It took Spanish national champion Alejandro Valverde only one stage to achieve two of his aims at this years Tour de France. His third, winning the overall title, looks to be well on the cards. Valverde used his famous dynamic uphill sprinting ability to take the opening stage of the 2008 Tour from Brest to Plumelec, gaining the yellow jersey in the process. While this may be a long run tactical mistake (Valverde risks burning out his team if he forces them to defend the jersey over the next three weeks), Valverde was prominent in similar sprints in the Dauphine, a race he went on to win the overall title in.
Filling the minor placings were Phillipe Gilbert and Jerome Pineau who passed the fading Kim Kirchen in the final stages, after the Team Colombia rider had looked set to win the stage. None were a match for Valverde's explosive finish however. Riccardo Ricco took the lead in the White Jersey classification finishing 5th, while Thomas Voeckler leads the King of the Mountains competition after picking up points in the days breakaway. Race favourite Cadel Evans finished with the elite bunch at the front losing only 1 second to Valverde. The only casualty of the main contenders was Maricio Soler who crashed in the final 10 kilometres and crossed the line over 3 minutes behind the stage winner.
Yellow Jersey - Alejandro Valverde
Green Jersey - Alejandro Valverde
Polka Dot Jersey - Thomas Voeckler
White Jersey - Riccardo Ricco
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