Luke Rowe won the opening stage of the Tour Of Britain this afternoon.
The opening stage was from Ipswich to Norfolk Showground and saw Jonny Clarke (UnitedHealthcare), Rony Martias (Saur Sojasun), Kristian House (Rapha Condor) and Niels Wytinck (An Post Sean Kelly), in the break which was finally ended with 22kms to go.
Into the final kilometre, there was a crash and Mark Cavendish was one of a number of riders who went down, allowing Luke Rowe to take the victory in a time of 4.51.05 ahead of Boy Van Poppel and Russell Downing.
Stage One, Ipswich to Norfolk Showground, 203km
1) Luke Rowe, GBR, Team Sky, 4:51:05
2) Boy Van Poppel, NED, UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling, same time
3) Russell Downing, GBR, Endura Racing, same time
4) Jeremie Galland, FRA, Saur Sojasun, same time
5) Peter Hawkins, IRL, Team IG - Sigma Sport, same time
6) Rony Martias, FRA, Saur Sojasun, same time
7) Barry Markus, NED, Vacansoleil - DCM, same time
8) Paolo Longo Borghini, ITA, Liquigas - Cannondale, same time
9) Jonathan Tiernan Locke, GBR, Endura Racing, same time
10) Ben Grenda, AUS, Rapha Condor, same time
Rouleur Combativity Award
Niels Wytnick, AN Post Sean Kelly
IG Gold Jersey, General Classification
1) Luke Rowe, GBR, Team Sky, 4:50::55
2) Rony Martias, FRA, Saur Sojasun, + 0.03
3) Boy Van Poppel, NED, UnitedHealthcare, + 0.04
4) Russell Downing, GBR, Endura Racing, + 0.06
5) Jeremie Galland, FRA, Saur Sojasun, + 0.10
6) Peter Hawkins, IRL, Team IG - Sigma Sport, same time
7) Barry Markus, NED, Vacansoleil - DCM, same time
8) Paolo Longo Borghini, ITA, Liquigas Cannondale, same time
9) Jonathan Tiernan Locke, GBR, Endura Racing, same time
10) Ben Grenda, AUS, Rapha Condor, same time
Chain Reaction Cycles Points Classification
1) Luke Rowe, GBR, Team Sky, 15pts
2) Boy Van Poppel, NED, UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling, 14pts
3) Russell Downing, GBR, Endura Racing, 13pts
4) Jeremie Galland, FRA, Saur Sojasun, 12pts
5) Peter Hawkins, IRL, Team IG - Sigma Sport, 11pts
6) Rony Martias, FRA, Saur Sojasun, 10pts
7) Barry Markus, NED, Vacansoleil - DCM, 9pts
8) Paolo Longo Borghini, ITA, Liquigas - Cannondale, 8pts
9) Jonathan Tiernan Locke, GBR, Endura Racing, 7pts
10) Ben Grenda, AUS, Rapha Condor, 6pts
SKODA King of the Mountains Classification
1) Kristian House, GBR, Rapha Condor, 12pts
2) Niels Wytinck, BEL, AN Post Sean Kelly, 9pts
3) Rony Martias, FRA, Saur Sojasun, 4pts
Yodel Sprints Classification
1) Rony Martias, FRA, Saur Sojasun, 12pts
2) Kristian House, GBR, Rapha Condor, 9pts
3) Jonny Clarke, AUS, UnitedHealthcare, 7pts