Tour de France 2008/1. stage

00000 Result of the 1st stage 00000
		Alejandro Valverde (MOV)	4:36:07 h
2.		Philippe Gilbert (FDJ)	+ 0:01 min
3.		Jérôme Pineau (DEN)	equal time
4th		Kim Kirchen (THR)	equal time
5.		Riccardo Riccò (GEO)	equal time
6th		Cadel Evans (OLO)	equal time
7th		Frank Schleck (TNK)	equal time
8th.		Filippo Pozzato (CAN)	equal time
9.		Óscar Freire Gomez (TLJ)	equal time
10.		Óscar Pereiro (MOV)	equal time
		Lilian Jégou (FDJ)
Intermediate results after the 1st stage
		Alejandro Valverde (MOV)	4:36:07 h
2.		Philippe Gilbert (FDJ)	+ 0:01 min
3.		Jérôme Pineau (DEN)	+ 0:01 min
		Alejandro Valverde (MOV)	35 pts.
2.		Philippe Gilbert (FDJ)	30 pts.
3.		Jérôme Pineau (DEN)	26 pts.
		Thomas Voeckler (DEN)	8 pts.
2.		Björn Schröder (MRM)	8 pts.
3.		David de la Fuente (GEO)	4 pts.
		Riccardo Riccò (GEO)	4:36:08 h
2.		Andy Schleck (TNK)	+ 0:06 min
3.		Yuri Trofimov (DEN)	+ 0:06 min
		Caisse d'Epargne	13:48:29 h
2.		Team CSC-Saxo Bank	+ 0:07 min
3.		Team Columbia	+ 0:07 min

The 1st stage of the Tour de France 2008 on July 5th was 197.5 kilometers long and took the riders from the starting point Brest through Brittany to Plumelec . A total of three sprint classifications and four mountain classifications in the 4th category were on the program.

For the first time since 1966 , the tour started again with a flat stage instead of the traditional prologue. After just three kilometers, a breakaway group formed, which started out from Lilian Jégou , which was joined by Thomas Voeckler , Stéphane Augé , David de la Fuente , Rubén Pérez , José Luis Arrieta , Geoffroy Lequatre and Björn Schröder . The group gained a maximum lead of 8:15 minutes on the main field and divided all mountain and sprint rankings among themselves. Björn Schröder won the first mountain classification ahead of Thomas Voeckler, in the second mountain classification the order was reversed, the third mountain classification was won by Lilian Jégou in front of Voeckler and Schröder, the fourth David de la Fuente in front of Schröder and Voeckler. Schröder and Voeckler were tied and had the same number of first, second and third places. So the run-in at the finish had to decide who would wear the dotted jersey . Geoffroy Lequatre meanwhile secured all sprint ratings. The field was able to reduce the lead of the outliers further and further, so that it came together again 10 kilometers from the finish. Jégou and de la Fuente were able to stay at the top the longest. The last 1.7 kilometers before the finish in Plumelec led uphill with a 6.2% gradient to the Côte de Cadoual. There were renewed attempts to break away, among others by Stefan Schumacher and Kim Kirchen . Shortly before the finish, however, Alejandro Valverde sprinted over the others and was the first to cross the finish line with a small margin.

Since there are no time bonuses for the intermediate sprints and at the finish line on this tour, as the stage winner he was also the first to wear the yellow and green jerseys. Thomas Voeckler reached the finish line ahead of Björn Schröder and thus secured the dotted jersey. The white jersey went Riccardo Riccò .

The Spaniard Manuel Beltrán tested positive for the doping agent EPO after the first stage .

tasks

• 184 Hervé Duclos-Lassalle - during the stage, broken left wrist in the event of a fall in the refreshment zone

Sprint ratings

• 1st intermediate sprint in Plonévez-du-Faou (km 62) (156 m above sea level)

First	Geoffroy Lequatre	6 pts.
Second	Lilian Jégou	4 pts.
Third	Rubén Pérez	2 pts.

• 2nd intermediate sprint in Gourin (90.5 km) (135 m above sea level)

First	Geoffroy Lequatre	6 pts.
Second	Stéphane Augé	4 pts.
Third	Lilian Jégou	2 pts.

• 3rd intermediate sprint in Remungol (km 157) (94 m above sea level)

First	Geoffroy Lequatre	6 pts.
Second	Rubén Pérez	4 pts.
Third	Lilian Jégou	2 pts.

• Target sprint in Plumelec (km 197.5) (153 m above sea level)

First	Alejandro Valverde	35 pts.
Second	Philippe Gilbert	30 pts.
Third	Jérôme Pineau	26 pts.
Fourth	Kim churches	24 pts.
fifth	Riccardo Riccò	22 pts.
Sixth	Cadel Evans	20 pts.
seventh	Frank Schleck	19 pts.
Eighth	Filippo Pozzato	18 pts.
Ninth	Óscar Freire	17 pts.
Tenth	Óscar Pereiro	16 pts.
11.	David Millar	15 pts.
12.	Juan José Cobo	14 pts.
13.	Matteo Carrara	13 pts.
14th	Carlos Sastre	12 pts.
15th	Thor Hushovd	11 pts.
16.	Fabian Cancellara	10 pts.
17th	Andy Schleck	9 pts.
18th	Christian Vande Velde	8 pts.
19th	Samuel Sánchez	7 pts.
20th	Stefan Schumacher	6 pts.
21st	Damiano Cunego	5 pts.
22nd	Erik Zabel	4 pts.
23.	Carlos Barredo	3 pts.
24.	Mikel Astarloza	2 pts.
25th	Manuel Beltran	1 point

Mountain ratings

• Côte de Ty-Jopic, category 4 (kilometers 29.5) (160 m above sea level; 3.7 km at 3.3%)

First	Björn Schröder	3 pts.
Second	Thomas Voeckler	2 pts.
Third	David de la Fuente	1 point

• Côte de Kerivarc'h, Category 4 (km 48.5) (144 m above sea level; 1.5 km at 3.2%)

First	Thomas Voeckler	3 pts.
Second	Björn Schröder	2 pts.
Third	Geoffroy Lequatre	1 point

• Col de Toullaeron, category 4 (kilometer 85.5) (266 m above sea level; 1.8 km at 5.6%)

First	Lilian Jégou	3 pts.
Second	Thomas Voeckler	2 pts.
Third	Björn Schröder	1 point

• Côte de Guenervé, category 4 (kilometers 146.5) (117 m above sea level; 2.1 km at 3.3%)

First	David de la Fuente	3 pts.
Second	Björn Schröder	2 pts.
Third	Thomas Voeckler	1 point