A fast finishing Peter Sagan grabbed his first Tour de France win after being lead out by Fabian Cancellara. Sylvain Chavanel had launched the first attack on the final ascent into Seraing before Cancellara powered away and could only be followed by Sagan and Edvald Boasson Hagen. The Norwegian had an opportunity to pull on the white jersey if the three man attack could stay away but ended finishing third on the stage and remains second overall in the young riders classification. Sagan claimed the stage win while Cancellara ensured he will spend another day in yellow.
Sagan had been called forward by Cancellara to take a turn on the front but he refused. The Slovakian stayed struck to Cancellara’s wheel until the final few hundred meters when he went around the Swiss rider and had ample time to perform his winning celebration with Cancellara finishing in second place. The Swiss rider is well known as one of the most dangerous riders in the peloton and has suffered from a lack of cooperation with fellow breakaway riders. This was again the case last night as Sagan realised if he could hang on, the win would be his. At the 2011 Tour of Flanders, Cancellara and Chavanel were leading the peloton but Chavanel refused to take a turn on the front. Cancellara ended up finishing third on that day as the lack of cooperation benefited the Frenchman and Nick Nuyens who won that race. At Milan-San Remo this year, Cancellara again was the victim of his own strength as Simon Gerrans won the race after refusing to take a pull and let Cancellara ride away to a win. Gerrans came under some criticism for his tactics but for the Australian he was justified in riding for himself rather than to let Cancellara take a break and sprint away for the win. Sagan would have been aware of Cancellara’s strength and to let him take a breather could have cost him the stage.
Cancellara can’t be too displeased with second place as he retains the yellow jersey and will roll out tomorrow morning for his 23rd day in the maillot jaune. After breaking his collarbone in four places at the Tour of Flanders on the 1st of April, to come back and win the prologue in Liège and follow it up on the ascent into Seraing would be pleasing enough. To be in yellow for a second day will make up for a close second place to Sagan and Cancellara should still be yellow following the conclusion of tomorrow’s stage in Tournai. Cancellara could even be in yellow up till stage seven which will be the toughest test on his seven second lead over Bradley Wiggins in the GC. For the GC men they will look to avoid the maillot jaune in the first week and the media circus which accompanies wearing the golden fleece which will benefit Cancellara’s chances of staying yellow. Cancellara and his team RadioShack-Nissan will probably want to hold onto the jersey for as long as possible and this will be accepted by Sky and BMC as they lack a genuine GC threat, Cancellara’s stint in yellow may be their only opportunity in 2012 to do so.
There has been some talk around Cancellara changing focus from ITT’s and the Classics to become a stage race and possibly even a Grand Tour GC racer. At 31 the physical change may be beyond him that would be required if he was to change his racing ways. However the success of Evans at 34 in last year’s Tour may prove to be an incentive for him to do so. With Andy Schleck at home nursing a fractured sacral, 2012 may just be a chance for Cancellara to test himself in the mountains and whether or not a shift in focus would be beneficial. Not having to support the Luxembourger will free up the Swiss rider and he will be allowed opportunities that have eluded him in recent years. Having won an Olympic gold medal in the ITT, the four time ITT world champion and seven time Swiss ITT national champion may have achieved as much success as he wishes against the clock. Cancellara therefore may just be a dark horse for the 2012 Tour and every day he spends in yellow he’ll grow in confidence at his chances of a top ten finish. With the 100kms plus of time trailing in 2012 Cancellara would have further incentives to test himself against the GC men.
Peter Sagan will roll out to tomorrow wearing the sprinters green jersey as he stands in second position in the classification. Cancellara still leads both the General and sprinters classification after stage one and as he the leaders of the GC, the maillot Jaune takes precedence of the maillot vert. Sagan could make it back to back stage victories in the 207.5km stage from Visé to Tournai tomorrow and would most likely lead the sprinters classification on his own right if he was to do so. Stage Two represents the first chance that the star sprinters will have to compete in a bunch sprint finish. The fast men of the peloton will be licking their licks in anticipation for this stage as the last kilometre is practically flat. Once the peloton crosses the Avenue au Pont Bridge in Visé, the race will on into the world heritage town of ‘the five steeples’ and a fast finishing sprint looks to be on. Matt Goss, Marcel Kittel, André Greipel and world champion Mark Cavendish will all be looking for the first opportunities for stage win considering yesterday’s stage was far too steep for them to launch an attack for a win.
1st Fabian Cancellara (Radioshack-Nissan) 05:05:32
2nd Bradley Wiggins (Sky) 05:05:39
3rd Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) 05:05:39
4th Tejay van Garderen (BMC) 05:05:42
5th Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky) 05:05:43
6th Dennis Menchov (Katusha) 05:05:44
7th Philippe Gilbert (BMC) 05:05:44
8th Cadel Evans (BMC) 05:05:46
9th Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) 05:05:47
10th Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Sharp) 05:05:47
1st Fabian Cancellara (Radioshack-Nissan) 55 points
2nd Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) 49 points
3rd E Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky) 42 points
1st Michael Mørkøv (Saxobank-Tinkoff Bank) 3 points
2nd Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) 1 point
3rd Pablo Urtasun Perez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) 1 point
Sagan had been called forward by Cancellara to take a turn on the front but he refused. The Slovakian stayed struck to Cancellara’s wheel until the final few hundred meters when he went around the Swiss rider and had ample time to perform his winning celebration with Cancellara finishing in second place. The Swiss rider is well known as one of the most dangerous riders in the peloton and has suffered from a lack of cooperation with fellow breakaway riders. This was again the case last night as Sagan realised if he could hang on, the win would be his. At the 2011 Tour of Flanders, Cancellara and Chavanel were leading the peloton but Chavanel refused to take a turn on the front. Cancellara ended up finishing third on that day as the lack of cooperation benefited the Frenchman and Nick Nuyens who won that race. At Milan-San Remo this year, Cancellara again was the victim of his own strength as Simon Gerrans won the race after refusing to take a pull and let Cancellara ride away to a win. Gerrans came under some criticism for his tactics but for the Australian he was justified in riding for himself rather than to let Cancellara take a break and sprint away for the win. Sagan would have been aware of Cancellara’s strength and to let him take a breather could have cost him the stage.
Cancellara can’t be too displeased with second place as he retains the yellow jersey and will roll out tomorrow morning for his 23rd day in the maillot jaune. After breaking his collarbone in four places at the Tour of Flanders on the 1st of April, to come back and win the prologue in Liège and follow it up on the ascent into Seraing would be pleasing enough. To be in yellow for a second day will make up for a close second place to Sagan and Cancellara should still be yellow following the conclusion of tomorrow’s stage in Tournai. Cancellara could even be in yellow up till stage seven which will be the toughest test on his seven second lead over Bradley Wiggins in the GC. For the GC men they will look to avoid the maillot jaune in the first week and the media circus which accompanies wearing the golden fleece which will benefit Cancellara’s chances of staying yellow. Cancellara and his team RadioShack-Nissan will probably want to hold onto the jersey for as long as possible and this will be accepted by Sky and BMC as they lack a genuine GC threat, Cancellara’s stint in yellow may be their only opportunity in 2012 to do so.
There has been some talk around Cancellara changing focus from ITT’s and the Classics to become a stage race and possibly even a Grand Tour GC racer. At 31 the physical change may be beyond him that would be required if he was to change his racing ways. However the success of Evans at 34 in last year’s Tour may prove to be an incentive for him to do so. With Andy Schleck at home nursing a fractured sacral, 2012 may just be a chance for Cancellara to test himself in the mountains and whether or not a shift in focus would be beneficial. Not having to support the Luxembourger will free up the Swiss rider and he will be allowed opportunities that have eluded him in recent years. Having won an Olympic gold medal in the ITT, the four time ITT world champion and seven time Swiss ITT national champion may have achieved as much success as he wishes against the clock. Cancellara therefore may just be a dark horse for the 2012 Tour and every day he spends in yellow he’ll grow in confidence at his chances of a top ten finish. With the 100kms plus of time trailing in 2012 Cancellara would have further incentives to test himself against the GC men.
Peter Sagan will roll out to tomorrow wearing the sprinters green jersey as he stands in second position in the classification. Cancellara still leads both the General and sprinters classification after stage one and as he the leaders of the GC, the maillot Jaune takes precedence of the maillot vert. Sagan could make it back to back stage victories in the 207.5km stage from Visé to Tournai tomorrow and would most likely lead the sprinters classification on his own right if he was to do so. Stage Two represents the first chance that the star sprinters will have to compete in a bunch sprint finish. The fast men of the peloton will be licking their licks in anticipation for this stage as the last kilometre is practically flat. Once the peloton crosses the Avenue au Pont Bridge in Visé, the race will on into the world heritage town of ‘the five steeples’ and a fast finishing sprint looks to be on. Matt Goss, Marcel Kittel, André Greipel and world champion Mark Cavendish will all be looking for the first opportunities for stage win considering yesterday’s stage was far too steep for them to launch an attack for a win.
General Classification after Stage 1
2nd Bradley Wiggins (Sky) 05:05:39
3rd Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) 05:05:39
4th Tejay van Garderen (BMC) 05:05:42
5th Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky) 05:05:43
6th Dennis Menchov (Katusha) 05:05:44
7th Philippe Gilbert (BMC) 05:05:44
8th Cadel Evans (BMC) 05:05:46
9th Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) 05:05:47
10th Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Sharp) 05:05:47
Points Classification after Stage 1
2nd Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) 49 points
3rd E Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky) 42 points
Climbers Classification after Stage 1
2nd Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) 1 point
3rd Pablo Urtasun Perez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) 1 point
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