HARROGATE, England -- Marcel Kittel of Germany won the first stage of the Tour de France for a second straight year after a late crash brought down British rival Mark Cavendish in the presence of royals on Saturday. Kittel, who earned four Tour stages last year, won the 190.5-kilometre (118-mile) run in mainly bucolic Yorkshire countryside from Leeds to Harrogate. The German raised his arms skyward and cried after he edged Peter Sagan of Slovakia in second, and Ramunas Navardauskas of Lithuania in third. "I am incredibly proud of this victory," Kittel, a Team Giant-Shimano rider who also won two Giro dItalia stages in May, said through a translator. "It happened pretty easily. It was like coming out of a tunnel. I was able to accelerate like never before. "Its really awesome. Deja vu, yeah." Christian Meier of Langley, B.C., was the top Canadian, finishing 141st in 4:44:07, while Svein Tuft, also from Langley, placed 163rd in the same peloton. The two favourites for victory in the three-week race, Alberto Contador and Chris Froome, finished safely in the trailing pack that clocked the same time as Kittel. With fewer than 400 metres to go, and the speedsters rushing ahead, Cavendish veered slightly to his left, tilted his head and bumped into Australias Simon Gerrans. The two crashed alone, with Cavendish landing hard on his right shoulder. Cavendish got up gingerly and cruised over the finish line -- cradling his right arm. X-rays revealed he separated his right shoulder, a Tour statement said. Omega Pharma QuickStep said in a separate statement that a decision about whether he will continue the race will be made on Sunday morning. "Im gutted about the crash today," Cavendish said in the statement. "It was my fault. Ill personally apologize to Simon Gerrans as soon as I get the chance. In reality, I tried to find a gap that wasnt really there. I wanted to win today." Many British fans were hoping for a win by Cavendish, a native of the Isle of Man, whose mother is from Harrogate. Prime Minister David Cameron, Princes William and Harry, and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, were on hand among throngs of British fans who lined the route -- a testament to the cycling craze in the U.K. England hosts the first three stages of this 101st Tour before riders enter France on Tuesday. In all, the 198 riders are to cover 3,664 kilometres (2,277 miles) of road before the July 27 finish in Paris. Stage 2 on Sunday covers 201 kilometres from York to Sheffield, in southern Yorkshire. Cavendish previously said that winning the first Tour stage was his main goal this year. He was hoping to capture his first yellow Jersey and his 26th Tour stage win. "Its sad because he (Cavendish) was racing in front of the home country," Sagan said. Added Kittel: "I hope he gets well soon. Im looking forward to seeing him on the race tomorrow ... its not nice to have Mark crash. Nobody wants that." A second German excelled on the English roads: Veteran Jens Voigt took the polka-dot Jersey as the races best climber, after getting out early on a three-man breakaway that first cleared three low-grade hills including Buttertubs pass. At 42, the Trek Factory Racing rider is the oldest competitor this year: This is his 17th Tour, equaling the record. The nervous first day included more mishaps. Untold tens of thousands of fans turned out in such big numbers that a train service shuttle between the start and finish towns was crammed, and some had to wait for 90 minutes or even longer to get aboard -- or gave up altogether. Yorkshire, the largest county in England, has paid richly for the right to host the Tour. The peloton sped by abbeys in ruins and sights like 14th century Bolton Castle, near Leyburn, before finishing in Harrogate, known for its spas. Nearly three dozen countries are represented at this Tour, led by France with 44 riders. Its the second time cyclings greatest race has begun in Britain, though the Tour also crossed the English Channel for stages in 1974 and 1994. Joe Montana Womens Jersey . Sources tell TSNs Farhan Lalji that the Ottawa Redblacks are listening to offers for the quarterback, with a reported initial asking price of a first round pick. Jeremy Maclin Chiefs Jersey . -- The Saginaw Spirit remembered late player Terry Trafford on Saturday night in their first home game since he was found dead in a parked car. http://www.footballchiefsgears.com/Customized/ . His absence against the Celtics comes a day after he scored 43 points in the Heats 100-96 win at Cleveland. Dustin Colquitt Youth Jersey . With Clarkson deemed "questionable" by Carlyle to play Saturday night against the Philadelphia Flyers, the Leafs recalled tough guy Frazer McLaren from the AHLs Toronto Marlies. McLaren, who cleared waivers before the trade deadline, would be playing in his fifth post-Olympic break game if he takes Clarksons spot in the lineup. Tony Gonzalez Jersey . The second game of the Tigers scheduled four-game series at the Chicago White Sox was postponed Tuesday night. KAMLOOPS, B.C. -- Within the span of a minute or two, Saskatchewan was out and Quebec was in the playoffs at the Canadian mens curling championship, and only partly because of Jean-Michel Menards 7-5 upset win over Kevin Koe of Alberta. Even with Quebecs victory, Saskatchewan skip Steve Laycock was up one with the hammer and had an open draw against three to beat New Brunswick and force Menard into a tiebreaker. Laycock was heavy with the final stone and it proved costly. "We knew that we had to win," said Laycock. "We knew it was in our control to try and get in that tiebreaker and just didnt finish that game out, a really poor last end." A complicated formula based on draws to the button was used to determine the seedings of the top three rinks. Saskatchewan finished at 6-5, tied with Newfoundland and Labradors Brad Gushue and New Brunswicks Jamie Grattan. Had Menard lost, there could have been a four-way tie for fourth place and a round of afternoon tiebreakers. Instead hell now get to play Manitobas Jeff Stoughton on Saturday in the 3-4 Page playoff game. Manitoba, Alberta and B.C.s John Morris all finished at 9-2. Menard, the 2006 champion whos making his fifth Brier appearance for Quebec, was 7-4 although he beat each of the top three teams in the round robin. "Our goal was to make it to the playoffs and there you never know whats going to haappen .dddddddddddd... if theres still some magic in our bag well try to use it," he said. Menard seemed in control throughout the game and got a boost with a three-point end in the fifth. Koe, who was solid all week, finished with a 76 per cent rating and his teammates struggled as well. Koe insisted he wasnt worried the same thing will happen when he faces Morris in the 1-2 Page playoff on Friday evening. "That end we gave up three was bad luck," said Koe. "I threw mine good, we had lots of options. You can hit about a millimetre where it just didnt work out for us and thats what happened for us. So thats just a bad break. Other than that were throwing it good so Im not really worried." Laycock was making his fourth appearance at the Tim Hortons Brier although this was the first time he threw fourth stones and served as skip. He was even with Grattan through seven, until a big three in the eighth end gave him a healthy lead. Grattan responded with a deuce in the ninth before taking the win, which left Laycock visibly upset afterwards. Prince Edward Islands Eddie MacKenzie (4-7) finished the round robin with an 11-7 win over Jamie Koe of Northwest Territories/Yukon (3-8). Ontarios Greg Balsdon (5-6) capped his Brier debut with a 9-6 win over Jamie Murphys winless Nova Scotia team (0-11). Northern Ontario was also well back at 2-9. Cheap Jerseys nfl Jerseys cheap authentic wholesale Jerseys Jerseys from china authentic Cheap Jerseys wholesale stitched Jerseys ' ' '