July 5th, 2008 by 
thien
Spain’s new national champion Alejandro Valverde took a commanding win in stage 1 in an exciting finish. A stage where we saw an early breakaway, a few crashes, but a steady pursuit by the peloton, to be capped off by an impressive last move and climb by Valverde.
After the race Valverde said, “I’ve Acheived two of my objectives: to win a stage and to wear the yellow jersey. That’s done today. …It gives me peace of mind for the rest of the race.” We don’t expect Valverde to rest on his victory though.
As one of the big contendors this year, this stage win definitely shows that Valverde is in fine form and the competition should be worried. What are your thoughts? Was this better than having a prologue? Getting right to the pure racing? Let’s hear your comments!
Results after stage 1
1. Alejandro Valverde, Caisse d’Epargne - 4h 36′ 07″
2. Philippe Gilbert, Française des Jeux - 00′ 01″
3. Jerome Pineau, Bouygues Telecom - 00′ 01″
4. Kim Kirchen, Team Columbia - 00′ 01″
5. Riccardo Ricco, Saunier Duval-Scott - 00′ 01″
6. Cadel Evans, Silence-Lotto - 00′ 01″
7. Fränk Schleck, CSC-Saxo Bank - 00′ 01″
8. Filippo Pozzato, Liquigas - 00′ 01″
9. Oscar Freire, Rabobank - 00′ 01″
10. Oscar Pereiro, Caisse d’Epargne - 00′ 01″
Links to news sites…
“Valverde wins 1st Tour de France stage
By JAMEY KEATEN
PLUMELEC, France (AP) — Alejandro Valverde of Spain won the first stage of the Tour de France on Saturday with a ride through flat country, the opening of a three-week race trying to restore its luster after years of doping scandals.” - Read more from the Associate Press…
“Valverde strikes first blow with first yellow jersey
PLUMELEC, France (AFP) — Spaniard Alejandro Valverde drew first blood in his bid to win the Tour de France by pulling on the yellow jersey for the first time after a thrilling first stage here Saturday.
Valverde, riding for Caisse d’Epargne, punched his way past Luxembourg’s Kim Kirchen late on the final climb leading to the uphill finish of the 197.5km stage to claim just his second stage win on the race.” Read more from the AFP…
“Valverde powers to opening stage victory
(CNN) — Spaniard Alejandro Valverde, one of the pre-race favorites, won Saturday’s opening stage of the Tour de France, held over 197.5km of undulating terrain, to pull on the race’s leader’s yellow jersey.
Valverde powered past Luxembourg’s Kim Kirchen in the final 300m as the tiring stage ended in a nasty uphill finish, depriving the recognized team sprinters of any involvement in the final rush to the line.” Read more from CNN…
“Valverde leaps uphill to stage win and yellow jersey
By Ben Delaney
With his Pinarello painted bright yellow and red, Spain’s new national champion Alejandro Valverde clawed his way up to and past an attacking Kim Kirchen (Columbia) on the steeps of the Côte de Cadoudal to take the first stage and yellow jersey of the 95th Tour de France.” Read more from VeloNews…
“Viva España! Newly crowned Spanish Champ guns down maillot jaune and stage
Cyclingnews.com
First in the Dauphiné Libéré, first in the Spanish road championships, Alejandro Valverde kept up his strong run of success when he sprinted to his first-ever Tour de France yellow jersey in Plumelec today. The Caisse d’Epargne rider uncorked his characteristic fast uphill finishing gallop to overhaul Kim Kirchen, passing the Team Columbia rider with approximately 200 metres to go and opening up a one second gap on the 46-man lead group by the line.” Read more from Cyclingnews.com…
