Crash during Stage One of 2011 Tour de France Ties Up Pack – Belgin Philipe Gilbert wins Stage 1

Cadel Evans finishes 2nd in stage 1 of 2011 tour de france

Cadel Evans finishes 2nd in stage 1 of 2011 tour de france - credit: (AFP: Lionel Bonaventure)

Traditionally, the Tour de France begins with a time trial, but this year they changed things a bit. The 2011 Tour de France opened with a 190 km first stage race which followed a route along northern France’s Vendee coast.

To ensure that only a strong rider would prevail in the opening stage of cycling’s most revered race, the finish line at the end of stage one sits at the end of a 2 km uphill stretch. Not a surprise, 28 year-old Belgin, Philipe Gilbert, known for his powerful acceleration and power, won the opener.

Australian cyclist Cadel Evans, age 34, finished a close second to Gilbert only missing the win by about three seconds. Following about 6 seconds behind Evans, Thor Hushovd crossed the finish of stage one in third.

A crash in the race left top contenders Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck 1:20 back from the lead. The crash occurred about 9 km from the finish when Kazakh Maxim Iglinskiy ran into a spectator. No one, including the spectator was injured, but the crash tied up nearly half of the lead group. The spectator was unhurt.

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