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Sam Bennett was fourth when Alexander Kristoff won a rain-battered opening stage of the Tour de France.
Norwegian Kristoff edged out Danish world champion Mads Pedersen, Dutchman Cees Bol and Bennett in a sprint after 3 hours, 46 minutes, 23 seconds and 156 km around Nice.
Irishman Bennett crashed earlier on the stage and also suffered a puncture, but recovered from both setbacks to be in the battle for the line.
Home favorite Thibaut Pinot was one of several runners who fell on slippery roads and were swept away for a certain distance, but will be credited the same time as the winner as the massive accident he was involved in occurred at three kilometers from the finish line on the Promenade des Anglais.
Nicolas Roche (102nd) and Daniel Martin (118th) were caught in the same accident and didn’t waste time either.
Colombian Nairo Quintana, a two-time Tour runner-up, fell earlier, while Pavel Sivakov, one of defending champion Egan Bernal’s key lieutenants, fell to the ground twice.
Pre-stage favorites Caleb Ewan and Giacomo Nizzolo also crashed on slippery roads as rain wreaked havoc during the stage.
Kristoff won an eventful first stage as he raced forward to claim Yellow!
🎬 Relive the final kilometer!An eventful first stage won by 🇳🇴 Kristoff, who won the first yellow jersey in the sprint!
🎬 Relive the last mile# TDF2020 pic.twitter.com/spt3g058tu– Tour de France ™ (@LeTour) August 29, 2020
Kristoff later said: “I’ve always dreamed of wearing the yellow jersey and it’s a dream come true. You can’t dream of a better start.
“We have a team for climbers, so we really weren’t expecting to win a sprint, at least not so soon.”
“I felt very strong in the final kilometers and when I reached the line I saw that I was going to win. It was an incredible feeling and I am very proud of what I managed to do.
“My encounter with this Tour has not been very good, I had no results to show. I fell in the European Championship, so I was a bit beaten, but it did not affect me today, so I am very happy.”
“It means a lot to my career and a stage win shows that I can still be there, even at 33 years old and with four children. I still manage to perform, so I’m very happy about that.”
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