Tour de Yorkshire 2019: Stage One in pictures

The riders received a warm welcome by many in Doncaster’s Market Place at the start of the day and continued to be cheered along by the sizeable crowds who braved the elements to see the world’s best riders in action.

However, there were also environmental protesters among the crowds, who gathered at the team bus at the start of the event in Doncaster, targeting the cycling team sponsored by energy giant Ineos on Day One of the Tour.

The towns and villages along the 182.5km route turned out in force with 160,000 people in attendance according to police figures. Many were waving flags and banners, and yellow and blue bunting was hanging everywhere.

Six riders forged ahead in the breakaway and Jacob Bingham (Canyon DHB p/b Bloor Homes) was the first rider to crest the Cote de Baggaby Hill, earning him a spell in the best climber’s jersey sponsored by LNER.

Once that prize had been decided, the escapes continued to work well together and Daniel Bigham was voted the most active rider via a live poll at @letouryorkshire. That means the Ribble Pro Cycling rider will wear the grey jersey sponsored by Dimension Data in Friday’s stage from Barnsley to Bedale.

Fearing a repeat of Harry Tanfield’s breakaway win on the opening stage last year, the peloton kept the break on a relatively tight leash but history was to repeat itself as the frontrunners once again evaded their pursuers.

Asselman picked the right line in the last 100m and unleashed an unstoppable sprint to take the stage win in front of the magnificent Selby Abbey, which is celebrating its 950th anniversary this year. Flippo Fortin (Cofidis) took second place with Jonas Van Genechten (Vital Concept – B&B Hotels) in third.

That victory meant that Asselman took control of the blue leader’s jersey sponsored by Yorkshire Bank and bonus seconds accrued at the line saw him open a four-second lead at the top of the general classification. The Roompot – Charles rider tops the points classification but Fortini will wear the green jersey sponsored by Asda on Friday as he sits second in that competition.

After the stage Welcome to Yorkshire Commercial Director Peter Dodd said: “It’s been a fantastic day. Christian [Prudhomme] and I were blown away by the creativity communities showed to celebrate the race. We saw painted cows and sheep, miles of banners and bunting, and the thousands of schoolchildren lining the route to give an extra special reception.

“Yes, it’s been damp weather but that didn’t dampen the Yorkshire spirit and fantastic images of the county have being broadcast right around the world.

“The shops and eateries offered protection from the rain and looked absolutely packed as we drove through, and I’m sure Doncaster’s fantastic new Market Place must have experienced their busiest day ever. The Tour de Yorkshire is Yorkshire’s greatest street party we’re delighted to see everyone getting involved.

“The racing was really exciting too and no-one knew if the peloton would catch that breakaway. It hung in the balance right until the end making it another classic finish. It sets up the next three stages nicely now and we’re looking forward to seeing what Barnsley to Bedale delivers us.

“Of course, the Asda Tour de Yorkshire Women’s Race will add another brilliant sporting contest and we look forward to welcoming even more of the world’s best riders.”

Stage winner and race leader Jesper Asselman said: “This is definitely the biggest victory of my career and I still can’t believe it. It’s really awesome and I will never forget today.

“The plan was to get in the break and go for the best climber’s jersey. On the climb I had no explosivity in my legs though so was angry. I kept pushing out of frustration but I thought we’d get caught because the gap was going down really fast in the last 50km. We kept riding really hard and everyone worked well together. In the last few kilometres I realised it might be possible and gambled to start my sprint at the right moment. I went full gas and looked under my elbow near the line and saw there was a big gap behind and I couldn’t believe I was going to win.

“We are really happy with this result and it was a beautiful victory. Now let’s see what happens about defending the leader’s jersey. The last day looks really tough but maybe this jersey will give me an extra boost.

“Yorkshire is an awesome place to ride your bike and the fans are always incredible. It’s fantastic that they came out in this weather and it gives you goosebumps to ride through crowds like that. It’s really cool to be here - like being in one of the Classics or the Grand Tours - the public are so enthusiastic. I will never forget today.”

Environmental protests

Environmental protesters targeted the cycling team sponsored by energy giant Ineos on Day One of the Tour.

The cyclists, formerly known as Team Sky, are taking part in the Tour de Yorkshire and demonstrators gathered at the team bus at the start of the event in Doncaster.

The protest comes after Friends of the Earth issued an open letter to team principal Sir Dave Brailsford, accusing chemical multinational Ineos of using sport to "greenwash" its name given its interests in fracking and its status as a large-scale producer of plastic.

But Sir Dave was dismissive and mocked the size of the protest.

"I had to hunt them down first because I couldn't find them," the Ineos team principal said. "There was hardly anybody there, let's be honest, let's be real.

"The 15,000 mob that was to attack me this morning didn't really materialise."

"If we'd had any concerns (about launching in Yorkshire) we wouldn't have done it," he added.

"We were right not to have any concerns because the people are here and they're enjoying it."

Questions about fracking and plastics dominated the Team Ineos launch press conference, which was held this week at a remote pub in North Yorkshire.

The British-registered squad are known as Team Ineos as of this week, after the team was sold to the UK's richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who is the Ineos chairman.

Anti-fracking groups were among the several dozen protesters who waved placards outside the team bus where the opening stage of the race to Selby was due to start on Thursday.

One protester shouted "sell out" and "Judas" as riders emerged from the bus.

Another protester, Deborah Gibson, told the Press Association: "We're here to raise the issue of Team Ineos basically being here to 'green-sheen' their brand.

"There is nothing green about what Ineos do."

Ms Gibson, from Harthill in South Yorkshire, said several villages in her area are due to be fracked in the near future.

Elizabeth Clifton, from Misson, near Doncaster, said she had been protesting for several months over planned projects in her area, and described the Tour de Yorkshire as a "gift" for protesters.

"This is brilliant, absolutely brilliant," she said. "Our group is up at the start and there's a lot of people from different groups. I don't think there'll be anything physical. There may be some shouting."

Critics say the amount of water needed for fracking is bad for the environment and claim it releases dangerous chemicals.

They also say governments should focus on renewable energy.

Ineos chairman Sir Jim has dismissed many of the concerns around fracking, calling many protest groups "ignorant", criticising the Government for listening to a "noisy minuscule minority", and insisting his company had made significant breakthroughs on expanding the recycling of plastic.

Fracking restarted in the UK last autumn in Lancashire after it was suspended in 2011 following two earthquakes in the Blackpool area.

After energy firm Cuadrilla began fracking at Preston New Road in October, work had to be halted on several occasions because tremors above regulated limits were detected.

Cuadrilla and Ineos have called for the regulations on tremors to be relaxed to allow them to exploit shale gas reserves.

Jesper Asselman outside Selby Abbey. Picture: SWPix

Brief Results

1 Jesper Asselman (Ned) Roompot-Charles 4:05:45

2 Filippo Fortin (Ita) Cofidis, Solutions Credits

3 Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) Vital Concept-B&B Hotel

4 Boy van Poppel (Ned) Roompot-Charles

5 Gabriel Cullaigh (GBr) Team Wiggins Lecol

General Classification after stage one

1 Jesper Asselman (Ned) Roompot-Charles 4:05:34

2 Filippo Fortin (Ita) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:00:05

3 Jacob Hennessy (GBr) Canyon DHB p/b Bloor Homes

4 Jonas Van Genechten (Bel) Vital Concept-B&B Hotel 0:00:07

5 Kevin Vermaerke (USA) Hagens Berman Axeon

Full results and information on the Tour de Yorkshire and Asda Tour de Yorkshire Women’s Race can be found at http://letouryorkshire.com