The second stage of the 100th Tour de France has begun. Germany's Marcel Kittel won Saturday's first race.
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The stage began shortly before 2 p.m. local time. Sunday's 156-kilometer (90-mile) Bastia-Ajaccio route features three climbs.
Marcel Kittel beat Norway's Alexander Kristoff in a final sprint to the finish on Saturday in a race featuring several heavy crashes. Danny Van Poppel of the Netherlands finished third.
Kittel, 25, became the first rider to wear the coveted yellow jersey. He also grabbed the green jersey for best sprinter and white jersey for best young rider.
"I am speechless, so, so happy. This is by far the greatest day in my whole life," said Kittel, who races for the Argos-Shimano team. "It is by far [my] biggest victory. I hope I can sleep, I'm going to be pretty excited about tomorrow."
Race officials made a late decision to cut the first stage short by three kilomters (2 miles) after a bus from the Orica Greenedge team got stuck on the finish line, but the normal ending spot was reinstated after organizers managed to move the vehicle.
Crash marks finish
A big crash involving more than a dozen riders occurred close to the end, sending two-time champion Alberto Contador and sprinter Peter Sagan to the ground. Both were able to continue, however.
Tour de France: past and present
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the infamous Tour de France. This epic multi-stage bike tour, which stretches 3,404 kilometers across France, has had a checkered history, full of celebration and scandal.
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Fueled by red wine
The first winner of the Tour de France was Maurice Garin (2nd from left) in 1903. The Frenchman put great importance on his balanced diet, which included red wine and chain-smoking while cycling. He won the race with a record margin of nearly three hours.
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Mechanics and cyclists
In the first decades of the tour, riders would fix their bikes themselves and even carry a spare inner tube around their shoulders - as seen here in 1948. Today, mechanics follow the cyclists in escort vehicles as part of the tour entourage.
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The champion of champions
Italy’s Fausto Coppi is one of the most popular cycling stars of all time. His fans call him "Il Campionissimo" - the champion of champions. In 1949 and 1952, Coppi won the Tour de France as well as the Giro d'Italia, Italy’s most famous bike race. In the 1952 Tour de France, riders had to summit three mountains for the first time – Coppi was the first at all three peaks.
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A fight to the finish
A tour stage victory is a huge achievement for any cyclist. But many have literally fought their way to the finish line. After a final sprint in 1997, Germany’s Jens Heppner (right) and Dutchman Bart Voskamp were disqualified because of their wrangling, which put Italian Mario Traversoni in first place.
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The constant threat
The pros say cycling is all about falling and getting back up – however, some falls can end a riders race, or even life. In 2012 a total of 13 riders had to give up the race after a massive crash. In the history of the Tour de France two riders lost their lives. Both accidents, in 1935 and 1995, occurred during mountain stage descents.
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France's tour hero
Since 1985, France has waited in vain for a new Hinault. In that year, Frenchman Bernard Hinault celebrated the last of his five Tour de France victories. Even today, this national hero is still seen during the race. As a member of the organizing team, Hinault congratulates the riders at the awards ceremonies.
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A dramatic finale
In the past 99 editions of the Tour de France, no race finish can compare to that of 1989. After 3,285 kilometers (2,041 miles) Greg LeMond (left) of the US won by just eight seconds ahead of Frenchman Laurent Fignon (right). The hairsplitting finish was the closest in race history.
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Shadowy triumphs
In 1997, Jan Ullrich (center) was the first German to win the tour, which was met with euphoria at home. Beside him to the left is Germany’s Erik Zabel who received the green jersey six times as the best sprinter. To the right is Frenchman Richard Virenque who wore the polka dot mountains jersey seven times. Today it is known that all three were - at least temporarily - doping during the race.
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The bad steak
A spectator dressed as a doping doctor offering a piece of meat to Spanish cyclist Alberto Contador - who is not amused. After winning his third Tour de France in 2010, he was stripped of his title following a positive on a doping test. Contador insists he had unknowingly eaten a contaminated steak containing the banned substance clenbuterol.
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A disgraced hero
No professional cyclist has fallen farther from grace than Lance Armstrong. From 1999 to 2005, this US wonder – and cancer survivor – triumphed seven times in a row. However, it wasn't until 2012 that he admitted to doping charges. As a result, Armstrong has been banned from competitive racing for life and has been stripped of his Tour de France titles.
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British sprinter Mark Cavendish, who was hoping to grab his first ever yellow jersey, was stuck behind the crash and did not challenge in the end.
"I saw the crash happen to my right," Kittel said. "I knew it was serious. I knew that Mark and Andre [Greipel] were no longer in contention and it was a good chance for us."
Big opening
After a grand airshow featuring France's tricolor, the cyclists pushed their pedals forward into the first stage. The grueling 213-kilometer (130-mile) course, which runs from Porto Becchio to Bastia in Corsica, was designed for a sprint finish, race director Christian Prudhomme said prior to the opening leg on the French island in the Mediterranean Sea.
It was the third time since 2008 that the first day of the tour did not start with a time trial.
The competition, which covers a total distance of 3,404 kilometers, will end on July 21 on the Champs-Elysees in Paris.
High-profile doping scandals that have rocked the sport, and the tour in particular, have cast a shadow on the celebrations.