SAINTE-MARIE-DU-MONT, France (AP) – Minutes after pulling on the yellow jersey for the first time in his award-filled career, Mark Cavendish walked over to the Utah Beach Peace Monument and placed a white rose to commemorate the Allied landings in Normandy that took place there more than 70 years ago.
It was a memorable moment that crowned a day full of emotions for the British cyclist, who won a sprint at the end of the crash-affected opening stage of the Tour de France and took the overall lead on Saturday.
It was Cavendish’s 27th stage win in the French classic – third on the all-time list behind Eddy Merckx (34) and Bernard Hinault (28) – but he had never won the opening leg, which is often a time trial.
Cavendish has already worn the leader’s jerseys at the Giro d’Italia and the Spanish Vuelta.
“It’s going be a special day tomorrow to ride a stage in yellow,” Cavendish said. “There was no better place to achieve this than Utah Beach where soldiers died for us.