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. Stitched NFL Jerseys . 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. Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys . -- The Denver Broncos locked up a shutdown cornerback, only his name wasnt Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Discount NFL Jerseys . -- The Guelph Storm are moving on to the Western Conference final after defeating the London Knights 5-4 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League playoff action. http://www.cheapnfljerseyschinateam.com/ . On the eve of the 2013-14 NBA season, he can finally take a step back and allow his team to do the talking.Tampa, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Steven Stamkos collected two goals with one assist, Jason Garrison added a deciding power-play tally, and Tampa Bay escaped with a 4-3 decision over Philadelphia on Thursday. Vladislav Namestnikov also lit the lamp and Valtteri Filppula contributed three assists for the Lightning, winners in four of their last five. Ben Bishop aided the effort with 24 saves. Wayne Simmonds, Jakub Voracek and Michael Raffl picked up a goal each for the Flyers, whose three-game win streak came to an end. Claude Giroux collected two assists and Ray Emery stopped 28 shots in the loss. Stamkos put the Lightning up by a 3-1 count with 5 1/2 minutes elapsed in the third, waiting in the left circle for Filppula to skate behind the enemy cage and slip a cross-ice pass for a blistering one-timer. Voracek, however, pulled his team back within a goal on a rebound attempt atop the crease 68 seconds later. The shot came from defenseman Brandon Manning, who picked up his third career point with the primary assist. Garrisons laser from the point on a late Tampa man advantage gave it a 4-2 edge but Raffls shot in close with 53.5 on the clock and Emery pulled made it a one-goal contest again. Bishop had to be sharp down the stretch, turning away open chances ffrom Giroux and Mark Streit in the late going to preserve the winning margin. Wholesale NFL Jerseys China. We found a way to win, Stamkos said. Winning is contagious, so its nice to get on a roll here. Namestnikovs tip of an Anton Stralman point blast found the back of the net just 3 1/2 minutes in. Though the goal was not reviewed, certain replays seemed to indicate the puck rolled just outside the zone before the shot was taken. Simmonds evened the score as the clock ticked down to seven minutes left, potting a Pierre-Edouard Bellemare rebound from the right post. After failing to click on two chances with the man advantage in the second period, Stamkos whipped a shot through traffic from the left circle to give the Bolts a 2-1 lead with 45.7 seconds left. Game Notes The Bolts improved to 8-0-1 in their last nine at home against the Flyers and have outscored Philly 35-16 during that stretch ... Stamkos recorded his 47th career game of two-or-more tallies ... Voracek became the first Flyer to record four consecutive multi-point games since Simon Gagne recorded five consecutive multi-point games from Feb. 8-17, 2007 ... Following the contest, the Flyers announced the signing of free-agent defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo. ' ' '