Live Coverage – Stage 1 Tour de France, 2008

To VeloNews.com’s Live Coverage of the 1st stage of the 95th Tour de France, 197.5km race from Brest to Plumec.

180 riders rolled out of Brest this afternoon, exiting the neutral zone at 12:31 and begining a long day in the saddle, an unusual way to start the Tour. This is only the first time since 1966 that the Tour de France has not started with some form of time trial, usually a short sub-8km prologue.

Today, however, sends riders off on a long and often hilly ride through the rolling terrain of Brittany on the west coast of France.

Early on in today’s stage (at 7.5km) a group of eight riders formed up at the front and they have managed to build a significant lead of 7:30 by km65.

The men in the escape are:
Lilian Jegou (FDJ)
Thomas Voeckler (Bouyges Telecom)
Stephane Auge (Cofidis)
David De La Fuente (Saunier Duval)
Ruben Perez (Euskaltel)
Jose Luis Arrieta (Ag2r)
Geoffroy Lequatre (Agritubel)
Bjorn Schroeder (Milram).

The escapees – and the peloton – have already passed over the first two of the day’s ranked climbs, all of which carry a Category 4 designation. That means that the first over earns three points, with 2 and 1 points awarded to the second and third riders.

The climbs today are:
The Cote de Ty-Jopic (at 29.5km)
The Cote de Kerivarc’h (at 48.5km)
The Col de Toullaeron (at 85.5km)
The Cote de Guenerve (at 146.5km)

Schroeder took top points atop the Cote de Ty-Jopic at 29.5km, followed by Voeckler and De la Fuente. Voeckler was tops on the Cote de Ty-Jopic at 48.5km, leading Schroeder and Lequatre. So now Voeckler and Schroeder are tied on KOM points. They could end the day with equal points and, if they do, their finishing order would determine who wears the first KOM jersey awarded in this Tour.

it looks like the pace is ramping up a bit, with chasing duties falling to those teams not represented in the break. We’re seeing Caisse d’Epargne playing a significant role in setting tempo at the front.

Because there is no prologue time trial this year (for the first time since 1966), the Tour begins with this nasty-looking stage through the green (and often rain-lashed) hills of Brittany. It starts from the naval port of Brest, the westernmost city in France (population 145,000), and traces a sinuous course with the prevailing winds to the village of Plumelec (population 2,500), not far from Vannes, which was once the capital of an independent Brittany. Besides four Cat. 4 climbs, the near-200km stage features dozens of other nagging hills, three intermediate point-bonus sprints, and an uphill finish on the infamous Cote de Cadoudal – 1.7km at 6.2 percent, with an 8-percent pitch just before a right-hand switchback 300 meters from the line.

While Plumelec is one of the ‘high temples’ of cycling in Brittany, it has hosted only one stage finish for the Tour de France. Still there is plenty of cycling here, with its annual French Cup race that finishes atop the Cadoudal hill (one of our escapees, Thomas Voeckler won the race this year, while Aussie Simon Gerrans took the 2007 edition in a solo break). When a youthful Erik Zabel won the Tour’s only road stage that has finished here, in 1987, a crowd of 100,000 showed up to see the German out-kick a 20-strong front group that contained most of the race favorites, but none of the flatland sprinters.

This stage has the potential of being one of the more dramatic opening days in recent Tour history. Don’t expect a huge group sprint finish or a repeat stage win for Zabel 11 years on. With the risk of crashes on narrow country roads, teams like CSC-Saxo Bank, Rabobank, Quick Step, Caisse d’Epargne and Silence-Lotto will likely ride a hard tempo to keep their GC leaders out of trouble and set up their respective fast uphill finishers Frank Schleck, Oscar Freire, Gert Steegmans, Alejandro Valverde and Robbie McEwen. Also in the finishing mix could be Kim Kirchen (Team Columbia), Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole), Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner), Alessandro Ballan (Lampre) and Riccardo Ricco (Saunier Duval-Scott). The stage winner will, of course, take the maillot jaune.

If you have a comment, a complaint, a question or even faint praise, hit the “Contact our editors” link below the Live Update window and we’ll try to address your concerns and even post a few during today’s coverage.

As the escapees work their way onto the day’s third climb, the gap has dropped to 3:58.

Jegou scores to points on the Col de Toullaeron, with Voeckler in second and Schroeder in third.

By our count, Voeckler, with seven points, leads Schroeder, with six.

is holding around the four-minute mark. Right now the peloton is about 4:25 behind the leaders at the 93km mark.

Herve Duclos LaSalle has crashed in the feedzone. He’s holding his wrist. Not good.

we have the first withdrawal from the Tour. Herve Duclos-Lassalle appears to have hurt his wrist and he’s packing it in.

we have the first withdrawal from the Tour. Herve Duclos-Lassalle appears to have hurt his wrist and he’s packing it in. It looks like we can expect pictures. We see Graham Watson hovering over the injured rider. We’re down to 179 riders.

are 90km from the finish and have an advantage of 4:17 on the field. We can expect a catch, but it’s great seeing a feisty rider like Voeckler in the bunch.

and our escapees are working well together. They are holding a 4:30 lead, with Rabobank and Liquifas driving the pace in the main field.

Conditions at the finish are quite windy and could affect the outcome of today’s stage. We’re seeing gusts up to 30 mph from the southwest. Winds at the speed could fracture the peloton into echelons and it’s worth watching.

We have a better time check, and the gap is right around 4:10, with 83km remaining.

We saw the three-time Tour winner here today.

remaining in today’s stage, the leading eight are now 3:55 ahead of the peloton. We see Rabobank, Caisse d’Epargne and Liquigas – none of which are represented in the break – setting tempo at the front of the main field.

the peloton appears to be content with a four-minute gap for now. We can expect the chase to ramp up as the finish line approaches. It’s smart to leave the break out there for now, though, as it tends to calm things down in the field and the terrain poses some risk of escape.

The men in the break are:
Lilian Jegou (FDJ)
Thomas Voeckler (Bouyges Telecom)
Stephane Auge (Cofidis)
David De La Fuente (Saunier Duval)
Ruben Perez (Euskaltel)
Jose Luis Arrieta (Ag2r)
Geoffroy Lequatre (Agritubel)
Bjorn Schroeder (Milram).

was taken out by a musette. Team officials confirmed that he broke his wrist in the mishap in the feedzone, with the bag getting caught in Duclos-Lassalle’s front wheel just as the peloton was leaving the feed.

Doctors attending the 28-year-old Frenchman, who was competing on his first Tour, fixed a supportive brace to his injured wrist effectively ending his hopes of continuing in the race. It means Cofidis, thrown out of the Tour towards the end of last year’s race following a positive doping test for their former Italian rider Cristian Moreni, is now down to eight riders.

The team’s biggest star is Frenchman Sylvain Chavanel, who with six wins so far this season is aiming for a stage win in this first week.

the gap, with 68km to go, is now at 3:45.

of things, you might want to pop up a separate window with this year’s Start List.

at the front of the peloton. Rabobank, Caisse d’Epargne and Liquigas have each put a rider at the front of the peloton. The gap is coming down oh-so-slowly and with 65km remaining, the eight leaders are 3:42 ahead of the main field.

We have been chatting with Garmin’s director, former pro Jonothan Vaughters, today. He says the crosswinds are getting serious.

“I’m about to go up in a helicopter over the race,” he said. “Its (the peloton) gonna go to pieces at KM 150. See if I’m right.”

Okay, we will, JV.

For those of you who are regular NPR listeners, tune in to Weekend Edition to hear our man, Andrew Hood pontificating on the Tour.

our leaders are 3:33 ahead of the field and heading to the day’s fourth Cat. 4 climb, the Cote de Guenerve.

to go, we’re getting close to the spot at which Vaughters predicts a split in the field. The gap is 3:11.

If you have a comment, a complaint, a question or even faint praise, hit the “Contact our editors” link below the Live Update window and we’ll try to address your concerns and even post a few during today’s coverage.

is moving the entire team up to the front of the main field.

Timing is good. We’ve seen a crash at the back of the field. We see Jimmy Casper and several others in there.

the German champion is chasing hard after being caught in that crash. It doesn’t look like anyone has been forced out of the race due to injury, but they are being forced to chase hard.

the leaders have crested the day’s final rated climb. It looks like De la Fuente, Schroeder and Voeckler. The latter two are now tied – eight points each – so it depends on how they finish today.

Chuck in Indiana asks

I realize there is no one answer, but what sort of foods do the riders eat during a stage? does it change depending on stage distance? Thanks again for your excellent coverage.

It really does vary, Chuck. There are a lot of riders who use modern concoctions, gel packs, energy bars, etc. Others, however, like to rely on standard fare, like dried fruit and bananas.

One thing we don’t notice as much as we saw in the 1980s, when Eddie B used to tell folks to “eat meat sandwiches.” Ever the carnivore, Eddie was a big advocate of eating a variety of meats… even on the bike. Yuck.

The peloton is narrowing the gap and the leaders are just 3:00 ahead of the field.

is strong and the race is heading into some open country, which is probably where Vaughters expects things to break up.

Hey! There’s Didi Senft – a.k.a. “The Devil” Weird as he is, we really like that guy.

The gap, with 43km is now 2:45.

the gap is down to 2:33. We’ll most certainly see a correction.

the gap is coming down. The peloton is just 1:44 back. Contrary to an earleir prediction, it has not broken up over the past few kilometers.

the leaders are beginning to attack one another. Schroeder seems to be having a hard time holding the pace. De la Fuenta is now charging off on his own and the others are slow to respond.

has joined De la Fuente. They have 15 seconds on the rest of the break and 1:20 on the main field, with 34km to go.

have 30 seconds on the rest of the break and 1:24 on the main field. High Road is moving up to the front of the peloton.

It’s a tailwind in final 10km from Plaudren in the final run into Plumelec … that will help shut down this break. The two leaders are 35 seconds ahead of the others from the original break and 1:37 ahead of the field. 22km to go.

Johann Tschopp has hit the deck.

We talked with Mark Cavendish this morning, he said: “I want to win at least one stage in the Tour, but maybe not today. It’s not too steep, but it’s a little long, from what I’ve heard. We’ll give it a try anyway. The legs feel good.”

At the start this morning, Fabian Wegmann said “I’d love to win a stage in the Tour. Today could be a day for me. It’s kind of like a finish at Amstel Gold, but with wider roads, longer but not as steep.”

Of course, that was before he crashed today.

We spoke with Vaughters again. He’s still predicting a split in the field as the race approaches the finish. Asked to pick a winner today, he said that Valverde and Hushovd are two of his favorites.

Chatting with him this morning, he said “Today is going to be like Tour of Flanders. It might end in a sprint, but it’s not going to be 180 guys going to the line. Look at that flag (pointing to a whipping banner), this part of Britanny, there are a lot more exposed roads than people think. There are a lot of head/crosswinds. The race could go to pieces. Valverde is the big favorite, for his combination of speed and strength. The GC guys are going to have to race today.”

Out of his own squad, he says this could be a day that suits the likes of Julian Dean or David Millar.

The final climb up to the Plumelec is interesting. It’s not as steep as some have suggested, but it’s a long and could tempt some riders of trying to go to early. There’s a very nasty right-hander coming off a steep descent to cross a stream just at the base of the final 2km that could cause a crash. The final 2km climbs in steps and is wide-open to the wind. Once it tops out, it’s about 300 meters on a mostly flat run to the line. Should be a doozy of a finish.

the six chasers have been pulled back and our two leaders are just 24 seconds ahead of the field, with 11km to go.

and the gap is 13 seconds. It’s over folks.

and then a crash. Another touch of wheels. We see Soler in there. He looks hurt.

is back on his bike. He would have been a huge loss to Barloworld.

The peloton is driving on and the pace is frantic over these final hills on the way to the finish. Soler will have a hard time catching back.

to go the peloton is driving hard to the finish. There are splits in the field, but it’s still a big, big bunch in that front group.

the Silence-Lotto and Columbia teams are pushing the pace at the front.

Liquigas is moving up on the left side and it looks like Columbia is setting up on the right.

to go and Columbia is still in command at the front of the field. Quick Step is moving up, too.

overcooked a turn and did a bit of cyclocross. He’s out of contention we’d bet

1.5km to go and Columbia is still setting the pace at the front, but other teams are swarming.

on the first kilometer and Schumacher is on the attack. He’s got a gap.

Cancellar and others are catching and another attack from Columbia’s Kirchen is on the charge.

comes charging up fast. He catches and …. wins! Valverde takes the stage and moves into the leader’s jersey. Vaughters called it.

Valverde put in an impressive final charge.

The split in the field was pretty significant folks. About 50 riders have come through the line almost 2:00 back.

It’s starting to rain.

Man, looking at the replay, Valverde cam up from a long, long, long way back. That was an impressive charge and just rode some strong riders right off of his wheel.

Valverde looks happy. He’s on the podium and being congratulated by Bernard Hinault. He’s got the flowers and is about to gt the first yellow jersey of the 2008 Tour.

Mr. Valverde also gets the green points jersey for today’s win.

We have to see who – Schroeder or Voeckler – gets the KOM jersey.

apparently the Frenchman finished ahead of Schroeder and he gets the KOM jersey today.

Looking ahead, tomorrow’s stage from Auray to St. Brieuc (164.5km) heads north from the granite-and-slate cottages of Auray (population 12,000) to the port town of St. Brieuc (population 46,700), this shorter stage will likely see the peloton split by the frequent climbs and crosswinds. The crowds will be thickest on the Cat. 3 ‘wall’ at Mur-de-Bretagne (1.5km at 8.7 percent), 92km into the stage, which could spring a key attack. The tricky run-in to St. Brieuc loops down to the English Channel coast before climbing up into town and features another uphill finish on the Rue Pierre de Coubertin.

Until then, enjoy your day. We’ll be back with Live Coverage of tomorrow’s stage and every stage throughout the 95th Tour de France.