Stage One: German Conquers Napoleon’s Home Island! Alternate Title: Keystone Kops invade Corsica

Two centuries after Napoleon ruled Germany, German rider Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano) has conquered Corsica, the island of Napoleon’s birth.  In a finish worthy of the Keystone Kops, Kittel (pronounced “key-TELL”) powered up on the left side, to eclipse in the final 20 meters Alexander Kristoff (Katusha), Danny Van Poppel (Vacansoleil), and David Millar (Garmin-Sharp).  Winning the opening stage give Kitell not only the Yellow Jersey for at least the next day of racing, but also the Green Jersey (points/sprinter) and the White Jersey (youth).

So, why the reference to the Keystone Kops?  With about 30 minutes or less to go before the peleton would come screaming through the archway at the finish line, Orica-GreenEdge’s team bus tried to drive through the archway in the opposite direction.  Oops!  The bus (a fancy motorhome on steroids) got stuck under the archway!  Tour staff were seen running around in a panic trying to get the bus free.  When that seemed impossible, they announced that the finish line would now be 3 Km earlier (where the 3 Km-to-go electronic timing gate was already installed).  That news was relayed by radio to the riders as they sped along with only about 15 Km to go.  The change impacted strategies, because it eliminated a tricky U-turn the riders would have had to deal with at the 2 Km mark.  So, there was confusion and consternation in the peleton as the sprinters’ teams were adjusting and lining up to deliver their heros to the new finish line.

Then, some genius got the idea of deflating the tires on the Orica team bus.  Voila!  It was able to back out from underneath the structure at the original finish line.  (The backing maneuver apparently executed by Bud Abbot and Lou Costello, as the bus fish-tailed its way clear of the archway!)  So, with about 5 Km to go to the original line (within 2 Km of the provisional line), the Tour organizers decided to change back to the original line.  Remember, the cyclists are racing at close to 50 Km/hour!  These changes are flying at them in their radios within mere minutes of the 3 Km line, and maybe only 10 minutes of the original line.  Confusion ruled the peleton.  Suddenly, like dominoes, half the peleton hit the deck!  Peter Sagan (Cannondale) and Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff) were among those who crashed.  André Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) and Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma Quickstep) either crashed or were held up by the crash.  Kittel was among the lucky ones riding just ahead of the crash, enabling him to contest and win the sprint finish.

The entire peleton was given the same time as the winner, so, even though Kittel wears the Yellow Jersey, none of the GC hopefuls lost any time.

This stage had only one small mountain, a category 4, worth only one point toward the Polka-dot Jersey, and it was won by Juan José Lobato (Euskaltel), who jumped into the early breakaway group, and then powered past his escape partners for this bit of cash prize and life-long record book glory on his very first stage of his very first Tour de France!  How excited was he?!!

The sprinters’ teams – Omega, Argos and Lotto – played the “cat” all day to the five escapees’ “mouse.”  After 70 Km in the lead, the five saw their time gap eaten down from 3'10" to less than 40".  They sat up, expecting to be swallowed up by the peleton.  But the peleton also slowed down and let them re-extend their lead, this time to more than 4 minutes.  Once again, the sprint teams picked up the pace of the peleton and reeled the leaders back to the point of almost catching them.  Then, the call of nature in the peleton, and the lead was back over 3 minutes.  The sprint teams used this yo-yo strategy for over 100 Km, preferring this little “mouse” that they could easily catch at will, to some unknown opportunist from the peleton with fresh legs who might launch a stage-threatening attack if the “mouse” were caught too early.  This did mean that the escapees collected the high points on the intermediate sprint, leaving the “Big Boy” sprinters to battle for the minor points, which went to Greipel (10), Cavendish (9), Peter Sagan (Cannondale) (8) and Matt Goss (Orica-GreenEdge) (6).

Tomorrow’s Stage 2 has three steep climbs in the first 95 Km, which makes a sprint finish unlikely, and opens the door for the climbers and GC hopefuls to distinguish themselves.  It also lends itself to a bold breakaway – especially for someone who can capitalize on the steep descents over the final 60 Km.  Add to that the fact that two-time champion Alberto Contador got some nasty road-rash in the first day’s big crash.  He finished the stage, but his rivals might think Stage Two an opportune time to attack him; and, on the other hand, the indignities he suffered today might inspire him to new heights tomorrow.  Should be an exciting day!

Imagine the domino effect of a crash in a peleton like this racing down the road at 50 Km/hour!  That was the scene in today's Stage 1.  (Photo 2011 Tour of Utah, courtesy of Scott Wolford.)