PHILIPPE GILBERT HAS won the first stage of this year’s Tour de France to claim the race’s famous yellow jersey.
The Belgian countered an attack by Fabian Cancellara (Leopard-Trek) with just over a kilometre to go, having shown all year that he an absolute master at these kinds of uphill finishes.
Gilbert’s former team-mate and Tour favourite Cadel Evans (BMC Racing) finished in second place just three seconds behind with Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo), the current World Champion, a further three seconds back in third.
However, the main storyline unfolded with nine kilometres to go as an Astana rider clipped a spectator and crashed, taking about 35 riders with him. Competitors were on the ground right across the whole road, which held up more than half the peloton, but there was no mercy up front as the Europcar team were unrelenting in their charge towards the finish line in the hopes of launching Thomas Voeckler to victory.
Many of the overall contenders including Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank), Andy Schleck (Leopard-Trek), Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) and Ivan Basso (Liquigas) were caught behind in the split and ended up losing more than a minute at the finish. Besides Gilbert, who is not interested in the overall prize in three weeks time, the big winner of the day was Cadel Evans who has gained time on most of his rivals.
Not only did Gilbert win the stage but he also had the added bonus of receiving the first yellow jersey of the 2011 Tour de France, which he will wear during tomorrow’s team time trial. He is also the holder of the points classification’s green jersey. The young rider’s white jersey will be worn by Geraint Thomas (Team Sky), who was the highest-placed rider at the finish under 25 years of age.
Irish fans will be pleased to hear that Nicolas Roche finished in the front group of about 30 riders, which crossed the line together six seconds behind Gilbert. It was a fantastic start for Roche as he gained unexpected time on his rivals with his overall sights set on a top-ten finish.
Tomorrow’s stage is a team time trial in Les Essarts where each nine-man team will be timed separately along a 23km route.
