Crash takes out yellow jersey Fernando Gaviria in Tour de France Stage 2

Fernando Gaviria dominated Stage 1 to claim the first yellow jersey at the 2018 Tour de France. A crash a day later took Gaviria out of yellow in Stage 2.

The first stage of the 2018 Tour de France was a road stage rather than a prologue time trial. That gave sprinters the chance to claim the yellow jersey right away. Quick Step’s newest young star, Fernando Gaviria, took full advantage of that opportunity.

On the road into Fontenay-le-Comte, Gaviria outkicked world champion and five-time green jersey winner Peter Sagan for the first stage win of the 2018 Tour. It was a dominant victory by a rider who entered the Tour de France on good form.

Given Gaviria’s strength on the bike and the sprint-heavy focus of his Quick Step team, much the same was expected of second stage through the Vendée on Sunday. The young Colombian star was near the front entering the finishing town of La Roche-sur-Yon when disaster struck.

Coming around a hard right-hand turn in the road just inside two kilometers from the finish, Daryl Impey got loose coming through the corner. A group of more than a dozen riders were caught up in the accident, crashing into the barriers.

Among those who crashed was Gaviria, who quickly remounted his bicycle but was unable to rejoin the front of the race. With the untimely crash, Quick Step’s leader lost yellow as soon as he claimed it. Michael Matthews, the defending green jersey winner from the 2017 Tour de France, was also caught up by the crash.

Instead, Sagan took over the yellow jersey with a fantastic sprint.

The last time the Tour de France finished a stage in La Roche-sur-Yon back in 1938, it was won by the world champion. That year, Belgian star Éloi Meulenberg won the stage into the capital of the Vendée while wearing the rainbow jersey.

Sagan kept up the tradition on the first weekend of the 2018 Tour de France. Among the 15 or so riders that got through the 90-degree bend prior to the crash, Sagan took advantage of the attrition behind him. The Slovak star ramped up the sprint and opened up an acceleration inside the final 500 meters. He let up near the finish line, allowing Sonny Colbrelli to break through and nearly catch him at the line.

With the victory, Sagan traded out his rainbow stripes for the yellow jersey. Entering Monday’s Stage 3 team time trial on the roads around Cholet, Sagan now holds a six-second lead over the unfortunate Gaviria. More importantly, Sagan now enjoys a 26-point advantage over Gaviria in the green jersey race as he chases Erik Zabel’s record six points classification victories.

Next: Tour de France 2018 route breakdown and highlights

Both riders will hunt for another stage victory on Tuesday when the next flat stage takes riders from La Baule to Sarzeau.