Tour of Britain - Stage 1
Ale-Jet Petacchi takes first blood in London for his new LPR/Brakes squad. Rob Hayles and Magnus Backstedt fill out podium.

© Copyright Tour of Britain

Alessandro Pettachi returned from his twelve month doping ban to take the win in the opening stage of the 2008 Tour of Britain. The event, being run this year from the fifth year, opened with a stage in central London, which passed many of the capital's famous landmarks. In addition, the Italian takes over the race lead, and will be looking forward to another flat stage tomorrow.

An early breakaway group – who, it seemed, would have little chance of staying away on this short and fast circuit – resisted the Peloton's efforts and stayed away for over half the 86km stage. Two British riders – Kristian House and Tom Southam – were part of this leading eight strong group, which included Pettachi's LPR team mate Danilo di Luca.

Soon, with their gap holding firm, the CSC and Agritubel teams (who have had riders win the race in the last two years) began pulling. Their efforts worked, with the pace injected reducing the gap to the leading riders to just seconds. Undeterred, Di Luca attacked, and when no-one followed, continued on alone. He managed to make it round the circuit once on his own, passing the one climb of the day at Tower Hill.

Initially, the Peloton struggled to reel the Italian in. The momentum that stemmed from the earlier CSC and Agritubel efforts had disappeared, and it seemed that no-one wanted to chase Di Luca in. It was a counter attack from and Agritubel rider – Geoffroy Lequatre – who spurred the pack into action. CSC took to the front, and caught the two leaders within the the final kilometres.

For the first time in around an hour of racing, the stage was all together again. Garmin – Chipotle, working for Magnus Backstedt, also began to force the pace at the head of the field. Julian Dean worked hard for the Swede in the final kilometre, though Backstedt was soon passed by Rob Hayles. The British rider, however, was no match for Pettachi, who crossed the line with a comfortable gap.

Bar early break away rider Chris Sutton (Garmin), who was caught and dropped from the Peloton, the riders crossed the line together, after just under two hours of racing. Heavy rain, forecast to hit the race this afternoon, stayed away, though Pettachi's joy after his victory wouldn't have been dampened by any precipitation. Thanks to time bonuses, he leads Hayles by four seconds.

Hayles will wear the Points Jersey on stage one, and is only trailing Pettachi by one point. With points awarded on three of the passes up the Tower Hill climb, Kristian House takes the Mountains Jersey by virtue of being in the significant break away group. Anders Lund (CSC) also benefits from his work out front by taking the Sprints Jersey.

Tour of Britain Stage 1 Results
86.00 km (53.48 Miles) - 1:51:44 - 46.11 km.h (28.68 mph)
1 141 ITA Petacchi, Alessandro LPR LPR Brakes/Ballan 1h51'44"
2 21 GBR Hayles, Rob GBR Great Britain s.t.
3 92 SWE Backstedt,Magnus TSL Garmin - Chipotle s.t.
4 53 GBR Downing,Dean RCR Rapha - Condor - Recycling.co. s.t.
5 72 USA Bahati,Rahsaan RRC Rock Racing s.t.
6 13 GBR Hammond,Roger THR Team Columbia s.t.
7 101 BEL Goddaert,Kristof TSV Topsport Vlaanderen s.t.
8 64 RSA Hunter,Robbie BAR Barloworld s.t.
9 152 AUS Dempster,Zakkari AIS SouthAustralia.com - AIS s.t.
10 113 GBR Bellis,Jonathan CSC Team CSC - Saxo Bank s.t.
11 156 AUS Walker,Johnnie AIS SouthAustralia.com - AIS s.t.
12 112 AUS Goss,Matthew CSC Team CSC - Saxo Bank s.t.
13 41 GBR Downing,Russell POT Pinarello RT - Candi TV s.t.
14 125 BEL Lisabeth,Kenny SKT An Post M.Donnelly s.t.
15 1 FRA Feillu,Romain AGR Agritubel s.t.
16 23 GBR Stannard,Ian GBR Great Britain s.t.
17 31 ARG Garrido Mayorca,Martin PRT Palmeiras Resort - Tavira s.t.
18 65 RSA Impey,Daryl BAR Barloworld s.t.
19 4 FRA Bichot,Freddy AGR Agritubel s.t.
20 52 GBR Appleby,Dale RCR Rapha - Condor - Recycling.co. s.t.

General Classification After Stage 1
1 141 ITA Petacchi,Alessandro LPR LPR Brakes - Ballan 1h51'44"
2 21 GBR Hayles,Rob GBR Great Britain 1h51'48" @04"
3 65 RSA Impey,Daryl BAR Barloworld 1h51'48" = s/t
4 114 DEN Lund,Anders CSC Team CSC - Saxo Bank 1h51'48" = s/t
5 92 SWE Backstedt,Magnus TSL Garmin - Chipotle 1h51'50" @06"
6 142 ITA Di Luca,Danilo LPR LPR Brakes - Ballan 1h51'53" @09"
7 53 GBR Downing,Dean RCR Rapha - Condor - Recycling.co. @10"
8 72 USA Bahati,Rahsaan RRC Rock Racing = s/t
9 13 GBR Hammond,Roger THR Team Columbia = s/t
10 101 BEL Goddaert,Kristof TSV Topsport Vlaanderen = s/t
11 64 RSA Hunter,Robbie BAR Barloworld = s/t
12 152 AUS Dempster,Zakkari AIS SouthAustralia.com - AIS = s/t
13 113 GBR Bellis,Jonathan CSC Team CSC - Saxo Bank = s/t
14 156 AUS Walker,Johnnie AIS SouthAustralia.com - AIS = s/t
15 112 AUS Goss,Matthew CSC Team CSC - Saxo Bank = s/t
16 41 GBR Downing,Russell POT Pinarello RT - Candi TV = s/t
17 125 BEL Lisabeth,Kenny SKT An Post M.Donnelly = s/t
18 1 FRA Feillu,Romain AGR Agritubel = s/t
19 23 GBR Stannard,Ian GBR Great Britain = s/t
20 31 ARG Garrido Mayorca,Martin PRT Palmeiras Resort - Tavira = s/t
21 4 FRA Bichot,Freddy AGR Agritubel = s/t
22 52 GBR Appleby,Dale RCR Rapha - Condor - Recycling.co. = s/t
23 35 NED Sneeboer,Paul PRT Palmeiras Resort - Tavira = s/t
24 22 GBR McEvoy,Jonathan GBR Great Britain = s/t
25 25 GBR Swift,Ben GBR Great Britain = s/t
26 143 ITA Cucinotta,Claudio LPR LPR Brakes - Ballan = s/t
27 44 GBR Murray,Tom POT Pinarello RT - Candi TV = s/t
28 121 GBR Lloyd,Daniel SKT An Post M.Donnelly = s/t
29 133 RSA MacDonald,Neil MTN MTN Energade = s/t
30 34 ESP Marque Porto,Alejandro PRT Palmeiras Resort - Tavira = s/t
31 135 RSA Van Heerden,Juan MTN MTN Energade = s/t
32 105 BEL Vanspeybrouck,Pieter TSV Topsport Vlaanderen = s/t
33 3 BEL Caethoven,Steven AGR Agritubel = s/t
34 76 ESP Sevilla,Oscar RRC Rock Racing = s/t
35 86 GBR Richardson,Simon PCA Plowman Craven RT = s/t
36 45 IRL Roche,Andrew POT Pinarello RT - Candi TV = s/t
37 81 GBR Oliphant,Evan PCA Plowman Craven RT = s/t
38 75 USA Rodriguez,Fred RRC Rock Racing = s/t
39 154 AUS Meyer,Travis AIS SouthAustralia.com - AIS = s/t
40 84 GBR Gaywood,Simon PCA Plowman Craven RT = s/t
41 26 GBR Tennant,Andrew GBR Great Britain = s/t
42 136 RSA Woolcock,Waylon MTN MTN Energade = s/t
43 12 NOR Boasson Hagen,Edval THR Team Columbia = s/t
44 5 FRA Lequarte,Geoffroy AGR Agritubel = s/t
45 62 GBR Thomas,Geraint BAR Barloworld = s/t
46 54 GBR Lloyd,Rhys RCR Rapha - Condor - Recycling.co. = s/t
47 42 GBR Elliott,Malcolm POT Pinarello RT - Candi TV = s/t
48 15 ESP Reynes,Vicente THR Team Columbia = s/t
49 122 IRL Gallagher,Stephen SKT An Post M.Donnelly = s/t
50 91 GBR Millar,David TSL Garmin - Chipotle = s/t
51 111 AUS O'Grady,Stuart CSC Team CSC - Saxo Bank = s/t
52 131 RSA George,David MTN MTN Energade = s/t
53 106 BEL Veuchelen,Frederik TSV Topsport Vlaanderen = s/t
54 134 RSA Thomson,Jay MTN MTN Energade = s/t
55 123 BEL De Schrooder,Benny SKT An Post M.Donnelly = s/t
56 132 RSA Evans,Kevin MTN MTN Energade = s/t
57 71 USA Hamilton,Tyler RRC Rock Racing = s/t
58 24 GBR Southam,Tom GBR Great Britain = s/t
59 11 LUX Kirchen,Kim THR Team Columbia = s/t
60 2 FRA Berges,Emilien AGR Agritubel = s/t
61 55 GBR House,Kristian RCR Rapha - Condor - Recycling.co. = s/t
62 63 ITA Caccia,Diego BAR Barloworld = s/t
63 56 GBR Partridge,Rob RCR Rapha - Condor - Recycling.co. = s/t
64 124 GBR Fleeman,Daniel SKT An Post M.Donnelly = s/t
65 94 IRL Martin,Daniel TSL Garmin - Chipotle = s/t
66 104 BEL Vandewalle,Kristof TSV Topsport Vlaanderen = s/t
67 115 AUS McGee,Bradley CSC Team CSC - Saxo Bank = s/t
68 66 POR Sabido,Hugo BAR Barloworld = s/t
69 36 GBR Swift-Metcalfe,Tomas PRT Palmeiras Resort - Tavira = s/t
70 126 IRL O'Brien,Paidi SKT An Post M.Donnelly = s/t
71 61 GBR Cummings,Steve BAR Barloworld = s/t
72 153 AUS Meyer,Cameron AIS SouthAustralia.com - AIS = s/t
73 103 BEL Pauwels,Serge TSV Topsport Vlaanderen = s/t
74 116 DEN Sorensen,Chris CSC Team CSC - Saxo Bank = s/t
75 51 GBR Newton,Chris RCR Rapha - Condor - Recycling.co. = s/t
76 96 AUS Lowe,Trent TSL Garmin - Chipotle = s/t
77 93 NZL Dean,Julian TSL Garmin - Chipotle = s/t
78 82 GBR Barras,Tom PCA Plowman Craven RT = s/t
79 14 NZL Henderson,Greg THR Team Columbia = s/t
80 155 AUS Sulzberger,Wesley AIS SouthAustralia.com - AIS = s/t
81 32 ESP Blanco Rodriguez,David PRT Palmeiras Resort - Tavira = s/t
82 102 BEL Barbe,Koen TSV Topsport Vlaanderen = s/t
83 6 FRA Vogondy,Nicolas AGR Agritubel = s/t
84 33 ESP Gomis Lopez,Juan PRT Palmeiras Resort - Tavira = s/t
85 146 ITA Spezialetti,Alessandro LPR LPR Brakes - Ballan = s/t
86 74 COL Pena,Victor Hugo RRC Rock Racing = s/t
87 43 GBR Davis,Lee POT Pinarello RT - Candi TV = s/t
88 73 COL Botero,Santiago RRC Rock Racing = s/t
89 151 AUS Clarke,Simon AIS SouthAustralia.com - AIS = s/t
90 144 ITA Bosisio,Gabriele LPR LPR Brakes - Ballan = s/t
91 16 GBR Wiggins,Bradley THR Team Columbia = s/t
92 145 ITA Ermeti,Giairo LPR LPR Brakes - Ballan = s/t
93 46 GBR Williams,Peter POT Pinarello RT - Candi TV 1h52'04" @20"
94 85 GBR Millard,James PCA Plowman Craven RT 1h52'14" @30"
95 95 AUS Sutton,Chris TSL Garmin - Chipotle 1h52'17" @33"
Complete Results

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