The Tour de France

(Reuters) – Alessandro Petacchi used patience and experience to get through a crash-filled first stage of the Tour de France and snatch his first sprint victory on the race for seven years.
The last 2.5 kilometers of the 223.5-km ride to Brussels descended into mayhem with many of the favorites involved in crashes.
Stage 1 Results
1 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini - 5:09:38
2 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Team HTC – Columbia
3 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team
4 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Team Katusha
5 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) Française des Jeux
6 Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo
7 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne
8 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Milram
9 Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi
10 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto
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