Tour de France 2014: Stage 1 Winner, Results and Updated Leaderboard Standings

Marcel Kittel took advantage of a big crash in the final straight of the 2014 Tour de France's opening stage, winning a sprint to take the yellow jersey.

Eurosport shared the result:

Mark Cavendish clashed with Simon Gerrans and fell hard on his shoulder, and while he won't lose any time by falling in the final straight, any damage to his collarbone could mean the end to his 2014 Tour.

And that news was confirmed on Sunday morning as the Isle of Man rider was ruled out of the Tour.

Cannondale Pro shared this great image, showing the profile of the opening stage:

Place	Rider	Team	Time
1	Marcel Kittel	Giant	4:44:07
2	Peter Sagan	Cannondale	Same Time
3	Ramunas Navardauskas	Garmin	Same Time
4	Bryan Coquard	Europcar	Same Time
5	Michael Rodgers	Tinkoff-Saxo	Same Time
6	Chris Froome	Team Sky	Same Time
7	Alexander Kristoff	Katyusha	Same Time
8	Sep Vanmarcke	Belkin	Same Time
9	Jose Joaquin Rojas	Movistar	Same Time
10	Michael albasini	Orica	Same Time

The sun was shining early in the morning as the riders prepared themselves for the start of this year's Tour, and nerves were visibly high in Leeds. Cavendish didn't hide how he was feeling from anyone:

Via Team Lampre Merida, even the Royal Family took time out of their busy schedules to greet the peloton ahead of the start:

A total of 198 riders then got underway, and while some of them were still adjusting the straps on their pedals and enjoying the Yorkshire countryside, a threesome of riders escaped the pack within the first few miles.

Veteran Jens Voigt led the break, and he was joined by Nicolas Edet and Benoit Jarrier. The peloton felt comfortable giving the three riders an early lead, opening the door for one of the trio to make an early push for the polka-dot jersey.

Jarrier crossed the line at the top of the Cote de Cray first, but after that, it was all Voigt. Winning the intermediate sprint, the German left his companions behind and decided to go solo, as shared by his team's official Twitter account.

The English fans came out in force to watch the 2014 Tour grace the British roads, and the images of Voigt climbing the Cote de Buttertubs almost looked as if he was facing the dreaded Tourmalet, via the Tour's Twitter account:

The peloton started speeding up in the background, and while Voigt would claim top honours on the Buttertubs and the Cote de Grinton Moor, his solo bid would eventually end with more than 50 kilometers still to go:

Several riders were surprised by the sudden burst of speed from the peloton, however, including Alessandro Petacchi and Elia Viviani, key components of the sprint trains of Cavendish and Peter Sagan, respectively.

The sprint teams took full control of the peloton, upping the pace again with 20 kilometres to go. Lotto Belisol and Omega Pharma-Quick Step formed an alliance and got their sprinters into position, effectively eliminating the chances of a late break.

Astana also moved forward in protection of Vincenzo Nibali, opening the door for the sprint trains to conserve their energy heading into the final kilometers. Omega Pharma-Quick Step took the lead four kilometres from the finish line, Tony Martin blazing forward ahead of the final climb.

Fabian Cancellara made his jump on the climb but was caught by the peloton, and just as Omega Pharma-Quick Step seemed to have put Cavendish in excellent position, a big crash ended his sprint prematurely.

Place	Rider	Team	Time
1	Marcel Kittel	Giant	4:44:07
2	Peter Sagan	Cannondale	Same Time
3	Ramunas Navardauskas	Garmin	Same Time
4	Bryan Coquard	Europcar	Same Time
5	Michael Rodgers	Tinkoff-Saxo	Same Time
6	Chris Froome	Team Sky	Same Time
7	Alexander Kristoff	Katyusha	Same Time
8	Sep Vanmarcke	Belkin	Same Time
9	Jose Joaquin Rojas	Movistar	Same Time
10	Michael albasini	Orica	Same Time

Place	Rider	Team	Points
1	Marcel Kittel	Giant	45
2	Peter Sagan	Cannondale	45
3	Bryan Coquard	Europcar	39
4	Ramunas Navardauskas	Garmin	30
5	Michael Rogers	Tinkoff-Saxo	22
6	Jens Voigt	Trek	20
7	Chris Froome	Team Sky	20
8	Alexander Kristoff	Katyusha	18
9	Nicolas Edet	Cofidis	17
10	Sep Vanmarcke	Belkin	16

Place	Rider	Team	Points
1	Jens Voigt	Trek	4
2	Benoit Jarrier	Bretagne	1
3	Nicolas Edet	Cofidis	1
4	Lars Bak	Lotto	1

Sunday's stage has the profile of a Flemish Classic, featuring several short but steep climbs and a finale with twists and turns. Peter Sagan will be the strong favourite heading into the second stage, though several of the Belgian riders like Stijn Devolder will have their eyes set on this particular stage.

The sprint teams will try and keep things close and aim for another mass sprint, but this early in the Tour, the attacking riders will fancy their chances on fresh legs.

Cavendish's fall in the final kilometer put a damper on the British crowd, and with the Omega Pharma-Quick Step rider racing so close to home, the disappointment in their camp will be enormous. Whether Cavendish will be able to start on Sunday is still unclear, and fans have to hope the sprinter will be able to continue this year's Tour.