Though a sprint finish was always likely, a five-man break went clear with Bora-Argon 18’s Paul Voss instigating the break and claiming both of the first two climbing points on offer in this race, to ensure he will wear the polka dot jersey on stage two.

Anthony Delaplace (Fortuneo-Vital Concept) and Jan Barta (Bora-Argon 18) also went clear from the flag and Leigh Howard (IAM Cycling) and Alex Howes (Cannondale) made it a quintet when they came together after the climbs.

Strong crosswinds made for a nervous peloton and it was the GC teams massed near the front on the coast – perhaps remembering the chaos echelons caused on stage two of last year’s race, and the impact they had overall.

Contador crashed heavily on a concrete road divide, with Brent Bookwalter (BMC Racing) and Luke Rowe (Team Sky) also caught up in the crash, with the Spaniard seemingly coming off worse.

Fears of a serious injury were quickly allayed as Contador rejoined the peloton but his torn jersey and bloodied shoulder bore testament to the impact of the crash.

Back in the break, Voss was happy to sit up and return to the bunch as Howard won the race’s first intermediate sprint.

Andre Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) struck an early blow to his sprinting rivals, after kicking from the bunch, with the gap between the two groups little more than 40 seconds.

Tour de France 2016: stage one – result

1) Mark Cavendish (GBR) – Dimension Data – 4.14.05hrs
2) Marcel Kittel (GER) – Etixx-QuickStep – ST
3) Peter Sagan (SVK) – Tinkoff
4) Andre Greipel (GER) – Lotto-Soudal
5) Edward Theuns (BEL) – Trek-Segafredo
6) Christophe Laporte (FRA) – Cofidis
7) Bryan Coquard (FRA) – Direct Energie
8) Alexander Kristoff (NOR) – Katusha
9) Daniel McLay (GBR) – Fortuneo-Vital Concept
10) Greg Henderson (NZL) – Lotto-Soudal

General classification

1) Mark Cavendish (GBR) – Dimension Data – 4.13.55hrs
2) Marcel Kittel (GER) – Etixx-QuickStep +4”
3) Peter Sagan (SVK) – Tinkoff +6”
4) Andre Greipel (GER) – Lotto-Soudal +10”
5) Edward Theuns (BEL) – Trek-Segafredo
6) Christophe Laporte (FRA) – Cofidis
7) Bryan Coquard (FRA) – Direct Energie
8) Alexander Kristoff (NOR) – Katusha
9) Daniel McLay (GBR) – Fortuneo-Vital Concept
10) Greg Henderson (NZL) – Lotto-Soudal