Yesterdays prologue saw a bold move by team Sky, sending Wiggins out early in hope to avoid the worst of the rain. Their plan didn't work out and by the time Wiggo would have normally been out, mixing it up with Armstrong, Contador and Cancellara, the roads were more or less dry and would have improved his time a lot. A bad start for one Britain's hopefuls.
An amazing ride saw Fabian take the prologue by huge 10 seconds but credit goes to Tony Martin for what was an equally good ride in the wet. Surely its just a matter of time till Martin wins Le Tour?
A surprise 4th by Armstrong is already putting pressure on Contador and Millar and Thomas both performed excellently to represent Britain.
Stage 1 is when I really start to get the Tour feeling. Seeing the riders parade through the streets, the mayor waving and anyone and everyone who will wave back, cutting the ribbon, La Marseillaise...I love it!
Right away in the first kilometre the mayhem started. An attack from Boom saw Perez and Wynants follow. The three guys held it together for a long time in what was the second longest stage in the whole tour. Wynants eventually got pulled in 10k from the finish but won 'Le combative du jour' award for his efforts.
The talk of the day focused on the manic crashes near the end, with one pile up holding up the whole peloton. The yellow jersey was buried right at the bottom of it but Fabian got back up and coasted to the line - it was all within 3k so no time differences. The crash gave way to Alessandro Petacchi, who took his first tdf stage win since 2003.
There were no signs of Cavendish as he crashed out just before the mass pile up. The replays suggest he was in the wrong (again)...
Vive Le Tour
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