GREAT Britain’s Christopher Froome carries his bicycle after falling into a ditch in the last kilometers of the first stage of the 105th edition of Tour de France cycling race between Noir-moutier-en-l’ile and Fontenay-le Comte, western France. AFP FONTENAY-LE-COMTE, France — Chris Froome tumbled off the road into a grassy field in the opening stage of the Tour de France on Saturday, immediately putting his pursuit of a record-tying fifth title in peril.

With grass stains on his right shoulder and back, Froome got back up and crossed 51 seconds behind Fernando Gaviria, the Colombian who claimed the race’s first yellow jersey with a commanding sprint victory.

“I saw a lot of crashes out there today. It’s just one of those things. We always knew the first few days were going to be tricky and going to be sketchy. It’s part of the game unfortunately,” said Froome, who went down with about five kilometers to go as the sprinters’ teams jockeyed for position.

“I’m just grateful I’m not injured in any way and there’s a lot of road to cover before Paris obviously.”

When fans at the finish were informed of Froome’s crash, many cheered. The Team Sky rider, who was cleared of doping in an asthma drug case on Monday, was also jeered at Thursday’s team presentations.

Fellow overall contenders Richie Porte and Adam Yates were also caught behind in the Froome group. And in what was expected to be a calm day for the favorites, two-time runner-up Nairo Quintana lost 1:10 due to a tire puncture.

The pre-race favorites who finished safely with the main pack included 2014 champion Vincenzo Nibali, Tom Dumoulin, Geraint Thomas, Mikel Landa, Alejandro Valverde and Dan Martin.

Gaviria, the Quick Step rider making his Tour debut, easily beat world champion Peter Sagan and Marcel Kittel to the line.

“The yellow jersey is one that everyone dreams of wearing and to get it on the first day is amazing,” Gaviria said. “We had a clear plan and we’re happy because we pulled it off.”

Gaviria required 4 hours, 23 minutes to complete the mostly flat 201-kilometer stage from the island of Noirmoutier-en-l’Ile on the Atlantic coast to Fontenay-le-Comte.

He became the first rider to win the opening stage on his Tour debut since Fabian Cancellara took a prologue in 2004. David Zabriskie also won a prologue on debut in 2005 but was later stripped of the victory for admitting to doping.

The 23-year-old Gaviria won four stages in last year’s Giro d’Italia and is living up to his billing as the next big thing in sprinting.