Tour De France 2011 Stage One: Gilbert in yellow

An exciting first stage of the 2011 Tour de France saw stage favourite Philippe Gilbert prevail on the Cat. 4 Mont des Alouettes to take three jerseys: yellow, polka dot and green. The big story was the crash that split the field under fifteen kilometers to go, resulting in Alberto Contador, Sammy Sanchez, Ryder Hesjedal and Roman Kreuziger coming into the finish nearly 1:20 behind the other GC contenders.

After a neutral roll over the Passage du Gois, a causeway that’s covered by the sea twice a day, a three man breakaway of Liewe Westra (Vacansoleil), Perrig Quemeneur (Europcar) and Jeremy Roy (FDJ) formed and stayed away for most of the stage. Since stages now only have one intermediate sprint that’s worth a lot of points, green jersey contenders really went all out in the town of Avrille about half-way through the stage. Mark Cavendish found himself swamped by several riders, including his main rival Tyler Farrar.

The catch came with about fifteen kilometers to go and soon after an Astana rider with a spectator, triggering a crash that left most of the peloton stuck behind the mayhem. Up ahead, fifty riders stormed toward the final climb. On the steep ramp right before the line, several attacks were launched, including a strong one from Fabian Cancellara. However, it was a decisive surge by new Belgian champion Phillipe Gilbert that scored the win. The Omega Pharma-Lotto racer’s incredible season continues. Cadel Evans took second and, more importantly, put time into his GC rivals.