LIEGE, Belgium (AP) – Germany’s Marcel Kittel met expectations and won the second stage of the Tour de France with a commanding sprint finish Sunday while three-time champion Chris Froome managed to finish in the main pack after falling to the pavement amid a mass crash.
Froome’s Sky teammate Geraint Thomas held on to the leader’s yellow jersey.
Froome was near the front of the peloton when a Katusha rider ahead of him lost control coming around a sharp turn with about 30 kilometers (20 miles) to go. The domino reaction also took down last year’s runner-up, Romain Bardet.
Froome’s shorts and several layers of skin were torn and he had to change bikes as three teammates paced him back to the peloton.
It was Kittel’s 10th career Tour stage win.