cancer-related illness, in 2018. He was a highly valued colleague, and more importantly, an exceptional person to work with - his presence is sorely missed.
-
Chinese X-Lab vies for global domination as it equips XDS Astana with bikes for the WorldTour
A new partnership sees Astana aboard new bikes with increased funding for 2025
By Joe Baker Published
-
Tech of the week: Van Rysel releases an aero bike (quelle surprise!) plus a superlight carbon crankset from FSA, a long top tube bag from Tailfin and tyre liners from Zefal
The RCR-F aero bike will be ridden by the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale team in 2025, but will it create headlines like the RCR?
By Luke Friend Published
-
'Finally, you broke the world record' - Inside reaction to Mark Cavendish's historic Tour de France revealed
Astana Qazaqstan have released Project 35, a documentary which shows the journey to triumph
By Adam Becket Published
-
'I haven’t entirely committed to what I’m doing' - Mark Cavendish refuses to rule out racing more, but will run a marathon next year
The Tour de France stage win record holder says that his plan is to head into cycling management
By Adam Becket Published
-
Mark Cavendish to conclude professional cycling career in Singapore
Tour de France stage win record holder to bring curtain down on racing career at ASO end of season criteriums in Asia
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Mark Cavendish set to end his career at Tour de France Singapore Criterium
Event will be Cavendish's final appearance for Astana Qazaqstan after he won a record-breaking 35th Tour de France stage in July
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
'I've lived everyone’s dream': Mark Cavendish hints at snap retirement after last ever Tour de France stage
The Manx Missile is the 2024 Tour's lanterne rouge
By Chris Marshall-Bell Published
-
'I'm so tired': Emotional Mark Cavendish thanks teammates after surviving Tour de France time cut
The Briton is just two days away from finishing the Tour de France for an eighth time
By Chris Marshall-Bell Published
-
Mark Cavendish makes time limit on stage 19 - and four other tales of riders who survived the Tour de France cut-off
Brit finishes with more than five minutes to spare on Isola 2000
By Tom Davidson Published
-
End of an era: Witnessing Mark Cavendish's last ever Tour de France sprint
The Astana Qazaqstan rider finished 17th in Nîmes in what is almost definitely his last ever sprint at the Tour. Cycling Weekly was there to see it
By Adam Becket Published