Green With Envy

Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) lived up to his nickname, "Bala Verde" or "The Green Bullet," as he shot passed the competition in the final kilometers of today's Tour de France - Stage 1 from Brest to Plumelec.

After the peloton had reeled in the main break of day, it would be the parcours that would factor in to the ultimate selection. After traversing the bulk of the 197.5 km route, an uphill finish in Plumelec would benefit the sprinter/climber normally favored for the Classics such as Fleche Wallone or Liege-Bastonge-Liege.

With 1 km to go, the first significant move was launched by Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner). Kim Kirchen (Columbia), whose team did a yeoman's effort to chase down the remnants of the break, quickly countered. With a sizable gap, Kirchen's victory looked certain.

But with approximately 200m to the line, Valverde, resplendent in a new red and yellow paint job to his Pinarello to signify his recent victory in Spain's National Campionship, put forth a massive effort to close on Kirchen and shoot passed the Luxembourgish rider.

As one of the favorites for the overall, the yellow paint on Valverde's bike may just be enough of a harbinger as the current Dauphine Libere champion gets set to defend the maillot jaune.

Results
1 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
2 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française des Jeux
3 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
4 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Team Columbia
5 Riccardo Riccò (Ita) Saunier Duval - Scott
6 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence - Lotto
7 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC - Saxo Bank
8 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Liquigas
9 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank
10 Oscar Pereiro Sio (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne

Over Before It Began
Lady luck wasn't smiling on Hervé Duclos-Lassalle (Cofidis) whose Tour was over before it began. The son of former Paris-Roubaix winner Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle, Hervé crashed out of the race at the feeding station.

Next:
Stage 2 - Sunday, July 6: Auray - Saint Brieuc, 164.5km

More:
NY Times - For Valverde, A Blue Sky, A Yellow Shirt
Velonews - 2008 Tour de France: Valverde leaps uphill to stage win and yellow jersey
International Herald Tribune - 'Why not first?': Spain's Valverde eyes top prize at Tour de France