THE RACE LIVE
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The top 10 in the general classification after stage one is:
1. George Hincapie (USA - DSC)
2. Thor Hushovd (NOR - C.A) at 2"
3. Erik Zabel (GER - MRM) at 6"
4. Sebastian Lang (GER - GST) at 6"
5. Alejandro Valverde (ESP - CEI) at 6"

The provisional results show that George Hincapie has taken the yellow jersey thanks to the time bonus earned for third place in the third intermediate sprint. We await confirmation of the general classification leaders.

Hushovd did not crash as reported earlier but he did sustain an injury in the final straight when his right elbow was caught on something held over the barriers by a spectator.

Jimmy Casper has won his first Tour stage. The top five is:
1. Jimmy Casper (COF)
2. Robbie McEwen (DVL)
3. Erik Zabel (MRM)
4. Daniele Bennati (LAM)
5. Luca Paolini (LIQ)

Hushovd has crashed in the finale. He is bleeding profusely from the right elbow and appears to be in a terrible state...

A Cofidis rider appears to have beaten Boonen to the line. Could it be that Casper has won his first Tour stage?

The final straight is 550m long. The peloton is about to take the final turn and Credit Agricole is in control. Hushovd is tucked into second position with McEwen right on his wheel...

A Milram rider has muscled his way into the front of the lead-out train with 2km to go. He is working his heart out for Zabel but now Liquigas riders have moved to the front for... Backstedt? Paolini perhaps?

The peloton is being led by Rabobank riders as they pass under the 3km to go banner.

Di Luca is one rider unable to maintain the pace of the peloton. He has been spat out the back of the pack with 3km to go.

Alejandro Valverde is another rider who has been seen hovering near the head of the peloton. Stage one appears destined to conclude with a bunch sprint. Pick your ’Quick’... Boonen? McEwen? Freire? Zabel? Ballan...? They are all there.

The peloton is less than 5km from the finish. It is being controlled by riders from the Milram team. Also in the mix are men from Phonak, Quickstep and Davitamon-Lotto.

Hincapie’s two-second time bonus in Kehl makes him the virtual leader of the 2006 Tour. He lost just 0.73 of a second to Hushovd yesterday... but will the American participate in what appears destined to be a bunch sprint in Strasbourg?

The points and time bonuses in Kehl were won by:
1. Walter Beneteau (BTL) 6pts/6"
2. Sebastian Hinault (C.A) 4pts/4"
3. George Hincapie (DSC) 2pts/2"

The peloton is all together again. Beneteau has been caught.

Hincapie attacked the peloton on the approach to the 3rd intermediate sprint. He claimed third place points and is the virtual leader of the Tour de France...

Beneteau is less than 300m from the third intermediate sprint. He is 20" ahead of the peloton.

The peloton is now just 25" behind Beneteau but with all the teams of the sprinters leading the pursuit it will take a big effort from the Bouygues Telecom rider to hold off the chasing pack. There are just 10km to go in the stage.

Beneteau began his solo effort with 15km to go. He has a lead of 34" with 12km to go.

Walter Beneteau is the only rider ahead of the peloton now. Portal and Wegmann have just been caught by the main pack...

Vaugrenard, Sprick and Auge have been caught by the peloton.

Beneteau is holding onto his lead. He has an advantage of about 200m on Portal and Wegmann.

The first rider to attack the lead group is Walter Beneteau. He has a lead of about 100m with Vaugrenard leading the pursuit of his former escape companion.

The peloton is now 20" behind the seven escapees. Expect to see a big bout of action for the third intermediate sprints because the time bonuses on offer in Kehl may help to determine who wears the yellow jersey for stage two.

Vaugrenard, Portal, Sprick, Beneteau, Auge, Wegmann and Etxebarria are now less than 20km from the finish. It doesn’t appear as though they will be able to hold onto their advantage until the third intermediate sprint which comes just 9km from the end of the stage.
The deficit of the peloton on the seven fugitives has dropped to 40".

The latest time check has the escapees 45" ahead of the peloton which is now 22km from the finish.

The latest time check has Vaugrenard, Portal, Sprick, Beneteau, Auge, Wegmann and Etxebarria 58" ahead of the peloton that continues to be led by riders from Milram, Davitamon, Quickstep, Credit Agricole and Lampre riders.
There are 22km to go in stage one.

Another team that is moving forward in the peloton is CSC. According to the Australian broadcaster of the Tour, SBS TV, the team’s sprinter Stuart O’Grady has been given the nod to contest the sprint today. He finished sixth in the prologue and is currently just four seconds shy of Hushovd’s overall lead.
O’Grady has won two stages in the past (as well as a team time trial - as part of Credit Agricole), but he’s never claimed a bunch sprint...

There are a number of other teams now moving to the head of the peloton. The latest squad to arrive to assist with the chasing duties is Lampre. They have a quality ’quick’ in the form of Alessandro Ballan...

Tradition dictates that the lead group should start to attack each other as they close in on the finish line. With the advantage of the seven escapees down to 1’25", we can expect to see the fugitives start to show some aggression soon... Bouygues Telecom is the only team with two representatives in the escape (Beneteau and Sprick): will one of these launch an attack soon?

The advantage of Vaugrenard, Portal, Sprick, Beneteau, Auge, Wegmann and Etxebarria has dropped to 1’30" (with the peloton at the 151km mark).

Months before the start of the 2006 Tour de France, Tom Boonen expressed his enthusiasm to chase the yellow jersey in the first few days of the race. He finished the prologue in 12th place, 11" behind Hushovd.
There are time bonuses for the first three riders across the finish line (20", 12" and 8", respectively) and he believes that it’s possible for him to wrestle the leader’s jersey off the shoulders off yesterday’s winner, Hushovd.
"If I’m first and Thor is third, then it’s enough for me to get the lead and I think I have the speed to beat him..."

While some of his Quickstep team-mates are busy reeling in the seven escapees, Tom Boonen is remaining calm at the back of the peloton. The world champion was the winner of stages one and two in the 2005 Tour de France and is one of the big favorites for today’s stage which is ideally suited to a sprint finish.
The latest time check had the peloton 1’45" behind the seven fugitives.

The peloton has arrived in Germany, 1’50" behind the seven escapees.

The escapees have just crossed the Rhine. They are now in Germany... for the next 34.5km.
The peloton will reach the border in about 2’10" if it maintains its current tempo.

The seven escapees are pushing on with their efforts despite the strength of the chase by riders from Milram, Davitamon, Credit Agricole and Quickstep.
The last time check had Vaugrenard, Portal, Sprick, Beneteau, Auge, Wegmann and Etxebarria 2’20" ahead of the peloton.

The leaders are now 45km from the finish of stage one. They are 2’20" ahead of the peloton that continues to be led by riders from Milram, Quickstep, Davitamon and Credit Agricole.

The peloton passed the site of the 2nd sprint (at the 137km mark) 2’15" behind Vaugrenard, Portal, Sprick, Beneteau, Auge, Wegmann and Etxebarria.

At Plobsheim (137.0km), the points for the intermediate sprint were won by:
1. Walter Beneteau (BTL) - 6pts/6"
2. Benoit Vaugrenard (FDJ) - 4pts/4"
3. Matthieu Sprick (BTL) - 2pts/2"

The seven escapees are 2’05" ahead of the peloton as they approach the site of the 2nd intermediate sprint.

The teams of Hushovd, McEwen, Boonen and Zabel are intent on setting up a bunch finish. The latest time check had the main pack 2’15" behind the escapees.

The peloton is at the 132km mark, 2’30" behind Vaugrenard, Portal, Sprick, Beneteau, Auge, Wegmann and Etxebarria.

The second intermediate sprint of stage one is in Plobsheim (at the 137km mark). The leaders are 2’55" ahead of the peloton as they near the site of the next sprint.

The pace of the chase has really picked up in the last half an hour. The peloton is closing in on Vaugrenard, Portal, Sprick, Beneteau, Auge, Wegmann and Etxebarria (a group which formed at the 13km mark).
The escapees are about 3’15" ahead of the bunch with 55km to go.

The efforts of riders from Milram, Quickstep, Davitamon and Credit Agricole is netting an effect: the advantage of the seven escapees has dropped to 3’15" (after peaking at 5’00").

Vaugrenard, Portal, Sprick, Beneteau, Auge, Wegmann and Etxebarria are now at the 125km mark. They are 3’30" ahead of the peloton.

The chase is on in earnest now. Riders from Credit Agricole are being helped at the front of the peloton by a selection from Milram, Quickstep and, now, Davitamon-Lotto. These squads are working for Hushovd, Zabel, Boonen and McEwen, respectively. The advantage of the seven escapees is now 3’55".

The peloton is closing in on the seven escapees. The latest time check has Vaugrenard (FDJ), Portal (CEI), Sprick (BTL), Beneteau (BTL), Auge (COF), Wegmann (GST) and Etxebarria (EUS) ahead by 4’00".
The maximum advantage of the escape group was 5’00" (at 56km).

The last time a sprint specialist won a stage while clad in the yellow jersey was back in 1997. It was a day for Mario Cipollini in Vire... a day after he won while wearing knicks in the stars and stripes.
Today, one of the favorites for a bunch sprint is Thor Hushovd, the man who wears the yellow after his victory in the prologue yesterday.

Filippo Pozatto has also come to the front of the peloton. This is the beginning of a collaboration of the sprinters’ teams who are keen to catch the seven escapees and set up a bunch finish... Quickstep for Boonen and Milram for Zabel.

A rider from the Milram team has come to the front of the peloton and is now swapping off turns of pace along with riders from the Credit Agricole team. It appears that the sprint teams are expressing an interest in reeling in the seven escapees who are now 4’10" ahead.

The peloton is now 4’15" behind the seven escapees - Vaugrenard (FDJ), Portal (CEI), Sprick (BTL), Beneteau (BTL), Auge (COF), Wegmann (GST) and Etxebarria (EUS).

The battle for points at the first climb has caused the leading group to split temporarily but the seven are all back together again.
The peloton is now 1km from the summit of the Cote de Heilingheim, 4’25" behind the escapees.

The German Gerolsteiner rider in the escape group today will wear the polka-dot jersey in stage two. The results of the only climb today are:
1. Fabian Wegmann (GST) 3pts
2. Matthieu Sprick (BTL) 2pts
3. Unai Etxebarria (EUS) 1pt

The tempo at the front of the stage has increased as the seven escapees attack each other in the quest for climbing points. Etxebarria appears to have reached the summit first but we await confirmation of the results.

The peloton is still 4’35" behind the escapees. It shouldn’t be too long before we start to see the Davitamon-Lotto and Quickstep teams come to the front of the main pack to assist Credit Agricole in the chasing duties. The finish is ideal for a bunch sprint... and both Robbie McEwen and Tom Boonen should start expressing an interest to reel in the seven stage leaders sometime soon.

The leaders are less than 5km from the site of the only categorized climb in today’s stage. The points for the cat-four ascent are 3, 2 & 1 for the first three at the summit.
The Cote de Heilingenstein is 1.1km long with an average gradient of 4.1 per cent. It is at the 101.5km mark of today’s 184.5km stage.

The bunch continues to be led by riders from the Credit Agricole team although Florent Brard is moving forward and appears interested in helping to set the tempo of the chase. The peloton has just exited the feedzone and is currently 4’35" behind the seven escapees.

The white jersey is worn by Joost Posthuma today. The Dutch Rabobank rider was 23rd in the prologue, finishing three-seconds ahead of Benoit Vaugrenard who is in today’s escape group.
The Frenchman won the six-second time bonus in Saverne and, even if the stage concludes with a bunch sprint, we can expect to see Vaugrenard on the podium this evening to receive the prize for the Best Young Rider.

The average speed for the 2nd hour of racing in stage one was 43.8km/h. The average for the first two hours is 43.9km/h.

The first polka-dot jersey wearer of the 2006 Tour will soon be decided. The category-four Cote de Heilingenstein is at the 101.5km mark. The seven stage leaders have just passed through the feedzone (at 86.5km); they have an advantage on the peloton of 4’30".

Today will mark the 23th time that a stage of the Tour de France has been decided in Strasbourg. The previous winners are:
1919: Lucotti
1920: Thys
1921: Barthélémy
1922: Masson
1923: J.Muller
1924: Frantz
1927: Decorte
1928: Mauclair
1929: Leducq
1932: Loncke
1938: Fréchaut, Masson and Weckerling (equal)
1947: Robic
1948: Lambrecht
1961: Bergaud
1967: Wright
1971: Merckx
1985: Hinault
1987: Sergeant
1988: J.Simon
1992: Van Poppel
2001: Kirsipuu
2006: Hushovd (prologue)

The first escape of the 2006 Tour was instigated by Stephane Auge of the Cofidis team. He attacked the peloton in the third kilometer and was quickly joined by Mattieu Sprick. Several chase groups formed and, by 13km there was a group of seven. The men involved are:
Matthieu Sprick (FRA - BTL)
Benoit Vaugrenard (FRA - FDJ)
Stephane Auge (FRA - COF)
Nicolas Portal (FRA - CEI)
Unai Etxebarria (VEN - EUS)
Fabian Wegmann (GER - GST)
Walter Beneteau (FRA - BTL)

There are 34.5km of today’s 184.5km stage contested on German soil. The peloton crosses the border at the 141km mark and crosses the Rhine river and back to France with 9km to go.
The last time a stage of the Tour visited Germany was last year when the finish was in Karlsruhe. Fabian Wegmann of the Gerolsteiner team was on the attack that day; he was caught before the finish but earned enough points in the climbing classification to wear the polka-dot jersey the next day.
Wegmann is part of today’s seven-man escape group which is now 4’10" ahead of the peloton.

The seven escapees are now in the town of Marlenheim at the 69km mark. Their advantage on the peloton has been hovering around 4’30" for the past hour. The Credit Agricole team remains vigilant at the front of the peloton.

The peloton is in Singrist (at the 60km mark). It is currently 4’35" behind the seven escapees.

The Bouygues Telecom team is the only squad with two riders in today’s escape group. We spoke to the ’directeur sportif’, Jean-Rene Bernaudeau to get his thoughts on the move:
"We didn’t want to miss The Escape so we were very attentive to every attack. I wanted to have a rider in the move; but I wasn’t sure if the move (instigate by Auge at 3km) was the right one. We waited for a little while but then Sprick chased. He received reinforcement from Beneteau shortly afterwards.
"We’ll see what happens... but I’m not sure if this escape group will be able to reach the finish before the peloton."

Vaugrenard (FDJ), Portal (CEI), Sprick (BTL), Beneteau (BTL), Auge (COF), Wegmann (GST) and Etxebarria (EUS) are now five minutes ahead of the peloton which continues to be led by the Credit Agricole team.

The virtual leader of the 2006 Tour de France is Benoit Vaugrenard. He was 31st in the prologue. Below is the list of the riders in the escape group and their deficit to Hushovd at the start of the day.
Vaugrenard - 19"
Sprick - 29"
Etxebarris - 33"
Beneteau - 38"
Augue - 1’00"
Portal 1’01"
Wegmann 1’07"

The peloton has just passed the site of the first intermediate sprint (53.0km). It is led by riders from the Credit Agricole team and was 4’30" behind the seven escapees.

The advantage of Vaugrenard (FDJ), Portal (CEI), Sprick (BTL), Beneteau (BTL), Auge (COF), Wegmann (GST) and Etxebarria (EUS) over the peloton has grown to 4’45".

1. Benoit Vaugrenard (FDJ) 6pts/6"
2. Walter Beneteau (BTL) 4pts/4"
3. Unai Etxebarria (EUS) 2pts/2"

Benoit Vaugrenard has won the sprint in Saverne. He attacked about 250m before the line and was chased by a rider from Bouygues Telecom.

The escapees have 1km to ride before contesting the first intermediate sprint of the stage. The time bonuses and points will be awarded in Saverene (at 53.0km).

In the first hour of racing in stage one the escapees covered 44.0km.

Vaugrenard (FDJ), Portal (CEI), Sprick (BTL), Beneteau (BTL), Auge (COF), Wegmann (GST) and Etxebarria (EUS) continue to cooperate at the front of today’s stage. Their move was instigated by Auge in the third kilometer; the advantage on the peloton after one hour of racing is 4’15".

As well as the yellow and green jerseys (worn by Thor Hushovd and George Hincapie today) there are four other prize jerseys in the peloton today. They are the rainbow colors of the reigning world champion, Tom Boonen; as well as three national champions - Florent Brard (red, white and blue of France), Michael Boogerd (red white and blue of the Netherlands) and Thomas Lovkvist (blue and yellow of Sweden).

Vaugrenard (FDJ), Portal (CEI), Sprick (BTL), Beneteau (BTL), Auge (COF), Wegmann (GST) and Etxebarria (EUS) built an advantage of 4’30" on the peloton. The escape has been marked by five riders from the Credit Agricole team who have been at the head of the peloton since the 15km mark. They deficit of the main pack to the seven escapees is now down to 4’00".

Discovery Channel is leading the team classification after the prologue. The best-placed rider in yesterdays time trial was George Hincapie who finished just 0.73 seconds behind Thor Hushovd.
Hincapie’s efforts, combined with Savoldelli (8th) and Ekimov (25th) allowed Discovery Channel to take the lead in the team classification. There is a new feature for the 2006 Tour de France that sees riders from the leading team wear race numbers with a yellow background rather than traditional white.
The new team classification sponsor is Inter Sport. The prize is determined by the combined time of the best three riders from each formation.

The peloton is still being led by riders from the Credit Agricole team. They are maintaining a steady tempo and have limited the advantage of the escapees which has been 4’30" for the last 5km.

The rider with the lowest resting heart rate in the Tour peloton (32bpm), Laurent Lefevre of the Bouygues Telecom team celebrates his 30th birthday today.

The peloton is now in Wingersheim at the 26km mark of today’s 184.5km stage. The main pack is currently 4’30" behind Vaugrenard (FDJ), Portal (CEI), Sprick (BTL), Beneteau (BTL), Auge (COF), Wegmann (GST) and Etxebarria (EUS).

The peloton is currently 4’25" behind the seven escapees.

On Thursday and Friday prior to the Tour de France each contestant had to undergo a medical examination. Below is some information about the 176 riders in the 93rd edition:
Lowest resting heart rate: Laurent Lefevre (FRA) BTL – 32 beats per minute
(Average resting heart rate: 54bpm)
Maximum lung capacity: Arnaud Coyot (FRA) COF – 7.92 liters
(Average lung capacity: 5.78 liters)
Heaviest rider: Magnus Backstedt (SWE) LIQ – 95kg
Lightest rider: Manuel Calvente (ESP) AGR – 53kg
(Average weight: 69.0kg)
Tallest rider: Johan Vansummeren (BEL) DVL – 198cm
Shortest rider: Samuel Dumoulin (FRA) A2R – 158cm
(Average height: 179.0cm)

The peloton is now in the town of Reitwiller (20km). It is 4’10" behind the seven escapees - Vaugrenard (FDJ), Portal (CEI), Sprick (BTL), Beneteau (BTL), Auge (COF), Wegmann (GST) and Etxebarria (EUS).

The peloton is at the 20km mark now. It is 4’00" behind the seven escapees.

Of the seven riders who are now 3’20" ahead of the peloton, Benoit Vaugrenard was the best-placed in yesterday’s prologue. The FDJ rider finished the 7.1km time trial in 31st place, 19" behind Thor Hushovd.
The Frenchman is currently the virtual leader of the Tour de France.

The composition of the lead group is as follows:
Matthieu Sprick (FRA - BTL)
Benoit Vaugrenard (FRA - FDJ)
Stephane Auge (FRA - COF)
Nicolas Portal (FRA - CEI)
Unai Etxebarria (VEN - EUS)
Fabian Wegmann (GER - GST)
Walter Beneteau (FRA - BTL)
They are currently 3’20" ahead of the peloton that is being controlled by riders from the Credit Agricole team.

The seven escapees are now 2’50" ahead of the peloton.

The three chasers have caught up with Sprick, Vaugrenard, Auge and Portal. The peloton is at the 13km mark. (We await confirmation the time deficit for the main pack.)

The four escapees are still being pursued by Etxebarria, Wegmann and Portal. The peloton is 1’05" behind at the last check.

Sprick, Vaugrenard, Auge and Portal lead the three counter attackers by 12". The peloton is now 1’05" behind the stage leaders.

Sprick, Vaugrenard, Auge and Portal are 12" ahead of Wegmann, Etxebarria (EUS) and Beneteau (BTL) who are now in pursuit of the early escapees.

Fabian Wegmann (GST) has decided that he wants to be part of the first escape group of the 2006 Tour. He is chasing Sprick, Vaugrenard, Auge and Portal.

Portal has joined Sprick, Vaugrenard and Auge. This quartet is now 10" ahead of the peloton which is at the 8km mark.

Nicolas Portal (CEI) has set off in pursuit of the three stage leaders.

Four riders tried to bridge the gap to the three escapees but they have been reeled in by the peloton after 7km of racing.
Sprick, Vaugrenard and Auge have a lead of 22".

Sprick, Vaugrenard and Auge have a lead of 10" on the peloton after 5km of racing.

The first attack of the 2006 Tour de France was instigated by Stephane Auge of the Cofidis team. He has been joined at the front of the stage by Matthieu Sprick of Bouygues Telecom and Benoit Vaugrenard of Francaise des Jeux.
Their move began at the 3km mark.

There have been no early attacks in today’s stage. So far the peloton has covered just two kilometers of the 184.5km course.

The official start of the first stage was at 1.16pm. There were 176 riders at the sign on. The route is an out-and-back course that begins and ends in the city of Strasbourg.

Before the start of the first road stage, tradition dictates that the youngest rider in the race will read the Riders’ Oath. This task was the responsibility of Swedish rider Thomas Lovkvist of the Francaise des Jeux team. The ceremony took place in front of the Strasbourg Cathedral only a few minutes ago.

There is just one categorized climb in the first stage of the 2006 Tour. It is a category-four rise - the Cote de Heilingenstein - which comes at the 101.5km mark. This will establish which rider will be the first to wear the polka-dot jersey in the 93rd edition.
The points allocation is 3, 2 and 1 for the first three riders at the summit.

The first road stage boasts three intermediate sprints each with points for the green jersey classification (6, 4 & 2 for the first three riders across the line) as well as time bonuses of 6", 4" & 2".
The sprints are in: Saverne (at 53.0km), Plobsheim (137.0km) & Kehl (175.5km).

The sun is shining in Strasbourg and the riders in the 2006 Tour de France will face hot conditions for the first road stage. The weather bureau has reported that the temperature at the start of stage one is 30 degrees Celsius in the air and 42 degrees at road level. There’s virtually no wind blowing in this part of France today.

The first stage of the 2006 Tour de France is scheduled to begin in the city of Strasbourg at 1.00pm. There is a 7.2km neutral zone before the riders reach the site of the official start. Racing is expected to get underway at about 1.15pm.
Yesterday’s 7.1km prologue established who the race leader is. Thor Hushovd (NOR - C.A) will wear the yellow jersey for the second time in his career. He leads George Hincapie (USA - C.A) by just 0.73 of a second.
Live coverage of the stage will begin shortly.