Cavendish honors D-Day after Utah Beach Tour de France win (The Associated Press)

SAINTE-MARIE-DU-MONT, France (AP) — Minutes after pulling on the yellow jersey for the first time in his award-filled career, Mark Cavendish walked over to the Utah Beach Peace Monument and placed a white rose to commemorate the Allied landings in Normandy that took place there more than 70 years ago. It was a memorable moment that crowned a day full of emotions for the British cyclist, who won a sprint at the end of the crash-affected opening stage of the Tour de France and took the overall lead on Saturday. It was Cavendish’s 27th stage win in the French classic – third on the all-time list behind Eddy Merckx (34) and Bernard Hinault (28) – but he had never won the opening leg, which is often a time trial.