The Tour Is Here Again !

The Tour de France bicycle race is back. Stage 1 was run yesterday in England. It was a 190.5 kilometer race from Leeds to Harrogate. It had three small climbs (two category 3 climbs and a category 4), but the last section of the race was fairly flat and gave the peloton time to come together and finish in a group. Marcel Kittel of Germany finished first in stage 1, but 172 other riders have the same time since they finished in a group. There are 22 teams competing in the race this year, and here they are:

Team Sky -- Great Britain
Team Netapp-Endura -- Germany
Belkin Pro Cycling -- Netherlands
Garmin-Sharp -- United States
Tinkoff-Saxo -- Russia
Movistar Team -- Spain
AG2R La Mondiale -- France
Orica Greenedge -- Australia
Trek Factory Racing -- United States
BMC Racing Team -- United States
IAM Cycling -- Switzerland
Astana Pro Team -- Kazakhstan
Team Giant-Shimano -- Netherlands
Bretange-Seche Environnement -- France
Team Europcar -- France
Lotto-Belisol -- Belgium
FDJ.FR -- France
Team Katusha -- Russia
Lampre-Merida -- Italy
Cannondale -- Italy
Cofidis, Solutions Credits -- France
Omega Pharma-Quick Step -- Belgium

Here are the jersey wearers after stage 1:

YELLOW JERSEY (Overall Race Leader)
1. Marcel Kittel (Germany) Team Giant-Shimano
2. Peter Sagan (Slovakia) Cannondale..........0' 00"
3. Ramanus Navardauskas (Lithuania) Garmin-Sharp..........0' 00"
4. Bryan Coquard (France) Team Europcar..........0' 00"
5. Michael Rogers (Australia) Tinkoff-Saxo..........0' 00"

GREEN JERSEY (Best Sprinter)
1. Marcel Kittel (Germany) Team Giant-Shimano..........45 pts
2. Peter Sagan (Slovakia) Cannondale..........45 pts
3. Bryan Coquard (France) Team Europcar..........39 pts
4. Ramanus Navardauskas (Lithuania) Garmin-Sharp..........30 pts
5. Michael Rogers (Australia) Tinkoff-Saxo..........22 pts

POLKA DOT JERSEY (Best Climber)
1. Jens Voigt (Germany) Trek Factory Racing..........4 pts
2. Benoit Jarrier (France) Bretagne-Seche Environnement..........1 pt
3. Nicolas Edet (France) Cofidis, Solutions Credit..........1 pt
4. Lars Bak (Denmark) Lotto-belisol..........1 pt

WHITE JERSEY (Best Young Rider)
1. Peter Sagan (Slovakia) Cannondale
2. Bryan Coquard (France) Team Europcar..........0' 00"
3. Anthony Delaplace (France) Bretagne-Seche Environnement..........0' 00"
4. Romain Bardet (France) AG2R La Mondiale..........0' 00"
5. Armindo Fonseca (France) Bretagne-Seche Environnement..........0' 00"

TEAM STANDINGS
1. Team Sky -- Great Britain
2. Team Netapp-Endura -- Germany..........0' 00"
3. Belkin Pro Cycling -- Belgium..........0' 00"
4. Garmin-Sharp -- United States..........0' 00"
5. Tinkoff-Saxo -- Russia..........0' 00"

There are two more stages in England before the race returns to France -- and stage 2 should be a fairly difficult course. It has nine different climbs over the 201 kilometers between York and Sheffield -- three category 4 climbs, five category 3 climbs, and a category 2 climb.