Tour de France kicks off as Mark Cavendish emerges as favourite to take the opening yellow jersey Riders from across the globe set out on the 132-mile opening stage of the Tour de France as Mark Cavendish emerged as the favourite to take the first yellow jersey. Starting from the harbor town of Porto Vecchio, the flat 132 mile stage moves inland and then snakes along the Corsican coast to finish in Bastia. Before now, the tour began with a short opening stage in which riders raced against the clock. This year, however, organisers have broken tradition by scrapping the prologue stage - a move which favours sprinters like Cavedish. Chris Froome, who achieved a decent level of fame cycling with Bradley Wiggins and co at the London Olympics, is the main race favourite, along with Alberto Contador of Spain.