t was a class gesture and I hope it happens. Whatever you

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. Nike Air Max Thea Goedkoop . PETERSBURG, Fla. Air Max 2019 Nederland . Hemsky left the Oilers Tuesday night loss to the Dallas Stars in the second period and did not return. Through 48 games this season, Hemsky has seven goals and a total of 24 points. http://www.airmaxkopennederland.com/uitverkoop-air-max-270/max-270-dames.html . They have homered once every 27.3 at bats, which just happens to be the third best mark in the American League, albeit just 10 games into the season. Nike Air Max 90 Aanbieding . Bjoerndalen, who had failed to win any major race for two years before Sochi, writes in a Facebook entry that he is "full of energy and inspiration" after winning the 10-kilometre sprint and mixed relay at last months Olympics. Nike Air Max Aanbieding . Hughes, 30, is a former Major Leaguer with the Baltimore Orioles, having played in 14 games with the Os in 2010. He played with Class AA Binghamton of the Eastern League in the New York Mets system last season.SAN JOSE, Calif. - Nicklas Backstrom scored the winning goal in the shootout to lead the Washington Capitals to their first win in San Jose in more than 20 years, 3-2 over the Sharks on Saturday night. Eric Fehr and Chris Brown scored in regulation for the Capitals, who had lost 11 times and tied once since winning their first game at the Shark Tank on Oct. 30, 1993. This is only Washingtons second win in its last 19 games overall against San Jose. Braden Holtby made 34 saves in his first start since March 6 in place of the banged-up Jaroslav Halak. Patrick Marleau and James Sheppard scored for the Sharks, who missed a chance to clinch their 10th straight playoff berth. Antti Niemi made 23 saves. Evgeny Kuznetsov put the Capitals ahead in the shootout when he scored in the opening round. But Marleau tied it in the third round before Backstrom beat Niemi for the winner. The Capitals had lost five straight shootouts while San Jose had won seven in a row in the tiebreaker. The Sharks appeared poised to clinch the playoffs when Sheppard blocked a shot by Jason Chimera early in the third period and then scored on a breakaway against Holtby to put San Jose up 2-1. But the Capitals got the equalizer when they got a fortunate bounce with 7:30 remaining. Dustin Penner took the puck from Scott Hannan behind the net and fed Brown, whose shot deflected off defenceman Dan Boyle and past Niemi for his first career goal. The Sharks lost two of three on this homestand, bbeating Anaheim in a showdown for first place in between losses to Washington and Florida — two Eastern Conference teams out of playoff position.ddddddddddddSan Jose is three points ahead of the Ducks in the Pacific Division although Anaheim has two games in hand. The game was more crucial to Washingtons playoff hopes. The Capitals have earned points in five straight games to tie Detroit for eighth place in the East with 79 points. The Red Wings have two games in hand. The Capitals jumped on top with help from a lucky bounce and a strong forecheck. Jason Chimera got the puck away from Logan Couture along the boards to set up Fehr for a shot that was blocked. Justin Braun tried to clear the puck out of danger, but it hit teammate Matt Nieto in the leg and bounced into the net for a goal credited to Fehr. Nieto helped the Sharks tie it in the closing seconds of the period when he put a wraparound attempt on net following a turnover by Mike Green. Holtby made the save on the initial shot, but Marleau knocked in the rebound following a scramble for 30th goal with 5.6 seconds remaining. NOTES: Marleau has seven career 30-goal seasons. ... The Capitals have as many wins (two) in the Cow Palace, where the Sharks played their first two seasons, as they have at the Shark Tank, which opened in 1993-94. ... This game finishes a stretch where the Sharks played 13 of 14 games against the Eastern Conference. They wont play the East again this season unless they make the Stanley Cup finals. ' ' '