French climber Romain Bardet of the DSM team claimed the overall leader’s yellow jersey when he won the opening stage of the Tour de France on Saturday with a late escape on a 206km run from Florence to Rimini. Searing heat of 30C (86F) blighted the peloton as it set off from downtown Florence on the 21-day epic leaving many riders suffering, with British sprinter Mark Cavendish trailing by 30 minutes when Bardet crossed the finish line. “I was hurting so bad I saw stars,” Cavendish said after resting at his team bus. “If you have my body type, don’t start a cycling career, those days are gone,” said the stocky sprint specialist. “We aren’t riding around chatting anymore.” All the main contenders for the Tour title crossed the line five seconds adrift in the first of four stages featuring racing in Italy. The 33-year-old Bardet’s teammate Frank Van Den Broek was part of an early break and the pair survived a reel-in effort from a fast-closing peloton for victory on the Rimini seafront. Bardet’s first thoughts were for his young teammate.