Watson takes top-10 as Ganna abandons

Filippo Ganna was forced to abandon the Tour de France following a crash on an opening stage which saw Sam Watson sprint to 10th.

Ganna was caught up during a tightening right-hand corner with 132 kilometres to go and would later be forced to depart the race.

The 184.9km loop around Lille Metropole would prove to be a rapid and stressful day for the entire bunch, with the threat of wind and road furniture leading to a nervous peloton.

Connor Swift got through a lot of work to help position the team at the head of the race, but it would be Watson who was best-placed to latch on to a significant split in the bunch with 17km to go.

A reduced bunch sprint saw Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin - Deceuninck) prevail to claim the opening yellow jersey, while Watson secured a top-10 stage finish in his Tour debut.

Carlos Rodriguez and Geraint Thomas would finish safely in the chasing group, 39 seconds back, as the gap opened out on the run-in.