This is the first year since 1967 that the Tour de France has not started with a Prologue.  New Tour organizer Christian Prudhomme is trying new things in an attempt to reinvigorate the race. 

Brittany is typically very hilly and often windy.  Today’s course from Brest to Plumelec was no exception.  As is typical, Jimmy Casper was involved in a crash on Stage 1.  Later in the race Colombian mountain climber Juan Soler Hernandez was involved in another crash and it’s not known at this point how serious.  There were some minor breakaways during the stage with the peloton eventually catching up.  The finish sprint was won by Alejandro Valverde of Murcia, Spain on the Caisse d’Epargne team.   

The top placed American cyclists were Christian Vandevelde in 18^th place and George Hincapie in 29^th.  My Tour favorite, Cadel Evans, finished in 6^th.