Kittel the pick to get it right at the finish

Starts 10.55am | coverage on Eurosport 1 from 1pm & ITV4 from 2pm

One day in yellow was all Mark Cavendish managed, as expected, but there were bigger losers in the overall picture as the brutal finale of stage two inflicted more pain on Alberto Contador with a 46sec deficit on his main rivals.

Richie Porte, another leading contender for the general classification, lost even more time – 1min 45sec – after suffering a puncture 6km from the finish and having to wait for the neutral service.

With Cavendish unable to stay with the leaders over the short, sharp climbs of the final kilometres into Cherbourg, world champion Peter Sagan claimed both the stage victory and the yellow jersey with a dogged victory.