Mark Cavendish was one of dozens of riders to suffer in the heat and humidity during what was the hardest Tour de France Grand Départ of his 18-year career.
The Briton was sick on the mountainous roads of stage one from Florence to Rimini, as riders battled temperatures approaching 40°C. Though Cavendish made it to the finish, some 39 minutes behind the race’s stage winner, dsm-firmenich PostNL’s Romain Bardet, his Astana-Qazaqstan teammate Michele Gazzoli was forced to abandon with gastrointestinal problems
