Stage


Stage 1 results: Just like the infamous Tour de Suisse crash finish in June, Alessandro Petacchi escapes the carnage for the win


9 Big Photos from Stage 1 — sirotti
Stage 1 results
1  Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre)             5:09:38
2  Mark Renshaw (Columbia)
3  Thor Hushovd (Cervelo)
4  Robbie McEwen  (Katusha)
5  Matthieu Ladagnous (Fdj)
6  Daniel Oss (Liquigas-Doimo)               + 0:02
7  Jose Joaquin Rojas  (Caisse d’Epargne) 
8  Christian Knees (Team Milram) 
9  Ruben Perez Moreno (Euskaltel - Euskadi) 
10 Jürgen Roelandts  (Omega Pharma - Lotto)

General Classification after Stage 1
1  Fabian Cancellara (SUI) Team Saxo Bank 
2  Tony Martin (GER) Team HTC - Columbia           
3  David Millar (GBR) Garmin - Transitions
Full Results (Click 'Stage Standings') — letour.fr
Petacchi emerges from chaos in Brussels — cyclingnews
Het regent valpartijen in de laatste kilometer — sporza.be
  Crash Finish (flemish, restricted to Belgium) —sporza.be
  Dog crash/ Valpartij in Tour door hond (01:12) — nos.nl
Alessandro Petacchi wins stage 1 as Cavendish, Farrar and Freire crash — velonews
Cavendish jeered by Sky fans following rough Tour finish — cyclingweekly.co.uk
Farrar misses sprint, determined to fight for green — cyclingnews
Boonen disappointed not to be riding the Tour — cyclingnews
Contador dodges finish-line bullet; dog takes down Basso — velonews
Petacchi back to Tour success after six-year absence — cyclingnews
  Petacchi, gioia verde "Non mi pongo limiti" — gazzetta.it
AP Photos from the start in Rotterdam — telegraph.co.uk
  Crashes and the Finish (02:45 french) — france2
  Stage 1 Highlights with Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen (03:59 english) — versus
  Eddie Merckx Spotlight/Career Accomplishments (01:40 english) — versus
  Winner's Interview (01:06 english-translation) — letour
9 Big Photos from Stage 1 — sirotti
  Tyler Farrar's post-race interview (01:00) — versus
Tour de France stage 1: Chris Horner's Team RadioShack diary — blog.oregonlive
  ITV stage 1 podcast with Matt Rendell and Chris Boardman (11:43) — ITV
Crashes Become Talk of Tour After Treacherous First Stage — nytimes
Graham Watson photos — grahamwatson
  Good Spectator Footage of the Roadblock Crash near the Finish (00:50 flemish) —sporza.be

This stage preview is available in the following languages:

(We are looking for translations in ALL other languages. Please submit your translation with the stage no. and language in the subject title.)

June 27 post: The first road stage begins where the prologue left off in Rotterdam with a second crossing of the Erasmus bridge (Erasmusbrug).

From Rotterdam, the stage heads south for a brief tour of the Dutch coastline -- the same windswept coastline that shattered the field during stage 3 of this year's Giro d'Italia. Stage 1 of the Tour de France heads inland where as the Giro continued down the coast to Middleburg so strong winds along the coast will not affect this stage as much. The inland portion of the route will head through Flanders, home to one of the monuments of cycling, Tour of Flanders. Tom Boonen says the roads inland towards Bussels will be "narrow and hectic" and that this stage will be important to the Belgian guys.

After a very flat 224 km stage with no KOMs, there is a bump before the race finishes in front of the King Baudouin stadium in Brussels to celebrate Eddy Merckx's 65th birthday. Merckx, considered the greatest cyclist of all-time, was born east of Brussels in the small Belgian town of Meensel-Kiezegem on June 17, 1945 just one month after the end of World War II. The route will pass through Meise, 10 km before the finish, where he currently lives.

The first sprint finish of the Tour is always a chaotic, nervous affair for the overzealous peloton. — Steve

Photos from Giro d'Italia stage 3 which overlaps with Tour de France Stage 1
  Bernard Hinault Previews Stage 1 in english and en français (01:19) — letour.fr
  Bob Roll Previews Stage 1 (01:28) — versus

(Y! 2010 Edition)