Three crashes in Brussels, including a road-choking pileup, cleared the way for a victory by Italian sprinter Alessandro Petacchi in Stage 1 of the Tour de France on Sunday.
The finish of the 138-mile stage that started in Rotterdam was more like an episode of Survivor than a competitive bike race. Most of the sprint contenders had been on the ground by the time Petacchi crossed the line for his 164th career victory — his first at the Tour de France since 2003 when he won 4 stages.
The crashes didn't affect the overall standings from Saturday's prologue as they occurred in the protected zone in final kilometers; everyone in the peloton will receive the same time.
Trio of crashes
The first crash came as HTC-Columbia, Lampre and Garmin-Transitions battled for the lead of the peloton in Brussels. Going into a hairpin turn, Mark Cavendish (HTC Columbia) and Oscar Freire (Rabobank) were among a handful of cyclists who hit the deck.
Then, on the straight-away within sight of finish-line, the middle of the peloton seemed to melt away in a pile of tangled bicycles that stretched clear across the road. (In the commentary from former cyclist Chris Boardman in the video above, he suspects it was a Quick Step cyclist who went down.)
Hooked
Still, about 15 to 20 cyclists emerged unscathed from that pile-up. Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Transitions) was among those sprinters, only to get hooked from behind by a bicycle touching his wheel.
Farrar told Versus after the race that the following cyclist's front wheel got caught in his rear derailleur so Farrar was essentially “dragging” the other bike. Otherwise:
“We felt good. The guys were perfect today. …. Everyone [in the peloton] was nervous. They all want to do good in the first field sprint of the Tour.”
Leaders
Overall leader Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank), as well as Lance Armstrong (RadioShack) and Tony Martin (Columbia) were among those caught behind the massive crash. David Millar (Garmin) got through, only to be caught in the final crash.
Stage 2 on Monday is a 125-mile bike race through Belgium that ends at the town of Spa. A series of Category 3 hills near the finish may break apart the peloton and make it hard for the sprinters to get to the finish line for a repeat of Sunday's debacle.
Top 10 overall
1 Fabian Cancellara (Swiss) Team Saxo Bank
2 Tony Martin (Ger) Team HTC – Columbia 10 seconds behind
3 David Millar (GBr) Garmin – Transitions 20 seconds
4 Lance Armstrong (US) Team Radioshack 22 seconds
5 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team 23 seconds
6 Alberto Contador (Spa) Astana 27 seconds
7 Tyler Farrar (US) Garmin – Transitions 28 seconds
8 Levi Leipheimer (US) Team Radioshack 28 seconds
9 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Professional Cycling Team 32 seconds
10 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Team Milram 35 seconds
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