Mark Cavendish will wear the yellow jersey for the first time in his career after winning the opening stage of the 2016 Tour de France.
The Manxman, 31, outsprinted rivals Marcel Kittel, Peter Sagan and Andre Greipel to secure his 27th stage win as riders crashed around them.
"To pull on the yellow jersey is an honour," said Cavendish. "It's going to be a special day tomorrow."
Britain's defending champion Chris Froome finished safely in 25th place.
Cavendish upsets form book
Cavendish went in to the race unsure of his own form after spending much of the year training on the track for a tilt at an Olympic medal in Rio.
He also said that wearing the yellow jersey had "never been a career target" but the emotion was clear to see when he punched the air as he crossed the finish line and in the interviews that followed.
"It's phenomenal," he told ITV4. "It was a big goal. We came here with the hope of doing it. We wanted this.
"There is no bigger icon in cycling than the yellow jersey. I'm quite emotional."
Cavendish beat rival Kittel for the first time in a head-to-head sprint and also saw off the challenge of his fellow German Greipel.
How did Froome and his rivals fair?
The two-time winner was largely anonymous and that is the way both he and Team Sky would have wanted the stage to unfold as he looks to become the first man in 20 years to win successive titles.
However, the same could not be said for Spain's two-time winner Alberto Contador, who needed medical attention after a crash midway through the stage.
Contador, who won the 2007 and 2009 editions of the three-week race, slid off on a right-hand corner, landing heavily on his right shoulder. He finished the stage in the peloton but it was not immediately clear how bad his injuries were.
Other riders chasing the overall victory - such as Colombia's Nairo Quintana, who finished 72 seconds behind Froome in 2015, and Italy's Fabio Aru - kept in touch on a day when cross-winds threatened to split the peloton.
Last year, Quintana finished around 90 seconds behind Froome on a similar stage where he got distanced because of cross-winds but the Movistar rider had clearly learned his lesson, keeping close to the front of the race along a 70km stretch down the coast.
A total of 198 riders from 22 teams started Saturday's opening stage from Mont Saint-Michel to Utah Beach in Normandy.
Stage one result:
1. Mark Cavendish (GB/Dimension Data) 4hrs 14mins 05secs
2. Marcel Kittel (Ger/Etixx - Quick-Step) Same time
3. Peter Sagan (Svk/Tinkoff)
4. Andre Greipel (Ger/Lotto)
5. Edward Theuns (Bel/Trek)
6. Christophe Laporte (Fra/Cofidis)
7. Bryan Coquard (Fra/Direct Energie)
8. Alexander Kristoff (Nor/Katusha)
9. Daniel McLay (GB/Fortuneo)
10. Greg Henderson (NZ/Lotto) +3secs
General classification after stage one:
1. Mark Cavendish (GB/Dimension Data) 4hrs 14mins 05secs
2. Marcel Kittel (Ger/Etixx - Quick-Step) +4secs
3. Peter Sagan (Svk/Tinkoff) +6secs
4. Andre Greipel (Ger/Lotto) +10secs
5. Edward Theuns (Bel/Trek) Same time
6. Christophe Laporte (Fra/Cofidis)
7. Bryan Coquard (Fra/Direct Energie)
8. Alexander Kristoff (Nor/Katusha)
9. Daniel McLay (GB/Fortuneo)
10. Greg Henderson (NZ/Lotto) +13secs
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