Key moments

McEwen The Magnificent

After being caught up in a crash 23km from the finish it seemed that Robbie McEwen’s hopes of equally Erik Zabel’s tally of 12 stage wins would be too much. But the Australian found his legs despite a frantic chase and managed to beat all the other big-name sprinters. Thor Hushovd and Tom Boonen were given better lead-outs but the Australian was able to eclipse them both in a superb sprint.

The 203.0km first stage of the 94th Tour de France – from London to Canterbury – began at 11.00am after the peloton pedaled through a 6.8km neutral zone taking in some of the British capital’s landmarks. There was an official protocol on the Tower Bridge and the peloton stopped while the French and British national anthems were played. The course included three category-four climbs: the first was in Southborough, a 2.3km long ascent with the crest at the 94.5km mark; the second at Goudhurst, a 1.6km long ascent at 121.0km; and the rise at Farthing Common which is 1.1km and peaks at 183.0km. There were three intermediate sprints: the first in Gillingham at the 46.5km mark, the next in Teston at 76.0km and the final one in Tenterden at 140.5km.

Millar: The First Successful Attacker
The initial attack of the 94th Tour came from Feillu (AGRE) and Auge (COF) who tried in kilometer one. The first successful move came from Millar (SDV) who jumped ahead at the 3.5km. By 17km, he led four chasers – Grivko (MRM), Kuschynski (LIQ), Bichot (AGR) and Auge –by 45” while the peloton was at 1’25”. After 33km, Millar’s advantage over the peloton was 4’40”. At 45km the four were 1’40” behind, the peloton was at 5’25”. The points at the first sprint were won by: 1. Millar 6pts; 2. Grivko 4pts; 3. Kuschynski 2pts. The counter attackers were 1’00” behind at the 46.5km mark. The average speed for the first hour was 47.1km/h. Millar was caught by the four chasers at the 48km mark, the peloton was at 5’35”.

CSC Lead Chase
The team of the yellow jersey controlled the peloton’s pursuit of the five escapees. The points for the 2nd intermediate sprint were won by the same trio as the first - Millar, Grivko, Kuschynski. Their quintet was 5’05” ahead of the peloton at the 76km mark. There was a crash in the peloton involving Gonzalo Ramirez (AGR) who was forced to abandon. The average speed for the 2nd hour was 40.1km/h. The points for the 1st climb were won by: Millar, Grivko, Kuschynski. The peloton was at 4’40”.

Reeling In The Escapes
With 92km to go, the advantage of the five leaders reached 6’00”. This was the maximum gain. On the 2nd climb, Bichot attacked and led over the summit to collect 3pts ahead of Auge and Kuschynski. The peloton was 5’50” behind. With 80km to go the peloton was at 5’00”; with 70km, 3’50”... CSC was joined by Vasseur (QSI), Charteau (C.A) and Vansevenant and van Summeren (PRL) who swapped off at the front. Lancaster, Zandio, Moreni and Mercado were involved in a crash at 55km to go.
With 50km to go, Millar and Grivko dropped out of the lead group and waited for the peloton. With 30km to go, the leading trio was 1’05” ahead. Auge attacked with 27km to go and Bichot and Kuschynski returned to the peloton. With 25km to go, Auge led by 35”.

Crash & Mechanical Problems For Sprint Favorites
With 23km to go, McEwen was caught up in a crash. Cavendish had bike troubles and had to change machines twice in the final 25km. Auge took first place at the 3rd climb but was caught 18km from the finish and the Quickstep team took charge. Millar claimed second at Farthing Common and ensured that he would lead the climbing classification for stage two.
McEwen rejoined the peloton in the final 10km but was not seen near the front of the peloton until the final 200m. He jumped into the lead in the final 80m and claimed the win, finishing three meters ahead of his nearest rival. The Australian is now equal with Zabel (MRM) for having the most stage wins for any active rider.
Fabian Cancellara finished in 22nd place and will wear the yellow jersey in stage two.

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Stephane Auge - "I Took My Chances..."

Stephane Auge was part of a group that escaped the peloton in the first 10km. He insisted with his attack until Farthing Common and added three points to his tally in the climbing classification. He ended the day equal with David Millar but missed out on the climbing prize because of his GC position… still he received the reward as the Most Aggressive Rider of the stage.

“I had a similar misfortune in 2003 when another rider was equal on points with me and I missed out on wearing a prize jersey because of a rule about the position in general classification. It seems that the polka-dot jersey has escaped me again. I know it’s possible to have this prize but not retain it in the high mountains. Still, I took my chances on the first climb but it was just too fast in the sprint to the top. I was in the move that mattered today but it just didn’t work out as planned. At least I’ve proven that I’m not just here to make up the numbers.”

David Millar - "I Wanted To Say ’Thank You’"

When the obligatory attacks happened in the early kilometers of the first road stage, David Millar mixed it up with the usual French suspects. The Scot found himself at the front and, although he had the option of waiting for a quartet of counter-attackers, he opted to push on alone to build a solid advantage. In the end he still found the energy to race for the points on offer at the third and final climb... he secured enough to be assured of a visit to the podium to collect the polka-dot jersey.

“I just went on one of my missions and it was a lot easier with all the people cheering me on. I wanted to kind of say thank you to everybody and it turned into a big day out.
“I wanted to be sure that the advantage over the peloton was a good one so that’s why I didn’t wait for the chasing group of for until after the first intermediate sprint. I didn’t slow down until I knew the peloton was far enough behind. I didn’t give a shit about the four guys until I knew the bunch was well back… and then I waited.
“I dropped out of the front group because I was too tired to handle all four of the riders in the escape on the final climb but I wanted to get the lead in the climbing classification. It was a tactical move; when I was in the bunch I got my team-mates to chase the move down and then I went for it. I didn’t count on Auge staying away and I really had to dig deep to get the second place points at Farthing Common.”

Vladimir Gusev – Staying In White

Vladimir Gusev celebrated his 25th birthday three days before making his Tour debut. He was fifth in the prologue and the best young rider. He hopes that he can hold onto the lead of the youth classification for a few more days yet...

“It was an easy day but in the last 30km there was a bit of stress but nothing too much. In the Classics you also see big crowds like this. On the narrow roads it makes it a little interesting to fight for position but I think I handled it okay.
“I hope I can hold onto this jersey. It’s going to be hard but I hope I’m going to be good in the mountains and be able to stay in white as long as possible.”

Fabian Cancellara - "A Tunnel Of Cheers..."

With five riders on the attack from the start, the CSC team was prepared to give a little bit of time. They maintained a steady tempo and kept the escapees honest. He might not have mixed it up in the sprint but Fabian Cancellara made sure he finished in the lead group to maintain his lead of the general classification.

“It was an amazing, beautiful day. It was unbelievable how many people turned out to see the race. There were just thousands and thousands of people on the side of the road; it was like a tunnel of cheers. The start of this Tour de France has been beautiful. I hope that when we go back to the continent, it would be good to still have the support that we’ve had in these two days in Britain.
“There were no real problems for me. My team did a good job and I thank them for the work they did so that I could keep my yellow jersey. For me it’s now important to recover as fast as possible. I still have the jersey… and tomorrow we’ll try to do the best again.”

Robbie McEwen - "Fueled By Frustration & Anger"

He crashed with 23km to go and had to fight hard to rejoin a peloton which had hit the turbo button on the approach to Canterbury but Robbie McEwen still found the energy to fight his way to the lead of a rapid bunch. In the dying meters, the Australian burst into the lead and onward to his 12th stage victory in the Tour de France. He is now equal with Erik Zabel with the most wins in the race for any active rider.

“I gave it everything to be in the right place for the final 200 meters and it seems we did enough. I’m happy with that. I was fueled by frustration, anger and the thought of having nothing more to lose.
“This win rates right up there with the other wins but it’s hard to put one in front of another; they’re all achieved under different circumstances. This one is definitely one of the most special.
“I you could see on television how much work guys like Wim Vansevenant and Johan van Summeren did trying to bring me back to the peloton after my crash. It took a very long time because, at the moment I crashed, that’s when the race really started going full gas. I don’t think it was any coincidence that they started riding a bit faster when I was off the back but… well, it’s just incredible how much work my team did to bring me back. This is the perfect way to repay them for their effort.
“I don’t want to think about tomorrow yet. At the moment I’ll just look after my injuries and celebrate this win of course.”

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