(CNN) Slovakia's Peter Sagan timed his finishing burst to perfection to win the second stage of the Tour de France Sunday and wrest the yellow jersey from Mark Cavendish.
The world champion used his sprinting power on the uphill finish to the 183km stage from Saint-Lo to Cherbourg to pull clear of Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe with Spain's Alejandro Valverde in third.
Sagan and a select group overhauled Belgian Jasper Stuyven, who had spent almost the entire stage up front, but was caught in the final kilometer.
Cavendish, who won the first stage in Normandy, was distanced on the climb and ceded both yellow and the green points jersey to Sagan.
Race favorite Chris Froome finished 10th, with Nairo Quintana close behind, but two-time champion Alberto Contador lost more time after crashing for the second day in a row.
"I lost more time than I had hoped to lose. I suffered another crash, I hit the handlebars and I was hurt on the other side from yesterday," the Spaniard told the official Tour website.
"The Tour has really started on the wrong footing. I'm not happy at all. It's cycling. I must see if I can make up some time in the Pyrenees and the Alps, see what I can do."
There was misfortune for another leading contender, BMC Racing's Richie Porte of Australia, who punctured with five km to go.
With the pace highest in the peloton as it chased down Stuyven, Porte lost a minute more than Contador.
The flamboyant Sagan was claiming his fifth stage win on the Tour, but his first since 2013. He has won the green points competition for the past four years and is favorite to do so again.
But like Cavendish the day before, this is his first time in yellow.
"It's a very nice jersey. This is something special for sure."
Consolation for Stuyven was taking the polkadot king of the mountains jersey off breakaway companion Paul Voss.
Alaphilippe, who cut a frustrated figure at the end as Sagan powered past, is now second overall at eight seconds with Valverde in third, another two seconds further adrift.
Defending champion Froome, given perfect protection by Team Sky, is fifth at 14 seconds, two places ahead of principle rival Quintana, who is on the same time.
Monday's third stage takes the riders 223.5km from Granville to Angers, with sprint specialists like Cavendish, Marcel Kittel and fellow German Andre Greipel likely to contest the finish.
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Tour de France: Cycling's greatest race
Just the 3,500 kilometers to negotiate over the next three weeks for the riders competing in this year"s Tour de France ...
The favorite to win the 2016 race is Team Sky's Chris Froome, who is pictured at the back.
Froome is pictured powering to victory on stage 15 of the 2013 Tour de France on the climb to the Mont Ventoux summit. He is race favorite this year.
Colombia's Nairo Quintana and last year's yellow jersey winner Froome are expected to battle it out again for race honors in this year's Tour de France.
The rugged and unforgiving landscape on Mont Ventoux has seen it nicknamed the "Bald Mountain" with its slopes of just rock and scree.
Tour organizers are also promising to tackle motorized doping with thermal imaging techniques and other unspecified measures as they try to keep the race clean.
Mark Cavendish wins the stage on the Champs Elysees in 2012, his fourth straight in the French capital. He is hoping to wear yellow for the first time by taking the first stage in Normandy.
Andre Greipel (right) wins the second stage of the 2015 Tour ahead of Peter Sagan (center) and Fabian Cancellara (left). Greipel and Sagan will again be battling it out for the green jersey.
The powerful Marcel Kittel of Germany enjoyed a superb 2014 with victories in the Tour de France and here on the second stage of the Giro d'Italia. The German is another contender for green.
Alberto Contador will be bidding for his third victory in the Tour de France.
Mass pile ups in the peloton are an occupational hazard of a professional cyclist's life -- but it still hurts.
Amid the pain, there is beauty as well for the riders to appreciate as they battle it out over 21 stages in cycling's greatest race.
Over enthusiastic fans can pose a risk to riders and here a Colombian supporter is pulled aside by a gendarme during the 2015 race won by Froome.
A spectator takes a photo of the Tommy Simpson memorial on Mont Ventoux. British cyclist Simpson died on the mountain during the 1967 Tour de France.
Daniel Teklehaimanot of Eritrea and MTN-Qhubeka made history when he became the first African to hold the polka dot jersey for best climber during the 2015 Tour. He is targeting stage wins this year.
Tour organizers have stepped up security and the police presence ahead of this year's race with the promise to deploy over 23,000 officers, including members of the French Special Forces, on the route.
Tour de France race director, Christian Prudhomme, announces that next year's Tour will start in Dusseldorf in Germany. The 2016 edition largely stays in France with a brief visit to the principality of Andorra and also Spain and Switzerland.