Gilbert takes Tour stage win

Philippe Gilbert emerged from the carnage to take a convincing victory on the first stage of the Tour de France in Les Herbiers after a crash split the bunch to pieces.

The Omega Pharma-Lotto rider timed his attack to perfection on the concluding 2.2km climb at Mont des Alouettes to distance his rivals to the tune of three seconds, taking his first win at the Tour and pulling on the first yellow jersey of the race.
Fabian Cancellara (Leopard Trek) was the first to drive for the line but the Swiss rider faded with 200m to go and was overhauled by the Belgian champion who scooped not only the malliot jaune, but the points and mountains classifications for good measure.
Cadel Evans (BMC Racing) was next man home three seconds down on Gilbert with world champion Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo) rounding out the podium places a further three seconds adrift.
A huge crash with 9km to go put the field into turmoil as an Astana rider collided with a spectator causing a mass pile-up on the narrow run into Les Herbiers.
Huge gaps in the peloton sparked a frantic chase from pre-race favourite Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-Sungard) as a number of top contenders became distanced and he eventually finished one minute and 20 seconds down on Gilbert.