First Tour de France Stage Surprises After Crash
Photos: ASO
It was the kind of stage results that you could expect from a course that starts on a road that is submerged under water two times a day, the Passage du Gois, and then finishes in a steep mountain pass. The stage also followed along a beachfront that does not allow cars, and there are no high rises, two good karma points for cycling.
The stage was won by the favorite Phillipe Gilbert of the Omega Pharma Lotto team, but not until a few surprise crashes split the field and left some better general classification riders trying to claw their way back to the finish in the final minutes of the stage.
“I’ve never had this yellow jersey before so, for me, it’s a very good day, “ said Gilbert after the finish. Fabian Cancellara who battled it out with Gilbert before the finish came in second.
Cadel Evans came in third, and being the only GC contender of the three top riders, his early placement could help in the overall tour.
When the Passage du Gois from Île de Noirmoutier and Beauvoir sur Mer on the mainland, via Barbâtre isn’t under water, it’s covered with the detritus of the sea, including seaweed, so this year Tour
Phillipe Gilbert after his win today
organizers sought to avoid the massive pile ups that we saw in 1999, and neutralized the start through its narrow corridors.
But the start was a hint for what was to come, small surprises that shook up the expected order, mostly thanks to nature and the fact that this course replaced the prologue of years past.
The west of France has also been hazardous for some big riders, for one, big crashes that can separate big riders from the peloton. Like what happened between Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador some years back when wind shears and a crash broke the peloton in two placing Armstrong in the front, and Contador some minutes behind.
The stage started along the western coast, and then moved inland after les Sables d’Olonne, then to the small mountain finish at Mont des Alouettes at les Herbiers,
Stage 1 Tour de France (ASO)
This mostly flat course favors a rider who can sprint in the minor mountain at the end. Green jersey points were awarded to the rider who won the intermediate sprint, with 40 points going to the winner. Previously an intermediate sprint, which today occurred at Avrille after 87 km would yield only 6, 4 and 2 points to the top three sprinters. But the higher sprint points this year worked to keep the field together this year to win the descending points among the top 16 riders, and worked against breakaway riders who often use the breaks to rack up points through the stage,
Today’s course favored Philipe Gilbert and Thor Hushovd, but it was Gilbert, followed by Cancellara then Evans who took the top three positions at the end of the stage. Thomas Geraint, a training pal of Mark Cavendish and rider for the Sky team came in fourth.
Belgian rider Gilbert who is riding for the Omega-Pharma Lotto team didn’t have the Tour on his official race program this year, but had a strong spring, winning the La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège. His win today is an indicator that he is a rider to watch, at least for stage wins in the Tour this year.
But it was two crashes that created a dangerous deficit for General Classification contender Alberto Contador who was stuck behind one of them, and lost one minute overall to the lead riders, including most of the top GC contenders, among them his primary competition Andy Schleck.
(Versus wrongly reported that Frank Schleck was in the front group, but from the ASO official standings it appears to be Andy Schleck, his brother and co team mate on the Leopard Trek Team).
The Peleton, TDF 2011 Stage 1 (ASO)
Tomorrow the team trial could put Contador in an even greater deficit, because aside from fellow rider Nick Nuyens who won at Flanders this year, Contador’s Team Saxobank Sungard lost most of its core to Team Leopard Trek. That means coming out of Stage 2 tomorrow, we may be seeing a whole new Tour de France that could mean a big struggle for Contador, and a major advantage for Schleck.
Play by Play
No major crashes occurred at the first three quarters of this stage, though a couple of breakaways were attempted by several Europcar riders followed later by Jérémy Roy (FDJ), Perrig Quemeneur (EUR) and Lieuwe Westra (VCD). Those riders took the top three point positions at the sprint in Avrille.
Near the finish of stage 1 TDF 2011
Behind them with 5km to go before the Avrille sprint, Lampre sent its team to the front. But even with a group effort by HTC, Omega Pharma and Lampre it was Tyler Farrar who took the fourth place points 2 minutes and 35 seconds behind the three breakaway riders, reported the Amaury Sports Organization.
At 5.4 miles (9 km) from the finish at les Herbiers, there was a massive pile up caused by a spectator, and that crash created a split, with riders getting off the front, among them Phillipe Gilbert, Fabian Cancellara, Cadel Evans, Thor Hushovd, and Thomas Geraint.
As the lead riders sprinted towards the line Fabian Cancellara took a flyer off the front hoping to use his time trialing skills to best the riders behind him. But the Belgian National Champion Gilbert was not far behind him and proved to have a better acceleration, pulling past Cancellara to the finish. Cadel Evans showed good early Tour results by coming in third because of the three riders, he has one of the best prospects for the overall classification.
With one mile to go there was another crash, leaving behind many other riders.
OVERALL GC STANDINGS AT END OF STAGE 1, Tour de France
| 1. |  GILBERT Philippe |
32 | OMEGA PHARMA – LOTTO | 4h 41′ 31″ | |
| 2. |  EVANS Cadel |
141 | BMC RACING TEAM | 4h 41′ 34″ | + 00′ 03″ |
| 3. |  HUSHOVD Thor |
51 | TEAM GARMIN – CERVELO | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 4. |  ROJAS Jose Joaquin |
88 | MOVISTAR TEAM | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 5. | VAN DEN BROECK Jurgen |
31 | OMEGA PHARMA – LOTTO | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 6. |  THOMAS Geraint |
117 | SKY PROCYCLING | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 7. |  KLÖDEN Andréas |
74 | TEAM RADIOSHACK | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 8. |  TAARAMAE Rein |
151 | COFIDIS LE CREDIT EN LIGNE | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 9. |  HORNER Christopher |
72 | TEAM RADIOSHACK | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 10. | MARTIN Tony |
175 | HTC – HIGHROAD | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 11. | GERDEMANN Linus |
14 | TEAM LEOPARD-TREK | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 12. |  SCHLECK Frank |
18 | TEAM LEOPARD-TREK | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 13. |  VELITS Peter |
179 | HTC – HIGHROAD | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 14. |  VOECKLER Thomas |
181 | TEAM EUROPCAR | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 15. |  CUNEGO Damiano |
161 | LAMPRE – ISD | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 16. | MILLAR David |
56 | TEAM GARMIN – CERVELO | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 17. |  VINOKOUROV Alexandre |
61 | PRO TEAM ASTANA | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 18. |  CANCELLARA Fabian |
12 | TEAM LEOPARD-TREK | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 19. |  ROCHE Nicolas |
101 | AG2R LA MONDIALE | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 20. |  BOLE Grega |
163 | LAMPRE – ISD | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 21. |  SILIN Egor |
198 | KATUSHA TEAM | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 22. |  PATERSKI Maciej |
96 | LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 23. | BOONEN Tom |
122 | QUICK STEP CYCLING TEAM | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 24. | MEERSMAN Gianni |
135 | FDJ | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 25. | HAGEN Edvald Boasson |
114 | SKY PROCYCLING | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 26. | QUINZIATO Manuel |
147 | BMC RACING TEAM | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 27. | BONNET William |
132 | FDJ | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 28. | GALIMZYANOV Denis |
193 | KATUSHA TEAM | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 29. | VAN GARDEREN Tejay |
178 | HTC – HIGHROAD | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 30. | GALLOPIN Tony |
156 | COFIDIS LE CREDIT EN LIGNE | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 31. | GUTIERREZ José Ivan |
85 | MOVISTAR TEAM | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 32. | FOFONOV Dmitriy |
63 | PRO TEAM ASTANA | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 33. | SCHLECK Andy |
11 | TEAM LEOPARD-TREK | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 34. | PINEAU Jérôme |
127 | QUICK STEP CYCLING TEAM | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 35. |  DUQUE Leonardo |
154 | COFIDIS LE CREDIT EN LIGNE | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 36. | GAUTIER Cyril |
183 | TEAM EUROPCAR | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 37. | HONDO Danilo |
165 | LAMPRE – ISD | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 38. | LEIPHEIMER Levi |
75 | TEAM RADIOSHACK | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 39. | BRAJKOVIC Janez |
71 | TEAM RADIOSHACK | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 40. | BRUTT Pavel |
192 | KATUSHA TEAM | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 41. | KARPETS Vladimir |
191 | KATUSHA TEAM | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 42. | GUSEV Vladimir |
194 | KATUSHA TEAM | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 43. | ZEITS Andrey |
69 | PRO TEAM ASTANA | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 44. | BASSO Ivan |
91 | LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 45. | GALLAND Jeremie |
215 | SAUR-SOJASUN | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 46. | BERTAGNOLLI Leonardo |
162 | LAMPRE – ISD | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 47. |  FUGLSANG Jakob |
13 | TEAM LEOPARD-TREK | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 48. | CHAVANEL Sylvain |
121 | QUICK STEP CYCLING TEAM | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 49. | LEUKEMANS Bjorn |
205 | VACANSOLEIL-DCM | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 50. | WIGGINS Bradley |
111 | SKY PROCYCLING | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 51. | O’GRADY Stuart |
16 | TEAM LEOPARD-TREK | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 52. | VANENDERT Jelle |
38 | OMEGA PHARMA – LOTTO | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 53. | ROELANDTS Jurgen |
35 | OMEGA PHARMA – LOTTO | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 54. | MANGEL Laurent |
218 | SAUR-SOJASUN | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 55. |  POPOVYCH Yaroslav |
78 | TEAM RADIOSHACK | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 56. | KOLOBNEV Alexandr |
197 | KATUSHA TEAM | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 57. | VENTOSO Francisco |
89 | MOVISTAR TEAM | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 58. | DE WEERT Kevin |
124 | QUICK STEP CYCLING TEAM | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 59. | RENSHAW Mark |
177 | HTC – HIGHROAD | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 60. | HINCAPIE George |
144 | BMC RACING TEAM | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 61. | TURGOT Sébastien |
189 | TEAM EUROPCAR | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 62. | LANG Sebastian |
34 | OMEGA PHARMA – LOTTO | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 63. | SIEBERG Marcel |
36 | OMEGA PHARMA – LOTTO | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 64. | GREIPEL André |
33 | OMEGA PHARMA – LOTTO | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 65. | OSS Daniel |
95 | LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 66. | LONGO BORGHINI Paolo |
94 | LIQUIGAS-CANNONDALE | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 67. |  EISEL Bernhard |
173 | HTC – HIGHROAD | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 68. | BAK Lars |
172 | HTC – HIGHROAD | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 69. | CAVENDISH Mark |
171 | HTC – HIGHROAD | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 70. | SWIFT Ben |
116 | SKY PROCYCLING | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 71. |  NAVARDAUSKAS Ramunas |
57 | TEAM GARMIN – CERVELO | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 72. | DUMOULIN Samuel |
153 | COFIDIS LE CREDIT EN LIGNE | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 73. | STEEGMANS Gert |
128 | QUICK STEP CYCLING TEAM | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 74. |  GESINK Robert |
41 | RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 75. | HINAULT Sébastien |
105 | AG2R LA MONDIALE | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 76. | BURGHARDT Marcus |
143 | BMC RACING TEAM | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 77. | GOSS Matthew Harley |
174 | HTC – HIGHROAD | 4h 41′ 37″ | + 00′ 06″ |
| 78. | BARREDO Carlos |
42 | RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM | 4h 41′ 57″ | + 00′ 26″ |
| 79. | SANCHEZ Samuel |
21 | EUSKALTEL – EUSKADI | 4h 42′ 51″ | + 01′ 20″ |
| 80. | MOLLEMA Bauke |
45 | RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM | 4h 42′ 51″ | + 01′ 20″ |
| 81. | RUIJGH Rob |
208 | VACANSOLEIL-DCM | 4h 42′ 51″ | + 01′ 20″ |
| 82. | CONTADOR Alberto |
1 | SAXO BANK SUNGARD | 4h 42′ 51″ | + 01′ 20″ |
| 83. | SANCHEZ Luis-Leon |
47 | RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM | 4h 42′ 51″ | + 01′ 20″ |
| 84. | MONFORT Maxime |
15 | TEAM LEOPARD-TREK | 4h 42′ 51″ | + 01′ 20″ |
| 85. | ROUX Anthony |
137 | FDJ | 4h 42′ 51″ | + 01′ 20″ |
| 86. | MOINARD Amaël |
145 | BMC RACING TEAM | 4h 42′ 51″ | + 01′ 20″ |
| 87. | URAN Rigoberto |
118 | SKY PROCYCLING | 4h 42′ 51″ | + 01′ 20″ |
