Lionel Bonaventure, AFP via Getty Images
Great Britain’s Stephen Cummings celebrates as he crosses the finish line at the end of the 162,5 km seventh stage of the 103rd edition of the Tour de France cycling race on July 8, 2016 between L’Isle-Jourdain and Lac de Payolle.
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LAC DE PAYOLLE, France — British rider Steve Cummings won the opening stage in the Pyrenees of the Tour de France with a solo attack on the well-known Col d’Aspin climb on Friday.
Greg Van Avermaet of Belgium held on to the yellow jersey he claimed two days earlier, while overall favorites Chris Froome and Nairo Quintana finished in the main pack.
Froome and Quintana were slowed when an inflatable arch marking the final kilometer was punctured and fell to the ground. They had to lift the arch off the ground and slip their bikes underneath it.
Thibaut Pinot, considered one of the top French contenders, was dropped on the Aspin.
Cummings, a teammate of Mark Cavendish on Team Dimension Data, also won a stage in last year’s Tour.