Tour de France Stage 6

Stage 6 - Thursday, July 10: Aigurande - Super Besse, 195.5km

Riccò takes the stage, disaster for Schumacher

Riccardo Riccò (Saunier Duval - Scott)
Photo ©: AFP

Italian Riccardo Riccò took his first Tour de France stage victory atop the climb at Super Besse, besting Alejandro Valverde and Cadel Evans in the uphill sprint. The finish was overshadowed by a crash from yellow jersey wearer Stefan Schumacher, who was in the lead group in the final kilometre, but touched wheels and crashed. The judges do not apply the same time rule for crash victims on hilltop finishes, so the German lost his overall lead to Kim Kirchen (Columbia) who finished fifth.

Riccò was happy to have beaten the Tour favourites to win the stage. "Today was a great win. I beat a great champion," he said, but brushed off comparisons with his self-proclaimed idol Marco Pantani. "Pantani is unique. He won the Tour and the Giro. I have not, but I hope to get better over time." He also discounted ambitions for the podium in Paris. "I just want to gain experience," he said, and tipped the man he beat today to win in Paris. "I think Valverde can win the Tour."

With his tenacious ride, Cadel Evans moved into second overall, just six seconds behind Kirchen, and ten seconds ahead of the unfortunate Schumacher. Kirchen took over the lead in the points classification from Thor Hushovd, but the Norwegian will still ride in green as Kirchen will be in yellow.

The day's breakaway belonged again to three Frenchmen. This time it was Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis), Freddy Bichot (Agritubel) and Benoît Vaugrenard (Française des Jeux). Chavanel took over the lead in the mountains classification, where he is tied on points with Thomas Voeckler.

How it unfolded

Tour director Christian Prudhomme
Photo ©: AFP

The start in Aigurande was taken by 176 riders at 12.25pm. One more rider to bail out of the race was Aurélien Passeron from Saunier Duval, who had crashed into a spectator yesterday. Under a beautiful sky and in warm temperatures, the peloton took off on the 195.5km journey to Super Besse.

Quickly, breakaway attempts moved off the front, with three Frenchmen finally managing to jump away: Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis), Freddy Bichot (Agritubel) and Benoît Vaugrenard (Française des Jeux). Chavanel was the one to initiate the escape at km 6, while Bichot and Vaugrenard countered soon after to join him.

Three more riders tried to make it to the leaders, but failed: Stéphane Goubert (AG2R), John Lee Augustyn (Barloworld) and Danny Pate (Garmin-Chipotle). The gap grew continuously. After 33 kilometres, it was already over two minutes.

At km 57, the leaders had 4'50 advantage over the bunch. On the Côte de l'Armelle (Cat. 4, km 70), Chavanel took the points before Vaugrenard and Bichot. The Cofidis rider was out to get the polka dot jersey today.

The three Frenchmen working hard in the day's break
Photo ©: AFP

The trio was given a maximum advantage of five minutes at the summit of the first categorized climb - after that, their lead started to shrink. By the Côte de Crocq (Cat 4, km 89), taken again by Chavanel, the peloton was 4'15 behind.

By the feed zone (km 111), the bunch led by Gerolsteiner was just 3'20 behind. The German squad wanted to keep Stefan Schumacher's yellow jersey, with the other teams also looking forward to a showdown of the GC favourites later on Super Besse. While grabbing his musette, Florent Brard (Cofidis) crashed, but was not hurt badly.

With 76km to go, Cadel Evans had a mechanical, but it was quickly fixed. A bit of rain came down on the riders, but it soon stopped again.

Benoît Vaugrenard (Française des Jeux)
Photo ©: AFP

When the escape group got to the foot of the first Cat 2 climb of this year's Tour, the Col de la Croix-Morand (km 158), their advantage was a mere two minutes. Chavanel accelerated with six kilometres to go before the summit and dropped Vaugrenard.

Out of the bunch came Rémi Pauriol (Crédit Agricole) but he was reeled in before the summit, together with Vaugrenard. Chavanel remained in front, together with Bichot, while polka dot jersey wearer Thomas Voeckler (Bouygues Telecom) came out of the peloton to defend his mountains lead in the final metres before the KOM. He claimed third place, 56 seconds behind the two leaders.

On the climb, a sprinter's autobus formed around green jersey Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole), which was almost four minutes back as the favourites geared up for the final ascent to Super Besse.

With 25 kilometres to go, Bichot accelerated, but Chavanel stayed put. But the bunch was only half a minute away, so Chavanel ended his effort and waited for the peloton five kilometres later. Bichot insisted and held an advantage of 25 seconds.

Riccardo Riccò (Saunier Duval - Scott)
Photo ©: AFP

With 18 kilometres to the line, Crédit Agricole's Alexandre Botcharov tried to bridge up to Bichot but failed. He was swallowed by the bunch - led out by Caisse d'Epargne - three clicks later. Bichot himself finally surrendered with 13km to go.

With 11 km to the line, French champ Nicolas Vogondy went down, as well as Erik Zabel, but both were able to continue. Now started a series of attacks that were all countered by a favourites-led group that got decimated in number as the kilometres went by and Caisse d'Epargne maintained a furious rhythm.

First, Laurent Lefèvre (Bouygues Telecom) attacked with Maxime Monfort (Cofidis), but they didn't go far. Next up were Christophe Le Mevel (Crédit Agricole) and Vladimir Efimkin (AG2R La Mondiale), with David Moncoutié (Cofidis) bridging up to them a little later. Efimkin and Moncoutié managed to hold a gap, while the others were reeled in.

Kim Kirchen (Columbia)
Photo ©: AFP

With five kilometres to go, Leonardo Piepoli (Saunier Duval) and Christian Vande Velde (Garmin) countered. Moncoutié couldn't hold the pace, and neither could Efimkin. Piepoli and Vande Velde continued and hit the steep section of the climb with 1.5km to go just before getting caught again.

Caisse d'Epargne led the favourites group through the flamme rouge. Evans, Valverde, Ricco, Sastre and Kirchen were in front watching each other, with Cunego getting dropped. As they began to sprint, yellow jersey Schumacher crashed 300 metres from the line after touching Kirchen's rear wheel. He was quickly up again, but lost some time.

Ricco outsprinted everyone and led Valverde and Evans over the line. Frank Schleck came in fourth, with Kirchen finishing fifth and therefore taking the yellow jersey from the German.

Tour de France Stage 5

Stage 5 - Wednesday, July 9: Cholet - Châteauroux, 232km

'Manx Express' takes first Tour stage in long, hot day

Schumacher passes first day in maillot jaune

By Gregor Brown in Châteauroux with additional reporting from Bjorn Haake

Mark Cavendish (Columbia)
Photo ©: AFP

Team Columbia's Mark Cavendish claimed his much-anticipated first victory in the Tour de France on the race's longest stage to Châteauroux. The 23 year-old from the Isle of Man benefited from perfect team-work to capture the day's three-man escape and launch his sprint over Spain's Oscar Freire (Rabobank) and Germany's Erik Zabel (Team Milram).

"I could only win with guys like that," said Cavendish, who also garnered two stage wins in the Giro d'Italia in similar fashion.

Two days on from Samuel Dumoulin and Romain Feillu's success, the French riders almost ruled again. Nicolas Vogondy (Agritubel), Florent Brard (Cofidis) and Lilian Jégou (Française des Jeux) were clear for most of the 232-kilometre stage in an escape that only came to a close in the final two kilometres.

The move began to look hopeful when the trio held a 33-second advantage with 10 kilometres remaining. Five kilometres later however, the pace of the Columbia-led peloton brought the gap down to just over 20 seconds. French champion Vogondy was the first to show his cards with an attack at 1300 metres from the finish on Avenue de la Châtre. Jégou gave chase but couldn't get on terms, with the Agritubel rider being swept up 75 metres from the line.

Nicolas Vogondy (Agritubel)
Photo ©: AFP

"I would be okay with it if we were caught back at 10 kilometres from the finish, but now I have come so close," said Vogondy on being caught so late in the finale.

Cavendish has often been referred to as the new Robbie McEwen, but with his dedicated lead-out train is quite something else. The Columbia team - formerly named Team High Road - took control of the stage with Marcus Burghardt and Thomas Lövkvist while the speed work was done by Adam Hansen, George Hincapie, Bernhard Eisel and Kim Kirchen in the final 10 kilometres. Hincapie led from 1600 metres, Kirchen took over into the final kilometre while Eisel eased off the gas to gap his captain's rivals.

The US-sponsored team held off challenges from both Liquigas and Quick Step, who were trying to lead out for Francesco Chicchi and Gert Steegmans. "It was a little hectic at the end," described Cavendish. "I lost Gerald [Ciolek]'s wheel and then he picked me up at 1200 metres to go and then Gerald went at 600 metres to go."

Vogondy is swallowed up
Photo ©: AFP

The German lead-out man carried Cavendish to about 250 metres, until an early start by Norway's Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) forced Cavendish to fire. He barrelled down Avenue de la Châtre to hold off Freire and Zabel who were charging down his left side.

"I did my best and that is the most important," said Freire, who has three Tour de France stage wins in his palmarès. "I saw the Cavendish was very, very strong."

Italy's Chicchi could not finish off Liquigas' work. "I was a little caught out when the road closed down and was not able to keep the wheel," Chicchi stated after finishing ninth. Belgium's Steegmans finished 12th after his train was derailed by Sébastien Rosseler's sickness and Matteo Tosatto going too soon. "I was in the wind twice. On such a finish with such a speed, being in the wind is like riding into a wall. At 500 metres before the finish, I was already blown up."

As a consolation for his fourth place, Hushovd gained enough points to take the points classification maillot vert from Kim Kirchen. He now leads by three points over Freire. Baden Cooke and Robert Hunter (both Barloworld), Leonardo Duque (Cofidis), Robbie McEwen (Silence-Lotto), Chicchi and Julian Dean (Garmin-Chipotle) rounded out the top ten.

How it unfolded

The day's breakaway
Photo ©: AFP

The départ réel of the longest stage of this year's Tour was taken at 11:42, but the drama had started beforehand when Barloworld's Mauricio Soler, already struggling with injuries from an earlier crash, fell in the neutral zone and abandoned after only 12 kilometres. He quit the race just after a trio of Frenchmen - Lilian Jégou (Française des Jeux), Florent Brard (Cofidis) and Nicolas Vogondy (Agritubel) - had started to accelerate away from the peloton, quickly gaining a lead of two minutes.

The sprint in Argenton-les-Vallées, after 33.5 kilometres, was taken by Jégou, followed by Vogondy and Brard, with the gap at 8'15 already. However, the sprinters didn't want to repeat past mistakes and started to ride tempo, with the lead gradually starting to fall. The trio covered 45.8 kilometres in the first hour. At kilometre 60 the gap was down to 7'40 and after two hours the break reached the 88-kilometre mark.

Alejandro Valverde needed treatment after a crash
Photo ©: AFP

In the second sprint at Richelieu after 98.5 kilometres, Brard took the points from Vogondy and Jégou as the feed zone approached. Back in the peloton, race favourite Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) hit the deck and required some treatment to his knee, but was then guided back by his team.

With 107 kilometres to go, the gap had dropped to six minutes as the peloton was led by Gerolsteiner, fulfilling its obligation to race leader Stefan Schumacher. It was a somewhat unusual picture, but one that will certainly do no harm to the team's hunt for a new sponsor.

With 97 kilometres to go, Cyril Dessel flatted but was quickly back in the bunch as the gap continued to fall steadily. The sprinters' teams were using different calculators this time after the costly mistake on Monday where the break was allowed too much freedom.

Schumacher in yellow
Photo ©: Roberto Bettini

The third hour was ridden at 40.7 km/h, dropping the overall average to 42.9 km/h, but the peloton was still building speed and brought the gap down to five minutes. The final sprint at Grand-Pressigny after 152 kilometres was given to French champion Vogondy, with Brard in second and Jégou third. Crédit Agricole started to help out the blue Gerolsteiner boys and the gap dropped to around three minutes with less than 70 kilometres remaining.

Despite the fourth hour being ridden at 'only' 38 km/h, the break's lead fell inside two minutes with 45 kilometres remaining. The sprinters were looking much happier, salivating at the prospect of a near two-kilometre long finishing straight.

Mark Cavendish (Columbia)
Photo ©: AFP

With 25 kilometres remaining the gap was down to 1'30 with the peloton now in full swing. The break was riding its heart out to stay ahead, but the sprinters' teams were all up front: Columbia, Crédit Agricole, Liquigas and Gerolsteiner, riding in support of yellow jersey Schumacher and sprinter Robert Förster.

Pierrick Fédrigo (Bouygues Telecom) then had a mechanical at a bad time and had to fight back to the peloton. Under the 20-kilometre to go banner and the gap was 1'12, then 10 kilometres later George Hincapie suffered a flat tyre. It was a bad time for the Columbia rider, but he was quickly back in the bunch before things got serious.

With five to go a spectator brought down Aurélien Passeron (Saunier Duval-Scott), as the gap was down to just 23 seconds. A sharp right with three kilometres remaining was too tight for the fast-moving bunch and Heinrich Haussler (Gerolsteiner) went down when he came too close to a Lampre rider's rear wheel.

The gap was still 14 seconds, but the peloton was flying along with the Columbia train in full flight for Mark Cavendish. With 1.5 kilometres left Vogondy attacked to try to avoid the inevitable, but was caught a few metres before the line as Cavendish blasted down the middle for his first Tour stage victory.

Stage 6 - Thursday, July 10: Aigurande - Super Besse, 195.5km

After five stages featuring no more than a smattering of fourth and third category climbs – and with none at all for the last three days – the course takes a decidedly hillier turn. After turning east yesterday, the race resumes its southerly course across France's hot Massif Central. The roads will be up and down all day, with two fourth category climbs in the first half.

The final 50 kilometres is where the action starts with two second category climbs, including the 11-kilometre drag up to the finish at Super Besse. This is the Tour's first visit to the small, fortified town of Aigurande, but it has been to the ski resort of Super Besse twice before. The last time it finished here, the stage was won by Dane Rolf Sørensen in a breakaway between the Alps and the Pyrenees.

The ski resort sits 1289 metres high, above the town of Besse-et-Saint-Anastaise, which the stage passes through on the way to the finish. Every year, Super Besse is the host of "La Géminiani," a cyclesportif event named after legend Raphaël Géminiani, who hails from the nearby city of Clermont-Ferrand.

Tour de France Stage 4

Stage 4 - Tuesday, July 8: Cholet - Cholet (ITT), 29.5km

Schumacher's stage victory garners yellow

Evans hits fellow classification contenders hard

By Gregor Brown, Brecht Decaluwé and Shane Stokes in Cholet

German Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner) on his way to a stage victory
Photo ©: AFP

Germany's Stefan Schumacher bettered the cream of the time trialing crop to capture the 29.5-kilometre Tour de France stage around Cholet and move into the race leader's maillot jaune. The 26 year-old Gerolsteiner rider recorded a time of 35'44" that stood against the hammering of Luxemburger Kim Kirchen – second at 35'54" – and Briton's David Millar – third at 36'02".

"It's extraordinary to be on the podium in this jersey," noted the same rider who captured the pink leader's jersey of the Giro d'Italia in 2006 by winning stage three. "Because this is the Tour de France and everybody dreams of wearing this jersey. Also, the moment on the podium, you see it 1,000 times on television and then you're there yourself, it's impossible to imagine."

Team Silence-Lotto's Cadel Evans delivered a blow in the windy Loire countryside side to his fellow general classification rivals. He finished third place, 27 second back on Schumacher, but more important was the distance he put on competitors like Denis Menchov (Rabobank), Christian Vande Velde (Garmin Chipotle - H30), Stijn Devolder (Quick Step), Damiano Cunego (Lampre), Andy Schleck (CSC-Saxo Bank) and Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne). He put seven seconds into Menchov, around a minute into Cunego and Schleck, and 1'07" on Valverde.

"It is a good start but it is a long, long way to Paris," said Evans in a media scrum. "In my mind this is the first appointment for the GC favourites. So far so good. Super Besse will be the next big showing for the GC riders."

Cadel Evans (Silence Lotto) is in his aerobars
Photo ©: AFP

Despite the 21-second displacement in the overall, Evans now leads his nearest serious contender, Russia's Menchov, by 51 seconds. Devolder is 57 seconds back from the second place finisher in last year's Tour de France. Cunego, Valverde and Andy Schleck are all at about one minute, and Carlos Sastre is at 1'22" while Fränk Schleck is at 1'47".

The gaps will stay equal in tomorrow's sprinters' stage, but we should see Evans playing defence on the Tour de France's first mountaintop finish of Super Besse. The final climb – rising nearly 500 metres to 1,289 metres – will allow a perfect opportunity for Kirchen to take the maillot jaune from Schumacher.

France's star, Romain Feillu of Team Agritubel, was quickly forgotten today as Schumacher and Evans took control. The overnight race leader is not noted for his crono skills and suffered a loss of 4'59".

"It was fantastic with all those people supporting me," said the charismatic Frenchman. "It was very special to wear everything in yellow: my shoes, short, shirt, helmet..."

Frenchman Romain Feillu (Agritubel)
Photo ©: AFP

Feillu surely was a little shy of his best as he admitted to only sleeping three hours the night before his run.

American Dan Pate (Garmin Chipotle - H30), 2001 Espiors World Champion, was an early leader and time setter for team-mate Millar. "I rode as well as I could today and I was happy with it. We will see how much better the other guys are."

Voigt was next to make a strong showing, with a time of 36'19". "Today, [Bjarne Riis] said that I could go for it. We are also keeping an eye on the team GC."

The time of Voigt was followed by the day's heavy hitters. Kirchen was a threat to the stage win and the maillot jaune, and in the end did well by adding 12 points to his maillot vert lead. "I'm in very good form," said Kirchen, resting on the Avenue Anatole Manceau finishing straight. "I've been trying to win stages every day and today as well, but although I didn't win I'm happy with my time trial anyway."

David Millar powers along
Photo ©: Roberto Bettini

The Columbia rider's time just pipped that of David Millar (Garmin Chipotle - H30), who had been targeting this stage since the final time trial of the Giro d'Italia. "I just enjoyed it so much, being back to my best," Millar revealed. "It was fun. It's not a disappointment. I went one hundred percent, I could really push myself. I am happy. Second isn't bad, the person who beat me was better."

Behind Millar in third was Evans and time trial World Champion Fabian Cancellara (CSC-Saxo Bank). The 27 year-old Swiss had a disappointing run. The expectation was heavy, and he was tipped to be the rider taking the stage and the yellow, not Schumacher.

Menchov was the second best of the classification riders on the day, finishing sixth. "The [winning] time is not so important because I felt good," Menchov said. He looked ahead to Thursday's stage to Super Besse, "It is important, the first contact with the mountains is always important."

Voigt, Christian Vande Velde (Garmin Chipotle - H30), George Hincapie (Columbia) and Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) rounded out the top ten. "This has been the focus for us since the route was released," confessed American Vande Velde, who now sits 16 seconds behind Evans. "If I have some good legs on the mountaintop finishes I could be within the hunt. ... I am happy with how I rode today."

Fabian Cancellara (CSC-Saxo Bank) rode powerful as ever
Photo ©: Roberto Bettini

Stijn Devolder has been sick and was struck with back luck along the parcours. "I had to change bikes. I am happy, especially considering I had to change bikes," the Belgian said following his ride.

Italy's Damiano Cunego was pleased with his ride. "It was a decent time today," he said. "It is only the fourth day and I don't have all the energy to spend, as the days go on I will be able to use more of my forces. ... Tonight, I will have a good look at the classification and see what the combinations are."

"That's okay," when Andy Schleck saw his time of 37'13". "Three seconds to Cunego? I can make that up in the climbs I hope."

Tour de France top favourite Valverde suffered a setback. The rider who dominated the Dauphiné Libéré time trail lost ground to many of his rivals, but was not too concerned. "I am satisfied with my time," declared Valverde. "For me the most important [point] was not to lose time compared with the other favourites for the general classification and I achieved what I wanted to."

How it unfolded

Kim Kirchen (Columbia Team)
Photo ©: AFP

The first rider off was Wim Vansevenant (Silence - Lotto) who is again competing for the lanterne rouge of last place in this year's Tour. He would end up with a time of 41'02, which wasn't quite good enough for last place. But the Belgian kept his "lead" over Matthieu Sprick (Bouygues Telecom) by more than two minutes.

Mauricio Soler (Barloworld) also took the start and, despite his crash injuries, was slightly faster than Vansevenant.

Rubens Bertogliati (Saunier Duval-Scott) went off the ramp the ramp at 11:10 and he was the one to set the tempo and the intermediate times. At km 11 he had a 14'30, at km 19.5 a 25'52 and he finished with a 37'30. The Spaniard was in the hot seat. But soon trouble was brewing, as Garmin's Danny Pate was two seconds faster than Bertogliati at the second check. And the American would eventually unseat the Saunier Duval rider ­ by over half a minute!

Pate was in the hot seat for quite some time. Then, it was Jens Voigt's turn to stomp on those pedals and get the lead. He dominated each check (14'09, 25'05) and ended the day with a 36'19.

Even Denis Menchov (Rabobank), one of the pre-race favourites for the overall, couldn't touch the German in the first two checks. However, the Russian turned around and managed to squeeze past the CSC rider by a single second.

Riccardo Riccò (Saunier Duval-Scott) during his ride.
Photo ©: Roberto Bettini

Riccardo Riccò (Saunier Duval-Scott) looked like he was trying, but, in his own words, he is not here for the overall. He ended the day in 115th with a 39'20. Vincenzo Nibali took off at 15:20 and had a very good ride. While he couldn't touch Menchov, he only lost 14 seconds to the Russian by the stage's end.

Sebastian Lang (Gerolsteiner) also had a decent ride, with a 37'13. He would end up in the vicinity of riders like Andy Schleck (CSC-Saxo Bank) and Damiano Cunego (Lampre). The latter had a good day and posted a 37'10.

A few riders before Cunego, it was the turn young Swede Thomas Lövkvist (Columbia), who was having a good day. He had 14'23 at the first check, 25'27 at the second and finished with a 36'32. This turned out to be good enough to take over the young rider classification.

But all eyes were on Fabian Cancellara (CSC-Saxo Bank). The Swiss was expected to win the stage, but the first check showed that it would be a difficult task - he was ranked two seconds behind Voigt. At the second check, Cancellara had drifted a further five seconds back. But by the finish the Swiss turned it around and was ahead of Menchov and Voigt ­ but just by one and two seconds respectively.

Shortly after 16:00 Christian Vande Velde and Stefan Schumacher took off in a two-minute span. Vande Velde had a good ride, but his 14'13 on the first check was blasted by Schumacher, who was the first rider under 14 minutes, with a 13'54.

Schumacher waves to the crowd
Photo ©: Roberto Bettini

After George Hincapie (Columbia) got underway, he clocked in at the first check with a 14'08. Vande Velde and Schumacher continued their drag race, with a 24'42 to 25'12 advantage for the German. Hincapie was four seconds slower than his compatriot.

Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) and David Millar (Garmin Chipotle - H30) were the next to rush out of the start house. Evans with a 14'16 couldn't quite match Millar's speed, who was nine seconds faster. The gap between the two remained virtually the same, with Millar the second rider under 25 minutes (24'57).

Everybody was on the road when Romain Feillu (Agritubel) set of at 16:56 in his yellow jersey. Valverde constantly lost time and couldn't quite repeat his stunning Dauphiné performance. Kirchen, on the other hand, looked pretty good in his green outfit. He had a 14'05 at the first check and was the only one somewhat within challenging distance of Schumacher.

Vande Velde had finished with a 36'21, but Schumacher kept his unbelievable pace, averaging almost 50km/h and scored a 35'44.

Hincapie hit the line with a 36'26, while Evans clocked a 36'12. Millar seemed to be catching up with Schumacher at the second check, but lost time on the return to town and eventually finished just outside the 36-minute mark ­ 36'03. Kirchen rode home one second faster. It turned out to be the podium was made, with Schumacher winning closely ahead of Kirchen and Millar.

Schumacher said "I didn't believe it until the end. It was darn close. I constantly calculated if it would be enough and was really nervous. I dreamt of the stage win and yellow. Both is a reality now. Unbelievable."

The riders who were in the break yesterday and mingled at the top of the overall were off last, but they could not challenge the leader and Feillu could not even dream to defend his yellow jersey. He had 1'46 on the contenders, but ended the day in 169th, almost five minutes down.

Stage 5 - Wednesday, July 9: Cholet - Châteauroux, 232km

This is the longest stage of this year's Tour. However, with no classified climbs it will be far from the toughest as it heads eastwards towards the centre of France. Once again, the flat straight roads give every advantage to the sprinters' teams in the last chance before the terrain gets decidedly hillier tomorrow. Aspiring breakaway specialists may have other ideas though, and those who took it a bit easy in the time trial yesterday might fancy a tilt at this one.

This is the third Tour de France to feature the town of Cholet, and the second stage of this year's race as it hosted both the start and finish of yesterday's time trial. Châteauroux has only hosted the Tour de France once before – in 1998 – when Mario Cipollini finally managed to open his account that year after a first week of crashes and bad luck.

The route is slightly different – and a few kilometres longer – but the stage start and finish are the same as those ten years ago. Apart from the Château Raoul, that gives the city its name, Châteauroux's big claim to fame is that it was the birthplace of French acting legend Gérard Depardieu.

Tour de France Stage 3

Stage 3 - Monday, July 7: Saint-Malo - Nantes, 208km

French fantasy: Dumoulin with win and Feillu yellow

By Gregor Brown in Nantes, with additional reporting by Hedwig Kröner

Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis) took a brilliant win in Nantes
Photo ©: AFP

The Tour de France was treated to a local delight in stage three to Nantes thanks to a four-man escape that produced a stage win by Samuel Dumoulin and new overall leader Romain Feillu. The move that formed at kilometre zero – including USA's William Frischkorn and Italy's Paolo Longo Borghini – concluded the rainy and blustery 208-kilometre stage through France's Brittany with 2'03" on former-race leader Alejandro Valverde's group.

"We got into a good break and we really worked well all day to stay away," stated 27 year-old Dumoulin of Team Cofidis. "It is really a fantastic experience."

Overall classification favourites Italian Riccardo Riccò (Saunier Duval-Scott) and Russian Denis Menchov (Rabobank) lost time in the technical arrival to the likes of Valverde, Evans, Sastre and Cunego. Strong winds and a crash forced a split that put their teams to work to limit a gap that counted 38 seconds ton the main GC group in Nantes.

"Perhaps you journalists don't understand that I am not here for the classification," blasted Riccò after the finish. The 24 year-old, winner of two stages and second overall in the Giro d'Italia, indicated the team's work was all for Juan José Cobo. His maillot blanc of best young rider was lost, passing to Feillu.

The charge to the line was first led by Quick Step and then by Columbia, Crédit Agricole and Liquigas. It was too little too late on a gap that counted 3'05" at ten kilometres remaining. The four escapees were left to fight for the win.

Riccò was caught behind in the furious finale
Photo ©: Roberto Bettini

Dumoulin opened the aggressions on his former escape companions when he fired on Rue Sembat, at 1500 metres remaining. Frischkorn bridged and the duo briefly held a lead. Feillu wanted more than just the yellow top. He left his Italian companion behind and immediately attacked when catching the front duo. However, the two came back. Dumoulin succeeded in the three-man sprint over Frischkorn and took his second season win on top of a stage in the Circuit Cycliste Sarthe. Longo Borghini finished 14 seconds back in fourth.

"It was great for the morale and the team, but a stage win would have been cool," confessed 27 year-old Frischkorn, who is a member of one of two USA teams in the Tour de France this year. "I had thought of attacking right when the first attack went [by Dumoulin], but my directeur was in the ear-piece saying, 'Don't pull now, careful of Dumoulin.'"

"I think we started to believe we could make it when we arrived with 25 kilometres remaining," Longo Borghini explained. "It was a dream; it is a dream of every cyclist. Now, I just miss the win."

The work of Longo Borghini and Frischkorn was shuffled to the side by the French stampede following the stage finish in Nantes. While Dumoulin was busy displaying French amour with his fiancee, Team AG2R La Mondiale Vincent Lavenu's daughter, Feillu was being ushered to the podium presentation and the famous maillot jaune.

"I had toxoplasmosis this spring and it really messed me up," Feillu explained, exhausted, on the Quai de la Fosse finishing straight. The problems were quickly forgotten as he neared the podium to be presented the race leader's jersey. "It is great to take the maillot jaune."

He faces a strong possibility of losing the top in tomorrow's 29.5-kilometre time trial. He admitted, "I don't know if I can keep the jersey. 1'52 is not a lot on a strong rouleur like Cancellara."

Robbie McEwen out-sprinted the other fast men for fifth
Photo ©: Roberto Bettini

The charge behind the four turned into a test run for Wednesday's stage to Châteauroux and a chance at maillot vert points. Australia's Robbie McEwen zapped ahead despite a Silence-Lotto team that is dedicated to Cadel Evans' GC campaign. The 36 year-old multiple Tour de France stage winner topped birthday boy Erik Zabel (Team Milram), Oscar Freire (Rabobank), Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole), Robert Förster (Gerolsteiner) and Mark Cavendish (Columbia).

"I knew that once they were out to 15 minutes we weren't going to catch the escape because the teams built around the other sprinters just didn't start chasing in time," evaluated McEwen. "When they did start chasing it was not enough and we came up way too short.

"When we turned into that last cross-tail-wind section all hell broke loose," continued McEwen. He was the last one of the riders to make it across to the leading group as it charged to the line. Additionally, he noted that first in the bunch sprint was a good consolation and a indicator that he is riding well. "I went from a fair way out and held everyone off."

Columbia's man for the sprint, Mark Cavendish, came close to his rival despite battling winds along the Brittany roads. "The group split into three pieces," he noted of the gusts. Cavendish added that the group did not have a chance at catching the four and so the team did not put full gas into the chase.

Luxembourg's Kim Kirchen (Columbia) continues to carry the green top.

How it unfolded

Feillu is the new leader of the Tour
Photo ©: Roberto Bettini

The start in Saint-Malo was taken at 12:31. 179 riders still remained in the Tour, as the only retiree so far was Hervé Duclos-Lassalle, who crashed out in the feed zone of stage one. Stéphane Goubert sustained a broken rib in a crash during stage two but was at the sign-on for stage three. Barloworld rider Mauricio Soler also took the start despite the pain in his hand.

In the second kilometre, four riders attacked and stayed clear right away: US talent William Frischkorn (Garmin Chipotle - H30), Italian Paolo Longo Borghini (Barloworld), Frenchman Romain Feillu (Agritubel) and his compatriot Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis). The quartet had built a lead of 1'40 minutes at the five-kilometre mark already.

The four collaborated well and quickly extended their advantage. The sprinters' teams let them go, firmly believing that the flat parcours, the cross wind gusts and the scattered showers would make it easy to reel them back in sometime in the last kilometres.

But the leaders proved them wrong. The maximum gain of the escape was 14'50 when the peloton was at the 64-kilometre mark. Shortly before that, Gerolsteiner' Fabian Wegmann crashed, but was able to move on.

Columbia sent some riders to the front and started a chase. They were joined by some Crédit Agricole and Liquigas riders a few clicks later, and the gap started to melt. Everything looked fine for the sprinters at this point. At kilometre 103, the time deficit was 9'50.

But the peloton hadn't counted in the determination of the breakaway. The quartet still worked together flat out and believed in its chances. As the pace of the chase began to pick up in the third hour of racing, the average speed increased from 35.1 km/h during the second hour to 38.2 km/h.

With 57 kilometres to go, some protesters blocked the road of the Tour. The break was a little delayed, but as the bunch came through 6'55 later, they could pass without stopping. Tour director Christian Prudhomme's intervention calmed down the protesters.

Protesters tried to interrupt the race.
Photo ©: Roberto Bettini

The average speed for the fourth our was 43.3km/h. FDJ and Bouygues Telecom also engaged in the chase. But 32 kilometres away from the line, the gap had only diminished by about one minute, to 5'50. It could have still been do-able for the sprinters, but the lead group dug in so deep that a moment of hesitation amongst the chasers turned out to be fatal. Also, the last 30 kilometres of the course provided a more favourable wind for the break.

A crash with 23 kilometres to go took down Nicki Sørensen (CSC-Saxo Bank), Ángel Gómez (Saunier Duval-Scott) and Matthieu Sprick (Bouygues Telecom). The Dane and the French could continue the race, while the Spaniard had to be transported to hospital.

After the accident, the peloton split into three groups. The Quick Step team seized the opportunity to set a furious pace at the front of the peloton.

In the second group, GC contender Denis Menchov (Rabobank) and climber Riccardo Riccò (Saunier Duval-Scott) were trapped. The first bunch still included yellow jersey Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) and Tour favourite Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto). They had about 15 seconds on the second group, with the third group 35 seconds back.

And even if Quick Step and Liquigas now really put on a tempo, the leaders could start to believe in their chances as the gap was still 3'40 with 15 kilometres to go. The two chase groups behind now mainly tried to limit their losses, but knew that a bunch sprint was impossible at this point. Under the 10-kilometre mark, the Menchov/Riccò group was 40 seconds behind the yellow jersey group, still more than three minutes behind the leaders.

Feillu was the best-placed rider of the escape group on GC and could look forward to wearing the yellow jersey in the evening. Still, he attacked from behind Longo as Dumoulin took off with 1500 metres to go, taking with him Frischkorn. Feillu came back on them like a rocket and passed them impressively. But in the end, he may have started his violent effort a little too soon, as Dumoulin was able to catch him 500 metres before the line. And the Cofidis rider pulled through, with Feillu desperately trying to come back. Frischkorn, on his wheel, finally passed the Frenchman and took second behind Dumoulin, the smallest rider in the peloton, for whom it was the first Tour de France victory.

Tour de FRance Stage 2

Stage 2 - Sunday, July 6: Auray - Saint Brieuc, 164.5km

Thor thunders to sixth tour stage win

Valverde holds onto maillot jaune, Voeckler fortifies mountains lead

By Shane Stokes and Brecht Decaluwé in Saint Brieuc, with additional reporting by Bjorn Haake

Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole)
Photo ©: AFP

Tipped by some as the likely top contender for the maillot vert this year, Thor Hushovd showed he is certainly in the right kind of form with a powerful sprint victory into Saint Brieuc. The Crédit Agricole rider jumped hard and held off the other riders in the uphill rise to the line, nabbing his sixth career stage win in the race and driving the Norwegian supporters crazy.

"It was a really hard sprint, with the wind in the finale and in the climbs, but I knew it was a sprint that fits me well," he said after the podium presentation. "My team-mates did a good job again, and especially Mark Renshaw. He was awesome until with 200 metres to go and then it was just up to me to do a sprint. Today everything worked out 100 percent."

Hushovd timed his gallop to perfection even though new points leader Kim Kirchen (Team Columbia) was the quickest in the final 100 metres. He finished a close second and might well have taken the stage had the line been a little further away.

"I was held up by a crash and had to come from behind. I fell short, but it is okay," he stated. The Luxembourg rider took over at the top of the points classification from race leader Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne), who himself sprinted home in twelfth place and maintained his one second lead in the general classification.

Valverde still leads by a single second
Photo ©: Roberto Bettini

"Because of the course, the wind and the fact we had to chase behind the breakaway, today's stage was a very fast one, very hard and also a little bit dangerous," said the Spaniard afterwards. "I particularly want to highlight the fact that it was really beautiful to spend this second stage of the Tour with the yellow jersey upon my shoulders. I was really moved when I saw all those people along the road who encouraged me and shouted my name.

"I believe that today, all the riders of the bunch spent some energy. We will see if tomorrow's stage and its easier profile will be a quieter one in advance of the time trial on Tuesday."

Kirchen is now second and Oscar Freire (Rabobank) third, while Philippe Gilbert (Française des Jeux) – who had started the day second overall - crashed with just over a kilometre to go. He was later awarded the same time as the bunch but dropped to twelfth.

French fans were first tantalised and then frustrated by the day's events, with ongoing mountains leader Thomas Voeckler (Bouygues Telecom) and today's most aggressive rider Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis) going clear early on and then later being joined by the Agritubel duo of Christophe Moreau and David Le Lay.

A delighted Hushovd
Photo ©: AFP

This quartet resisted the peloton's chase until the final three kilometres, with a solo move by Chavanel taking him a little further before his own recapture. CSC-Saxo Bank's Fabian Cancellara tried to do what worked twice in the Tour de Suisse – namely a strong solo attack on the run in towards the line – but he was hauled back by Liquigas' Filippo Pozzato. The sprinters then opened up the jets, with Hushovd thundering home ahead of Kirchen and his Columbian team-mate Gerald Ciolek. Robert Hunter (Team Barloworld), Erik Zabel (Milram) and Yury Trofimov (Bouygues Telecom) completed the top six places.

"When Cancellara went away you know it's always dangerous," the Norwegian said. "I told Renshaw not to panic. With 450 metres to go we went. It was a perfect lead-out for me."

The brisk winds, twisting roads and undulating course combined to make the stage another testing one for the rider's concentration. Both Franck Schleck (Team CSC) and Stijn Devolder (Quick Step) spoke of this challenge after the stage, the riders crediting team-mates with helping to keep them safe.

The peloton rolls in
Photo ©: Roberto Bettini

"Everything was really, really nervous in the final," Schleck said. "I have to give a big, big thanks to Fabian [Cancellara], he was just amazing today for me. I was on his wheel for the last 50 kilometres in order to keep out of danger."

Devolder also spoke of the gusts. "It was dangerous with the wind, but I have a very good team to ride in front of the peloton and I had no problems. They then rode for [Gert] Steegmans in the finale, but it was very difficult to win a stage like that with the wind. And, with that climb, the finale was tough."

With the Tour de France being the biggest race of the season, everyone is at the limit trying to help a team leader or to win themselves. Team Columbia's Mark Cavendish articulated this after the finish, saying that even the flatter stages of the Tour are tougher than the other events on the calendar.

"These sprints are very fast. Obviously the human body is restricted as to how fast it actually can go, so the last couple of hundred metres of every sprint is more or less the same speed. But it is the 50 kilometres before it which are between five and ten kilometres per hour faster than any other race. And that's with it being five to ten kilometres per hour faster than anything else for the rest of the stage.

Kim Kirchen (Columbia)
Photo ©: AFP

"You also have got all the GC riders trying to stay up there as well, which makes it a bit more hectic."

Cavendish was dropped on the run-in to the finish but managed to get back on to the peloton, finishing 27th. He – along with many of the other gallopers – are relishing the thought of tomorrow's flatter parcours, and hopes that this will make a difference for his chances.

One who will also be happy to see the finish in Nantes – albeit for different reasons - is Barloworld's Juan Mauricio Soler. The Colombian started the race as a possible general classification contender but suffered after his crash yesterday, finishing seven minutes 18 seconds down in last place. He's also last on GC after two stages, the damage being done due to his crash yesterday and possible fractured wrist.

"He is tired because of the problem with his hand," said directeur sportif Alberto Volpi. "But he finished the stage, it showed a bit of character. I think that tomorrow after the race we will have another examination if we can get a scanner {x-ray] and the decision about him continuing or not will be taken then. If there is no fracture, fine. If there is one, we will see..."

How it unfolded

It was a rainy day today
Photo ©: AFP

179 riders lined up in Auray after Hervé Duclos-Lassalle was forced to abandon following his feed zone crash on stage one. He broke his arm in a crash which happened when a musette from another rider got stuck in his front wheel. The temperatures were nice (18 degrees), but slight rain dampened the spirits a bit. At 12:59, the riders took the départ fictif, led by the distinctive jerseys of Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) in yellow, Philippe Gilbert (FdJ) in green, Thomas Voeckler (Bouygues Telecom) in the polka dot and Riccardo Riccò (Saunier Duval) in white.

After rolling along for a good ten minutes, Christian Prudhomme waved the flag at 13:11 and the pace immediately hastened. After less than one kilometre Garmin-Chipotle's Danny Pate was the first to attack. He took several riders with him, but after a few kilometres, only Fabian Wegmann (Gerolsteiner), Murilo Fischer (Liquigas) and Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis) remained on the front.

Thomas Voeckler on the right and Sylvain Chavanel
Photo ©: AFP

After 22 kilometres, when the riders headed up the first climb of the day, the break was caught. Protecting Voeckler's jersey, the Bouygues Telecom team kept the race together ahead of the Côte de Bieuzy-Lanvaux. Sylvain Chavanel attacked on the climb, and took the maximum points, while behind him second placed in the mountains classification Björn Schröder (Team Milram) led out the sprint, but Voeckler easily passed the German before the line.

Chavanel and Voeckler kept going while Schröder dropped back into the bunch, and the pair extended their lead to over half a minute. Chavanel passed the sprint in Camors at kilometre 28.5 in first, with Voeckler behind. Robert Hunter stormed out of the peloton to get third and the last remaining sprint points.

As the duo continued to extend their advantage, Caisse d'Epargne was doing the work behind, leaving everyone to wonder if Alejandro Valverde wants to defend the jersey all the way to Paris.

A gentleman's agreement in the break saw Voeckler take the mountain points on the Côte de Kergroix, giving Voeckler an even bigger lead over Schröder in the mountains classification, while Chavanel mopped up all the intermediate sprint points along the way.

Chavanel did an equal amount of work
Photo ©: AFP

Behind the leaders, two sprinters suffered from mechanical incidents: McEwen had to change bikes and return to the bunch by himself as Silence Lotto dedicates all its resources to Cadel Evans this year. In contrast, Mark Cavendish, who flatted after the descent of the Côte de Kergroix, had a team helper almost immediately.

The leaders gained a maximum advantage of six and a half minutes with 100km to go, but then the gap began to shrink steadily. Philippe Gilbert, who wore the green jersey as second placed in that competition behind Valverde, secured third place in Pontivy before the peloton gingerly entered the feed zone, taking caution to avoid a crash like that which took out Duclos-Lassalle.

But it was to no avail, as Nicolas Jalabert (Agritubel) touched wheels with Fränk Schleck (CSC-Saxo Bank). Jalabert went down, but could continue without problems. Whereas in the early part of the stage, rain and sun were taking turns over the riders, the rain became more steady as the break went up the Côte de Mûr-de-Bretagne, the first category three climb of the Tour.

The peloton
Photo ©: AFP

Voeckler was able to add more points again as the leaders went up through an enthusiastic crowd. But after a brief discussion, Chavanel crossed the line ahead of Voeckler. The peloton followed almost three minutes later, led over the summit by Christophe Moreau (Agritubel).

The final climb of the day, the Côte de Saint-Mayeux, followed almost immediately. Moreau and team-mate David Le Lay (Agritubel) kept going and Moreau also took third place on the final climb. There, Voeckler led Chavanel over the line, giving the Bouygues Telecom rider a comfortable lead in the mountains classification. Le Lay and Moreau quickly got to within a minute and a half of the leaders.

Voeckler flatted just before the final sprint of the day, in Corlay. But a quick bike change brought him back up to Chavanel. The two decided to sit up and wait for the fast charging Agritubel duo. Le Lay was allowed to cross the sprint line ahead of his captain. With about 56 kilometres left to race, the two groups joined forces, giving Chavanel, Voeckler, Le Lay and Moreau quadruple power.

Gilbert sprinted ahead of the peloton
Photo ©: AFP

Française des Jeux took over the work at the front now, as Gilbert's stunt at the intermediate sprint indicated that he was feeling well today. Under the French team's pressure the gap was reduced to 2'40 with 52 kilometres remaining.

The rain let up as the Caisse/Française des Jeux led peloton inched closer to the leaders. With 40 kilometres remaining, the gap was just above the two-minute mark. Five kilometre later it was 1'35.

Rubens Bertogliati (Saunier Duval-Scott) had a crash with less than 30 kilometres to go. It was bad timing, as Quick Step began pouring its power into reeling in the break. The high speed chase brought the gap down to about 1'20 when the leaders hit Mississipi -a town that should made all the US riders feel at home. Mauricio Soler (Barloworld), who lost three minutes due to a crash yesterday, also got spit out the back.

Riccardo Riccò (Saunier Duval - Scott)
Photo ©: Roberto Bettini

There was a heavy cross wind and Quick Step took full advantage of their Belgian experience to build up an impressive echelon at the front. Without Tom Boonen, they were looking to Gert Steegmans, while the black and white flags of the Bretagne were snapped to attention in the wind.

The peloton passed the 20-kilometre marker about a minute behind. Despite giving it some stick now, the peloton couldn't make up ground and with 14 kilometres to go the gap was still 59 seconds. Bertogliati and Soler were fighting behind, trying not to lose too much time.

With 11 kilometres to go it was also Crédit Agricole who helped out at the front. Moreau was doing a tremendous amount of work at the front of the break, but now the gap came down. 10 kilometres from the finish it was 42 seconds.

Jimmy Engoulvent was doing most of the pulling for Crédit Agricole in the peloton. The break hit the five-kilometre marker just 30 seconds ahead – it was touch and go. The final part was uphill, so the break eventually didn't succeed, and Chavanel was the last rider caught.

Fabian Cancellara tried his trademark last-minute attack, but was not successful this time. Thor Hushovd launched the sprint perfectly and won in St. Brieuc.

Tour de France Stage 1

Stage 1 - Saturday, July 5: Brest - Plumelec, 197.5km

Viva España! Newly crowned Spanish Champ guns down maillot jaune and stage

By Shane Stokes and Brecht Decaluwé in Brest, with additional reporting from Bjorn Haake

Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) fires a warning to his rivals
Photo ©: AFP

First in the Dauphiné Libéré, first in the Spanish road championships, Alejandro Valverde kept up his strong run of success when he sprinted to his first-ever Tour de France yellow jersey in Plumelec today. The Caisse d'Epargne rider uncorked his characteristic fast uphill finishing gallop to overhaul Kim Kirchen, passing the Team Columbia rider with approximately 200 metres to go and opening up a one second gap on the 46-man lead group by the line.

Philippe Gilbert (Française des Jeux) and Jerome Pineau (Bouygues Telecom) were second and third, with Kirchen holding on to fourth place. Riccardo Ricco (Saunier Duval-Scott), Cadel Evans (Silence Lotto), Frank Schleck (CSC), Filippo Pozzato (Liquigas) and Oscar Pereiro (Caisse d'Epargne) completed a very strong top ten, with the 1.7 kilometre uphill finish proving very selective.

"This is a victory for all of the fans who supported me for so many years, and also for the general supporters who just love cycling," said Valverde after receiving the maillot jaune. "I didn't know the finale, I followed Kirchen. This finish suited my abilities perfectly.

"I have no extra pressure now, I have already achieved two of my objectives in this Tour; wearing yellow and winning a stage. Keeping the jersey will be hard because the Tour de France is so long, but I will enjoy it now."

Valverde makes his move
Photo ©: AFP

Schumacher attacked with a kilometre to go and opened up a decent gap. The 2007 Amstel Gold winner may have held on had the climb not been so tough, but tiring legs and a sharp acceleration by Kirchen saw him overhauled. But Kirchen also went too early, with Valverde's better-timed effort proving to be the successful one.

"I went away with one kilometre to go but it was just too early with the wind," said Schumacher. "I could only try, I will try every day. Tomorrow is another chance."

Gilbert told Cyclingnews at the recent Tour de Suisse that he would aim for success on the stage, given that it was taking place on his birthday. He might have done it, except he came up against a Valverde in very good form.

"He is a real specialist at this type of finish," the Belgian stated. "The last climb was very hard, at the finish my legs were very heavy. Second is disappointing but I was close. I will try again. My sensations are good and I hope for a good finish tomorrow."

Kim Kirchen tries to follow Valverde
Photo ©: AFP

The stage was marked by a long breakaway of eight riders - Thomas Voeckler (Bouygues Telecom), Rubén Pérez (Euskaltel-Euskadi), José Luis Arrieta (AG2R La Mondiale), Geoffroy Lequatre (Agritubel), Björn Schröder (Team Milram), Lilian Jégou (Française des Jeux), David De La Fuente (Saunier Duval-Scott) and Stéphane Augé (Cofidis).

De La Fuente and Jégou then pushed on ahead in the closing part of the stage, the duo finally being caught with seven kilometres to go.

Most of the race favourites finished to the fore, but one contender who lost time was Team Barloworld's Mauricio Soler. The 2007 King of the Mountains crashed inside the final 10 kilometres and ended up losing three minutes and four seconds. More worrying for the Colombian was the damage to the same wrist he broke in the Giro d'Italia, and he had to go to hospital in nearby Vannes after the stage for X-rays.

Narrow roads made for a nervous race
Photo ©: AFP

CSC's Frank Schleck echoed the feelings of many when he spoke about what was a nervous, physically and mentally demanding opening stage.

"It was really strange because when the first breakaway got clear, it just went away," he stated. "Everybody seemed to want to control the race. That is what happened, but there was so much wind that everyone was nervous. It was totally crazy for the last 80 kilometres, it was really, really dangerous. I was really scared, I said it in the radio to my team-mates. They said 'don't worry,' we will take care of you and they brought me to the front and the final climb, where I finished seventh.

"Unfortunately Cadel Evans closed me in with 200 metres to go, and I clicked out of the pedal. Otherwise I think that I could have had done better. But I didn't lose time, I think we have a good card for tomorrow and that is the most important thing."

Schleck crashed hard in the Tour de Suisse and nearly went down again today. However he escaped with no damage to himself. "Somebody crashed in front of me. I couldn't go around them so I just bumped into them. I didn't go down, I just jumped over the bike. Nicki [Sorensen] was there straight away and brought me back to the peloton. The other guys did great work today as well - they were all life-savers for the three leaders, for Carlos, Andy and me."

Crédit Agricole drives the chase
Photo ©: AFP

Crédit Agricole's Simon Gerrans said before the stage that he hoped Thor Hushovd would challenge for the win. In the end the climb was a little too much for the big Norwegian, who placed 15th. The Australian said that the team rode hard for their leader and would continue to do so. The finale of tomorrow's 164.5 kilometre second stage from Auray to Saint Brieuc may be better for the usual sprinters; if so, Hushovd and the other fast men should be up there.

"Today was pretty hard," Gerrans said. "It was just so quick all day and such a nervous bunch with that crosswinds and the narrow roads all day, up and down. It was a real dogfight to be at the front. There wasn't much chatting in the bunch today, everyone was pretty focussed on staying up at the front.

The run-in was super quick and narrow. Once you were up the front in the first 20 or 30 guys it wasn't too bad...that is where I was in the last 20 or 30 kilometres, trying to keep Thor up at the front. It was stop-start, there were so many corners. Thor was about 15th. Considering the finish, that is not bad for a big guy like him."

How it unfolded

The start of stage one
Photo ©: AFP

One hundred and eighty riders lined up in Brest to tackle the 95th Tour de France without the traditional prologue. Instead, the opening day was a 197.5-kilometre stage with four category four climbs. The national champions lined up in the front to display their distinct jersey. There were Nicolas Vogondy (France), Fränk Schleck (Luxembourg), Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Norway), Nicki Sørensen (Denmark), Julian Dean (New Zealand), Alejandro Valverde (Spain) and Fabian Wegmann (Germany). In the centre was the wearer of the number one – Australian Cadel Evans.

The départ fictif saw the riders take in some of the scenery of Brest, such as the Océanopolis – a gigantic aquarium. But once Christian Prudhomme dropped the flag for the sharp start, the sightseeing was over and quickly a group of eight riders were able to break clear: Thomas Voeckler (Bouygues Telecom), Rubén Pérez (Euskaltel-Euskadi), José Luis Arrieta (AG2R La Mondiale), Geoffroy Lequatre (Agritubel), Björn Schröder (Team Milram), Lilian Jégou (Française des Jeux), David De La Fuente (Saunier Duval-Scott) and Stéphane Augé (Cofidis).

The new look Tour peloton
Photo ©: AFP

The gap grew to six minutes after just 25 kilometres, and shortly thereafter the leaders hit the first climb of the day where a battle royale for the polka dot jersey ensued. Breakaway specialist Voeckler looked to take it, but he was passed by Schröder just before the line. De La Fuente crossed the category four climb in third, with the gap now at eight minutes.

Augé flatted only a few kilometres before the second climb of the day, but was back in the lead group as they approached the top at kilometre 48.5, and was the one to make the first move for the points. However, he couldn't hold his effort, and this time it was Voeckler ahead of Schröder, with Lequatre – not true to his name – taking the third spot.

Nicolas Portal of Caisse d'Epargne was helping Crédit Agricole to pull the peloton behind, until a team-mate came up to him and called him back. So it was back to Christophe Le Mevel to do the pulling for his captain, Thor Hushovd. Caisse stayed attentive at the front, though, hoping that Alejandro Valverde could take the win on the uphill finish.

Lilian Jegou (Française des Jeux) leads the break
Photo ©: AFP

The gap never went past eight minutes and started to drop continuously. The first sprint of the day was in Plonevez-du-Faou, after 62 kilometres. This time, Lequatre won ahead of Jégou and Pérez. The peloton crossed the line 5'35 later.

With a 120 kilometres to go the advantage had dropped below the five-minute mark. The break was working well together, but the peloton had the luxury of several teams contributing to the chase. Liquigas, Caisse d'Epargne, Rabobank and Crédit Agricole all did a share of the work.

The first col of the Tour was rapidly approaching at kilometre 85.5, the Col de Toullaëron. Jegou took off with a kilometre to the top, while Schröder and Voeckler, tied on points, were nervously looking at each other. Schröder opened the throttle first, but Voeckler marked him well. The two almost caught Jégou at the top, but the order over the line was Jégou, Voeckler and Schröder, giving Frenchman Voeckler the maillot à pois virtuel by one point ahead of Schröder.

The gap to the peloton was around four and a half minutes at that point, and a strong tail wind on the straight roads of northwestern France was helping out the riders.

David De La Fuente (Saunier Duval-Scott)
Photo ©: Roberto Bettini

The second sprint at kilometre 90.5 was won by Lequatre, ahead of Augé and Jégou. Six kilometres later the riders were going through the feed zone, with the gap of the break still around four and a half minutes. The feed zone is always a nerve-wrecking affair, and this time it took a victim: Hervé Duclos-Lassalle (Cofidis), the son of former Paris-Roubaix winner Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle crashed. He had to abandon with a broken wrist, and his French outcry of a word starting with 'm' described his emotions.

With less than 80 kilometres remaining, the gap had dropped below the four-minute mark. But the break, still working together well, was kept on a medium leash, losing about 30 seconds per ten kilometres as Rabobank and Crédit Agricole pitched in to do more than half the work, while Liquigas and Caisse did the remainder.

Mauricio Soler (Barloworld)
Photo ©: Roberto Bettini

A big crash woke up the bunch with 52km to go. Fabian Wegmann, Fränk Schleck (CSC-Saxo Bank), Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis), Yaroslav Popovych (Silence-Lotto) and Jimmy Casper (Agritubel) were involved in the wreck, but all continued on - much to the relief of Cadel Evans who will need Popovych at his side in the mountains.

De La Fuente took the final KOM, ahead of Schröder and Voeckler, who were then tied with eight points apiece for the mountains jersey, and would need to wait until the finish and their respective placings to see who would get the polka dot.

The crash had interrupted the chase somewhat, and as the break neared the final intermediate sprint, they still had three minutes on the peloton. Lequatre took the points in a fiercely contested affair in Remungol. The sprint was countered by De La Fuente as the bunch bore down on the tiring leaders, now just two minutes behind.

Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) accepts the first yellow jersey
Photo ©: AFP

De La Fuente was joined by Jégou, but the gap was falling rapidly. With 26 kilometres to go the other six riders were swallowed up by the charging peloton, while the two leaders continued to have a 90-second gap.

A crash with a little more than 20 kilometres to go brought down Stéphane Goubert (AG2R La Mondiale) and Xavier Florencio (Bouygues Telecom) as the sprinters started to get into position. With the finish now just 15 kilometres away, the leaders were brought within the one-minute mark, and then with 12 kilometres to go the pair had just a dozen seconds. As the lead-out men eased up to time the catch, mountain hopeful Mauricio Soler (Barloworld) hit the deck and was left chasing with his team-mates.

With seven to go De La Fuente and Jégou were finally caught. The uphill drag to the line was too tough for pure sprinters like Erik Zabel and Thor Hushovd, and it was clear the day would belong to a punchier sprinter. Romain Feillu (Agritubel) was the first to launch an attack, but went far too early, and was passed by a surge from Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner). He, too, faded and was overtaken by Kim Kirchen (Columbia) who opened up a promising gap. But the line just would not come for the Luxembourger, and Alejandro Valverde sprinted from the thinned out front of the bunch to take the win and the first maillot jaune.