Sunday, July 4, 2010

STAGE 1: CARNAGE AT THE FINISH

What was that?!

Unbelievable carnage in the last two kilometers of Stage 1 of the Tour de France.  No less than 3 separate crashes in less than a mile in the high-speed drive to the finish line. View the replay at this link. And this followed an earlier crash caused by a dog straying into the group of 198 riders. Crazy day.

Italian sprinter Alessandro Pettachi emerged the winner of the stage as most of the other top sprinters were sprawled on the ground.  Not sure yet who might be too injured to continue in the Tour.  Let's hope all recover.

This was a long flat stage, a day for sprinters to shine.  Instead, nerves overtook the peloton at the end of the day and the incredible crashes ensued.

An estimated crowd of over 2.5 million lined the streets and roadways of the Netherlands as the Tour made its way south toward Belgium.  A wonderful response from the nation that has more cyclists per capita than any other.

Best recap of Stage 1 and full standings is by Cyclingnews.

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